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

I knew I had a few fluid leaks to locate so I took some time off from work and spent this past Thursday and Friday scraping, cleaning and pressure washing 60 years worth of dirt roads and leaking fluids out from under the Clipper. What a mess! I had forgotten what a challenge it is to do with the body still on the frame. What I found out afterwards was how well preserved the undercarriage was from all the years of oily residue accumulating on the suspension, chassis and related parts but I still prefer it to be clean AND protected vs. nasty and protected. All that water didn't do the starter any good so I ended up pulling it off as it had been sounding like it was dragging from day one after getting the car home anywway so I suspected that it had issues. The problem I found with it was a broken brush spring and worn brushes so while I'm back at work, the wife is running the starter by Douglas Battery so Marty can give it a good once over. So far, it appears that the only transmission leak I have is the drain plug on the pan so will address that first and then locate the engine oil leaks...I hate fluid leaks and can't tolerate them unless they are really slow and even those have to be tough fixes for me to overlook. I'm thinking that the front seal is leaking on the crankshaft and quite possibly the rear seal so will see how fast those come back once I get her running again. No surprise as I believe both are original.