So I took out the drive shaft on the wildcat to have it inspected and balanced. It had a very slight vibration and a a ping noise when applying power after coasting or when going from reverse to drive. I took the shaft to a very reputable shop here locally and the guy said he could no longer get the center bearing and mount for my shaft. I told them I had seen them on line at this web site http://www.classicbuicks.com/B_Center_support_rubber_mount.html. Has anyone replaced one of these recently or had any issues locating the bearing and support? thanks
Just as an update the center bearing from Classicbuicks.com work out great and they were fantastic to deal with. The rebuilt and balanced drive shaft runs out great with no vibration, but unfortunately my ping/clang noise still persists. The noise happens after coasting and reapplying the power, it's a hollow clang/ping ( like someone hit the drive shaft with a small hammer. I have recently swapped out a spongy transmission mount and everything else in the drive line seems tight and the car runs smooth right up through 75 mph. Where it's a hollow sound I have looked at the exhaust as well, but cannot find any areas where there would be interference. Has anyone run into a similar noise/situation with there large Buicks? thanks Kevin
I've got something similar going on with my 66 Electra, which would have pretty much the same shaft. What no one can tell me is if the whole steady bearing and cross member is solidly fixed and bolted into the frame or if it floats on rubber mounts. It's also a pretty flimsy cross member, there doesn't seem to be much holding things in place. The rubber mounts around the ends of the cross member look like they may have deteriorated, and my thinking is that at speeds in excess of 75 the whole thing twists up and goes out of balance as a result. But I can't prove any of it. I had my drive shaft checked out, a number of U-joints replaced, and the steady bearing checked, and I still have a high speed vibration. It was bad enough to have just about totally destroyed the transmission mount and broke a stud out of the tranny case. (Replaced when I rebuilt the driveline) The funny thing is, it's less noticeable with the top down, I'm not sure whether that is because of the echo or sound resonance with the roof up or if it is because the car may be twisted out of line. I've asked around, no one answered, and my favorite salvage yard decided to prohibit the public from going in the back so I couldn't even check out a wreck. I guess the bottom line is one shouldn't probably drive these boats over 75-80 mph; -I don't know.o No:
