Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I am new here and have removed some mice nests around the valves where mice made a nest out of the heat shield through the exhaust. I removed a good amount around several of the valves. I had no compression on several cylinders and believe this is due to the mice nest. I have removed all of the 11/16 bolts to remove the manifold, but there is one 9/16 bolt left that is very tricky to get to behind the manifold. Is there any advice for removing this 9/16 bolt? I believe I have to remove the fender panel as well as the passenger wheel to remove this bolt. Any advice or suggestion is most appreciated. Trying to get this beauty back on the road.

Attach file:

---

  (298.52 KB)

Yes, you will have to remove the wheel and the inner fender panel to get to the manifold nuts. You can be pretty sure the little rodents have peed all over your valve stems so expect that several valves will be stuck and you may have to resort to some violence to get them out.

If you still have issues accessing the 9/16 nut after removing the wheel and panel perhaps an S or moon wrench or even a swivel socket will work.

Attach file:

---

  (47.71 KB)


  (36.83 KB)

Thanks so much for the reply! All of the valves appear to be opening and closing now that I removed all of the heat shield material from the mice nest. Do you think it's necessary to do a complete valve job? I may be too optimistic to hope that removing the nest material will allow me to regain compression from the cylinders that were low. However, The valves seem to be seating as far as the eye can see, for whatever that is worth. Thanks

Welcome! Whatever you decide to do, just ask if you need help as I'm sure there will be someone here who has already gone through the same issues.

Might be best to at least lap the valves and seats while it's apart anyway. It takes only a little more effort than you've already done but will, of course, mean taking out the valve keepers and blocking the drain holes so none fall into the pan. Just be sure that each valve goes back where it came from. (Of course, honing the cylinders wouldn't hurt either but it means considerable more work.)

G'day packard4one,

to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your Packard in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Thanks for suggesting the owner registry. It looks like I was able to successfully register. I will update the registry with progress as it comes. 👍 🚘

for including your '51 400(Patrician) Touring Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Good to update the Registry entry as you progress your Packard but also consider a Project Blog where you can really detail your progress.

Your Patrician looks like a good find and I hope you are able to make a blog of your progress. One thing I noticed is that it has 1952-style stainless "scoops" on the rear fender so I looked at the details that you entered. The model you listed is indeed 1951 but the VIN is 1952! Could it actually be a 1952?

If your Patrician checks out to be a '52 rather than a '51 you can go back into your Registry entry and edit it to reflect that. Click on the "Make Changes" button at the foot of the entry and make sure you click on the "Save Changes" button after you're done.

Note - If your engine number is in the range K600000 -> K605000 it would help confirm it is a '52.