Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

After dropping my oil Pan from my 1936 1400 series packard, And started scraping the gasket off the engine side I noticed 2 quarter size circles at the bell housing end on the motor that my scraper dugged into too, what material are they made of And what do I use to fill them in to make it smooth again.

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I recall someone else mentioning this problem a year or so back and I believe it was determined there are cork discs which fit in the depressions. Don't remember the purpose or the specifics on thickness but hopefully someone else remembers the post or thickness or can direct you to the thread for the particulars.

I also remember posting a link to Amazon and McMaster who each had assorted size cork discs or bulk cork stock. If a ready made one could not be found that fit one could be punched out of bulk with a large gasket hole punch available in a low cost set which was also carried by Amazon.

G'day 36fitter,
to PackardInfo.

Sorry I can't help, however I invite you to include your '36 Packard in the Packard Vehicle Registry.

Thanks Howard for your reply any knowledge is good knowledge
I would still like to know what they're there for and how deep they go, Before I dig into them.

Didn't some of the Packard engines use wooden pieces back there??

From at least the late 30s on (and maybe even earlier) there were wooden strips in a trapezoidal shape inserted in channels on either side of the rear main cap. They were driven in for a tight wedge between the cap and block on most if not all of the engines. In the early 50s they went to a cork like composition strip which may have had issues because later on wood was available again. As far as I know the cork discs that were mounted in the depressions on the engine in question were only on the earlier engines and not sure of the function.

Many of the engines used a cork strip that was placed in a channel on the lower bellhousing cover as an additional seal. The cover is a separate piece from the block or oil pan and the strip is positioned after the pan.

Hi guys
I'm finding this hard to believe that nobody has seen this very often being that we all change our oil so often.
I'm sure we will get it figured out, I am getting excited to have it ready for Spring as alot of us are!
Just for reference it's a 1936 packard series 1400 4 door Sedan 320

Hi all,
Here is a picture of the cork plugs you mention from my 1929 engine rebuild. They are about 1/4 inch thick, just plain cork and they cover the nuts for two studs that anchor the main bearing.
John

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When the car was new I suppose the fit was such that those corks performed some level of sealing action, but once they are taken out for motor service that goes out the window.

On cars that still had them we would put some RTV over the corks to replicate Packard's intentions. On cars that didn't have them RTV around the holes formed a seal without filling the holes.

The area is not subject to oil pump pressure although stuffing something in those holes prevents getting a face full of oil if you remove the oil pan.

Thanks John and Tim
That's exactly what I was gonna do I was going to use some RTV over the top of them to smooth them out.
And now I know what exactly is underneath them. Thanks so much for the feedback.