Re: 51Packard's....51 Packard

Posted by HH56 On 2010/8/18 22:09:51

You mentioned hearing something drop when you removed the body so it is possible you have the original style bands with the struts as a separate loose piece rather than the later version where they are pinned on & can't fall. The use of the strut holding tool PU-308 when replacing the valve body as mentioned in the manual is very advantageous.

If the trans is out you can work carefully with things upside down without them but if trans still in car, you can make a serviceable substitute by getting pieces of flat stiff steel or aluminum about 1/16 thick, an inch or so wide and 6" or so long -- enough to reach the levers & struts from the side of the case.

They are simply a couple of pieces of flat metal with a hole in one end which uses a bolt threaded into one of the oil pan holes to keep levers and struts in place until the valve body is positioned and can hold them properly. After that is positioned and screws started, the tools are then unscrewed and slid out and body tightened.