Re: Fuel gage problem. on Series 23

Posted by Dave Brownell On 2016/12/28 17:57:07

With all due respect for Howard's profound ability to keep Packards alive, my first thought was that simply and carefully loosening the two straps and dropping the tank might be easier than cutting an access hole, then sealing and patching it.

Now that I have my own 23rd series with a non-functioning gauge or sender, this topic is germane to me. In my trunkload of spare parts from the previous owner I have a NOS box with a King Seely fuel gauge (with a bent needle) that may either be the original, a swap meet part or the old broken one that was replaced. I also have a fuel sender unit of unknown history that looks to be in good shape. But the mystery deepens because the previous owner replaced the Packard tank with a slightly smaller Chevy tank, so which gets the sender unit will be determined by whether it fits or not. One of the 1956 cars also lost a functioning fuel gauge when I filled it up over the summer and suddenly nothing registered. Magically, it began working again for a few days and then quit and apparently died. Perhaps a loose connection or stuck float, not at all moved by slapping the bottom of the tank with a board. Both of these will wait until warm weather returns. The joys of 60 and 65 year old cars!

Our family VW and Audi late model cars conveniently have their high pressure, in-tank fuel pumps located under the back seat, with a convenient body access panel that makes pump replacement a 45 minute job. Our Chevy truck fleet of older pickups tells us that a pump might last 200,000 miles, but the easiest way to replace them is not to drop the heavy 26-33 gallon tank, but to take out and loosen the pickup bed body and tip it up with a couple of boards to gain direct access to the top of the tank. Doing it this way, our guys say it takes them about 90 minutes to replace a pump.