Awesome. Thanks, guys. Can confirm, nothing seemed particularly unusual from the rear end prior to disassembly. Was smooth and quiet.

In checking for end play, what is the best way to do this absent the gauge mention in the manual?

Hey all. Working on a 23rd series, Ultramatic, 3.54 rear end. Pulled rhe carrier to replace the gasket, copper wire rings, and clean everything up. Upon inspecting the internals, I found one of the differential gear thrust washers isn't seated properly between the bearing and gear, and on the other side, there's no thrust washer at all. Pinion thrust washers are both in tact. Diff made no noise, and no metal in the fluid. Just seems unusual, and parts book shows each gear having a thrust washer. I do know there were varying thicknesses to the washers, too.

Want to get several opinions here... should I get this rebuilt, or would you run it? Or is it easy enough to to replace the thrust washers, and I could just do it myself? I would think I would just have to follow the manual procedure for up until I hit "Drive Pin Removal," which, theoretically, I wouldn't have to do to replace the thrust washers. Question of course would be washer thickness.

Thanks in advance your advice and experience.

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I just did my brake and park lights, though I do have a couple green type 55 bulbs on order for both the instrument board light and the Ultramatic gearshift indicator light. My instrument board labels are just so dim (aside from the center two), I wanted to try something else to see if I can get the light to travel a little further to the edges. The Ultramatic gearshift indicator is bright, but I haven't been able to figure out how to direct the light from the bulb so it only goes through the green plastic filter that's in front of the bulb. I figure here, it'll get a little closer to the right color at least.

Hey Rich - I got mine from Max Merritt; also listed at $30/switch on PackardParts.org, about halfway down the page:https://www.packardparts.org/products/parts/#section-983

Bulbs and flasher were all it took. I had some of their 6 Ohm, 25 Watt "load equalizers" on hand just in case there was an issue with resistance. I will say, the back lights did initially give me a scare - you can't use one incandescent and one LED at the same time. The incandescent will work; the LED will not. Once they were both LEDs, the bulbs functioned as they should.

I need to do another video with at least the park lights on to demonstrate the difference between the running light and an active signal. Will work on that!

Confirmed what Scott said! The park lights are obviously amber,
; the tail lights are red LEDs (rather than white). Another user told me the white light would "overpower" the lens. Took that advice; no regrets!

Ugh, what a nightmare. Hope that it's able to come back together smoothly.

I will say, the LED bulbs are a pretty amazing upgrade. I did this recently with my 2302. Here's how they look at least in the garage, 6v positive ground and all.

https://youtube.com/shorts/JnYI3BYb9V8?si=QtH_R-rjy1pdWkAG

Just chiming in because I did some work on my tail lights recently, the whole rebuild and just bulb replacement. Please excuse my rust...

1. If you're just changing the bulb (or want to get to the socket), take the metal tab and both push it toward the outside of the vehicle while gently pulling on the tab. So for example, if I'm working on the driver's side (i.e. left) tail light, push the tab to the left and pull. You can try working it gently with needle nose pliers if it doesn't seem to be doing anything. It's VERY easy for the socket to suddenly let go, and then you've got a broken bulb and glass inside the lens. Ask me how I know...

2. If you ever feel like getting into the whole reassembly of the tail light, the illustration from the Parts List is a must have. Found here:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/partslist/viewplate.php?cat=19&PlateNumber=81&partslist=1948-1954

The second picture shows what the reinforcement bracket on the fender (4.16012) looks like installed on the vehicle. Might check Merritt, Tucson, Seattle, Packards SW, etc. to see if you can find a set. The studs can be made from 1/4-28 threaded rod. Best of luck!

p.s. 1154 (will have offset bayonets) is the correct bulb for the tail lights. The tail lights and parking lights are the same size bulb. The 1158 listed in the owner's manual is incorrect.

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I ended up finding a Meguiars clear plastic cleaner at O'Reilly. It wasn't the exact product I was looking for, but it definitely made a huge difference! The bottle recommends a polish - I'll look for next.

No flite glo on the letters. The arrow might have been at some point. The setup is similar to the accessory swich labels where there is a bulb behind a green strip of translucent plastic to color the light. I haven't been able to figure out the little tin shroud to keep the plain incandescent color from bleeding through.

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That is super helpful - didn't know this was a possibility. I'll give it a shot. Thanks, guys!