Re: 1948 22nd Series : Damper to rear sway bar

Posted by HH56 On 2014/12/18 13:21:06

My 47 unit does not have the screw. It is possible the seals or bushings have deteriorated and fluid just leaks out like usually happens with the front shocks. No idea what kind of seal is in the thing.

The only repair I have heard of other than sending in for a professional rebuild was one fellow adapted the tube to accept a short conventional shock. He cut the tube off at an appropriate spot and welded a nut or threaded bushing into the tube to accept one end of the shock. He mentioned using a Ford Pinto shock but I couldn't find the number he gave. As long as the shock is fairly short and has threaded stems on each end for mounting, I expect most of that type could be adapted. A question I have would be what kind of dust shield -- was it a tube built onto the shock that went over the rod or horizontal bar or some kind of rubber bellows that would need to be attached. With one end of the shock mounted to the bar, the other end used the conventional rubber bushings on its stem & mounted to the frame bracket like a normal attachment.

I'll have to look for the official Packard description of exactly why they thought this hydraulic shock was better than a conventional sway bar. It probably does the same thing -- keep body side to side movement to a minimum because of the narrow springs -- but I believe this was a more controlled method for better ride quality.