Re: Proud New Owner of a 49 Packard Club Sedan

Posted by Fred Puhn On 2018/9/6 15:59:31

I have the 288 engine in my 1950 Series 23 touring sedan. I have been chasing overheating for about 5 years and gradually improving the situation. Here are some of my experiences:

1. Soon after I bought the car I replaced the thermostat, rebuilt the radiator core, and replaced the water pump. I did NOT pull the water distribution tube because the front of the body has to be removed to do that.

2. I checked the temperature gage with a new SW mechanical gage with numbers on it. Because of a lack of numbers on the Packard gage I put the new temp gage under the dash so I have 2 of them. I have trouble with inconsistent readings on the aftermarket gage and I think that is because I do not have the sending unit mounted is a place which gives it constant contact with water. I still need to solve that problem.

3. To improve the cooling I had my mechanic add an electric fan in front of the radiator. I could not tell if that helped however. On a long drive the Packard lost power on the freeway and I had to pull over. The radiator core was leaking and the water sprayed onto the ignition and shorted out some of the plugs. I pulled the radiator and found the fan blades flexed and hit the core until they caused a leak. The core was replaced with a new heavy duty core with more fins and tubes. I removed the electric cooling fan. So far that seems OK.

4. I recently checked the temperature at the front and rear of the head and found a small difference in temperature but nothing to be alarmed about. If the water pump is off again I will clean/replace the distribution tube no matter how hard the job is. Based on my experience it looks like a week's work for 2 people.