Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

What I see is a small black 3 terminal relay, mounted low on firewall, near the kickup switch, with no fuse. The center wire is hot, from the starter rly, the rear wire goes to the kickup sw, and the front goes thru the firewall. Could I have the R6?

That's it so you aparently have the R6.

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I meant to say "Kickdown". not kickup!!
My relay looks that size, but the terminals are all on one side and the mounting bkt is on the end.
My wiring appears to be the original cloth on rubber insulation, with normal brittleness and some cracking-fraying. Does not appear that the wiring harness was erver modified, but could be the relay was at sometime replaced. I will look for some other mounting holes. Seems to work fine as it is, but maybe I should discretely add a fuse to the hot wire??
BTW, John, thanks for letting me jump in on your thread!
Dennis

Here is a schematic from Motor's Manual. Packard probably has one somewhere but didn't see it in the regular places.

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I have a rebuilt R6 in my '39 Packard Six with overdrive. Much time went into hunting for a good main shaft, clutch gear and cluster gear and I hesitate to drive it one foot until I understand thouroughly when I can and cannot engage the OD.

And, I will admit that my knowledge of transmissions is next to nothing so some of the lingo used in previous posts has me more confused. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

My questions are these: 1. Can the OD lever be pushed in (engaged) while the car is moving forward? 2. Can the car be taken out of OD while moving forward or must it first be brought to a stop? 3. Can the car be put in reverse while the OD lever is in (engaged) or must it first be taken out of OD? 4. Is there any time downshifting can be used to slow the car either in or out of overdrive? 5. And last, when I park a staight drive car, I always leave the gear in reverse. Does it matter if the OD lever is in or out?

These may seem like dumb questions but simple answers will be appreciated. Thanks much.

You can push the knob in making the overdrive available at any time while under power. Then just lift your foot off the gas and she will drop into OD.

On that trans I would only pull the knob out while at a standstill.

You can use second gear for braking down a long hill as long as you stay above the overdrive drop out speed. Below that it will just coast. That said, an R6 will tend to stay in OD when there is a braking load on it.

It is necessary to park in reverse with an OD car otherwise they are fully capable of rolling forward. If you have the knob pulled out you can park in any gear without rolling, but better to develop the habit of using reverse.

It is not necessary to lock out the OD when you want to use reverse. That happens internal to the transmission as the reverse gear moves into place. I have heard many people say that particular falsehood and wonder where it comes from.

There is hardly a need to ever lock out the overdrive unless your are driving in hilly country and find that you need to keep kicking it down to manage the hills.

In addition to Ross's instructions there is a bit of factory explanation and instructions plus some additional benefit details of the OD starting on page 45 in the 1939 Salesman's Data Book available for download in the literature section..https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/1939_DataBook.pdf

There was a followup in a service counselor with a bit more operational info on engaging the OD to prevent damage.

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G'day afsinc,
to PackardInfo. I invite you to include your '39 Six in the Packard Owner's Registry.