Re: 1955 Packard 400 Question

Posted by HH56 On 2016/9/24 13:56:19

Kind of depends on when the car was built and if it had updates. There were two issues with the 55 TU Park position.

The first production cars had a linkage issue. When put in park the rod length and lever geometry lined the linkage up in almost a straight line. Looseness, slop or mfg tolerances could worsen the problem so trying to get it out of park would be difficult because the rod was trying to push the lever on the transmission straight back instead of giving the end a shove to make a rotary move. That was corrected by changing the rod length and redesigning the attachment point on the transmission lever so park position was a few degrees more vertical when tightened on the shaft..

The second issue was inside the trans on the parking pawl and parking gear. They would mesh and then if any pressure was on the gear such as when on an incline things would jam so even if the outside lever moved it couldn't pull the pawl out of mesh in the gear. Both pieces were changed and the pawl precision ground for a slightly different contour.

Both of the issues are covered in two or three of the 55 service counselors.