Re: New Packard owner questions....

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2008/11/11 9:00:23

The original pump on the V8 Packards was a Carter, far less common than the AC pumps used on most cars and most other models of Packard, and I think you'll find that rebuild kits for Carters and much more difficult to come by. Also, old kits won't be satisfactory for long because the rubber diaphram that does the actual pumping won't be compatible with today's gasoline. True it's not a difficult unit to rebuild if you have the kit, but if not or if you don't want to try it, send the pump to a good pump rebuilder like Gould Rebuilders, Terrill Machine, etc. Gould's current price to rebuild is $95. All these folks advertise regularly in Hemmings; if you can't come up with contact information, just ask again.

As to why the pump failure puts gasoline into the oil, the pumping action is created by a rubber diaphram which flexes up and down via a pivoting arm which is operated by an eccentric on the camshaft. When the diaphram flexes in one direction, it creates a suction and one-way valves allow it to draw gasoline from the tank. When it flexes the other direction, the gasoline above the diaphram is forced up to the carburetor. When the diaphram get a hole, some of that gasoline is pushed back into the crankcase.