grandpas50dodge

@Sam Buchanan & @Doug&Deb I'll be talking to my grandpa soon and follow up on these details - it's possible I misunderstood and that the pounded out bearings were before the motor was rebuilt. We live a few hours apart, so I'd asked him to send me a letter - one of the few ways he communicates - reminding me of all the steps he's taken to hunt down the problem, and I did my best to put them in chronological order. Thanks for your interest - I'm not quite the expert he is, so I appreciate your patience!

@Doug&DebI'm not entirely certain - I think my grandpa may have jumped the gun and decided to replace it as long as the engine was out - I will update as soon as I hear back. I believe he still has the original in his possession, fortunately.

Hi all, based on some comments, I thought I'd revise things for clarity. I'm posting on behalf of my grandpa, who wouldn't touch a computer with a ten foot pole. He's been chasing down a bad vibration in his 1950 Dodge Wayfarer Roadster with a 3spd fluid drive. The vibration is felt throughout the vehicle when running - regardless of whether it's in gear or not - and is worse at higher rpms. Years ago, when it started leaking oil from the rear main seal, he discovered that the rear main bearing had been pounded out. That prompted him to purchase a rebuilt fluid drive coupling, but after installing, the problem was worse. He then thought it might be the camshaft - so he had the engine pulled and had the one from his parts car rebuilt and installed. The rebuilt engine was dyno'd and is perfectly smooth. It seems like we've isolated the source of the vibration to the fluid drive. - motor mounts have been replaced - drive shaft hasn't been checked, but seems unlikely since the problem happens in or out of gear - rebuilt fluid drive has no leaks and fluid has been checked - transmission was rebuilt a while ago and should be tip top My thought is that the original fluid drive may have had a problem, and with time that caused a vibration, and eventually damage to the rear main bearing. However, from what I've read here, rebuilt fluid drives are kind of a nightmare, and it doesn't surprise me that one could make the vibration significantly worse, since the clutch would wander from lack of centering. That would also explain why it's worse at higher rpms. He's still got the original fluid drive, and may have a line on another untampered one. Is there a way we could test them before installing to see if they function properly? I'm heading down to see him next week, and I'll try to get a video of the problem, and any more useful information I can get. Thanks everyone for the comments so far, as well as your patience.