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

Got my oil pan off, and as you can see there was a lot of sludge waiting to see me. When I was cleaning out that sludge I came across a few bits of metal. I'm not sure where they are from so I got a picture of them. Can someone let me know what these are?

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Valve spring keepers. Check the valves/springs for any missing.

As Hank said, check for any missing but you may be OK. When removing and installing, those nasty things have a habit of falling or flying all directions. If a rag was not covering the bottom of lifter chamber they inevitably aimed for and fell down the nearest drain hole.

My #1 exhaust valve sticks, if those are missing would it cause that to happen? Or would it probably be a dirty/seized valve guide?

There are two on each valve. If both on a valve are missing there is no spring pressure on the valve so it will stay open or if it does close, fall by gravity or maybe compression. If only one is missing, assuming the spring does not cock then it will still work OK. Rusty valve guides were a common problem and could be your issue.

Once you verify mechanical things are OK, you could try some of that top lube you pour down the carb while engine is running. It might help but if not, at the least you can enjoy smoking up the neighborhood, kill a few mosquitoes and at the same time, possibly get a little into the engine that will work into the guides later.

As HH56 pointed out valve keepers are an easy thing to lose when building a motor and they often wind up down in the pan. It is fairly common to find keepers, nuts, washers and other random bits of junk.

The keepers could have been lost during an overhaul or even when the engine was being built. The mechanic just went and got some more, it was not worth the bother of hunting for the ones he dropped.

There are no keepers missing off your valves, if there were you would know it because the valve springs would fall off and the valves would fall out.

I had a 29000 mile 1955 400 that I bought from the original owner that had a missing valve keeper. The great old time Packard mechanic we had in Detroit found out it was missing while working on the car for me. He couldn't figure out either how the valve remained in place.