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

Does anyone have any information on the correct heater hose routing for the 2126 7 passenger sedan with four heaters? My car has the rear heaters disconnected (I wont reconnect until i know we do not have any leaks!).

Also is my heater control valve correct? It is currently leaking and I am going to have to remve it until a replacement or alternate is found. I note many other 21st series (inc 2126) do not have this valve in place.

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I can't offer any solid info on the 4 heater hose routing other than all 4 are most likely in series. Any sign of bracket holes or worn spots on the floor that would indicate at path? IMO, the valve looks aftermarket. I don't recall ever seeing anything like it on a Packard. Where is the control knob located?

The only inside heater controls prior to 48 I believe were fan switches. There are some photos showing switches on the divider or on the rear seat base for cars with the extra units. I believe those just controlled the fans and water was not worried about.

Most of the cars just have the small valve you have on the water pump mounted to the head outlet instead and feeds directly into the front heater and that is the only valve. Turn it on when weather starts getting cold and off when it gets hot.

On a regular car with just the two heaters, water exits the front lower heater tube, goes to R frame rail with an individual clamp for each hose & then heads back. Crosses over at the boxed space in area where driveshaft connects to trans. A double clamp to a floor support near the frame rail and another on the plate under the driveshaft. Enters the floor heater under the driver seat and then same path back to pump return port. I would imagine the other two heaters would be in the middle of that path and there are probably some holes where brackets might have been.

Thanks Howard.

I have seen, in supply catalogs, cable operated shut-off valves that have a 3/8" NPT fitting to screw into the cylinder head outlet. To me this type of valve would be preferred over the type that requires manually opening or closing the traditionally used valves. Flow through the heater cores could be easily regulated from inside the car for varying temperatures. Of course, a neat routing of the cable through the cowl wall and mounting of the knob bracket under the instrument panel would be necessary.

(o{}o)

The rogue heater valve on the firewall was connected to the dash "Heater" pull knob. Questions:

What should the "Heater" knob be connected to?
What is the function of the "Fresh Air" control?

I have figured out that the "Defrost" operates the windscreen defroster! However, what is the purpose of the slide control on the defroster unit?

Thanks

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Heater knob normally worked a switch and kind depended on what was installed. If it was the typical postwar install with 2 separate units -defroster and underseat or what Packard called the dualstream heater with one wire to the motors, both heater and defroster switches usually were identical --2 terminals and had off and 3 speeds. If the single combination dash heater/defroster with reversible motor was installed, that switch has 4 terminals and 5 positions. Off and 2 speeds for motor rotating one direction for air to defroster outlets and 2 speeds for opposite rotation direction with air out the doors.

If the car was optioned to the hilt and switch area was full then some switches had to go under the dash like prewar conventional body installs or doubled up. Heaters and fog lights were good candidates for being relocated.

The defroster came in two types. You have what Packard referred to as the footwarmer version. It was a (mostly) defroster but the little knob operates a tiny door opening so some of the defrost air is deflected down to the floor.

The fresh air option was a long tube which spanned the distance between the grill area and a hole in the firewall opening into the heater. At the firewall end was a flapper door operated by a cable which would allow fresh air to enter directly behind the heater. If the dash end looks like this factory piece then they might have used one of those cable setups to operate the water valve.

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Thanks Howard.