Re: 1950 Packard 288 Auto overheating HELP

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2010/2/7 21:55:07

I wouldn't think of an inoperative vaccum advance of being much of a significant factor in overheating in and of itself, perhaps in combination with other factors, but certainly worth checking out. But PackardV8s comment leads me something, though unrelated directly to overheating, is all to often neglected, and that's distributor lubrication. Sure we mostly remember the shaft oiler or grease cup, but the rotating bearing or sliding bumpers for the vacuum advance breaker plate motion require lubrication, as do the pivot pins and sliding surfaces for the centrifugal advance weights. Also often ignored is the felt wick below the rotor, critical to avoid wear of the cam block and shaft extension. Perhaps a downside of installing electronic ignition is that it tends to lead to "distributor neglect" with regard to these lubrication needs.