Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I am about to pull my '55 engine. There are a lot of things that I need to do to it like: replace oil pump with Vines, paint it, paint engine compartment, replace some hard to reach wiring, clean up some rust etc etc. So I figured it was best to pull it to make these things easier.

My plan is to follow the sequence listed in the manual, but I was wondering if there are any tips and lessons learned out there that would make this go a little easier?

Also, since I plan on pulling the oil plan to clean out any built up sludge, would there be a benefit to running some light weight or high detergent oil first to help clean the engine out? I don't want to use any of those "flushes" as they seem to cause clogging of small passages from what I have read. Not sure yet what oil I will use for long term, but have some time to figure it out.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Bob

My personal favorite is to remove the entire front clip for that kind of work. It really does not take long: remove the front bumper assy complete at the frame bolts. Unbolt the radiator cradle from where it sits on the frame-2 bolts. Unbolt the inner fenders from the frame rails, about 10 bolts. Unbolt the 2 bolts at the bottom of each front fender to the cowl, and one each at the top. Unhook the main wiring harness from the headlight junction blocks, do the usual unhooking of hoses and extraneous doodads, then get two buddies to help you lift the entire assy up and forward off the car.

Now it is easy to undo the exhaust pipes etc and then pull the engine and tranny together. You know it needs resealing also!

Random thoughts:

1. For an engine flush, diesel is as good as I've found. I warm the engine, drain, fill with three quarts of cheapest oil and three quarts of diesel. Let idle for five minutes, rev to 1,500, shut off, drain again.

2. While the engine is out, replace all the core plugs down the sides of the block.

3. I'd pull the rocker arms, remove the end soft plugs and run a bore brush through there. They're always full of crud.

4. Consider replacing the valve stem seals. In fact, I've got some I'd give you for the cost of shipping.

5. Install a rebuilt water pump.

6. While the pan is off, I have a difficult restraining myself from checking the main bearings. Unfortunately, most will show wear down to the copper on the center three. Sometimes, you're better off not knowing ;>)

jack vines

Ross' advice to remove the whole front clip to aid engine removal is spot on. I've pulled a 352 out of a '55 400 parts car without removing the front clip, and getting that behemoth engine out over the grille/radiator was a whole bunch of no fun. Putting it back in was much easier after removing the doghouse.

Jack's advice of removing the rocker arms and cleaning them out is also good advice. I was shocked how much was sludged up in there. Also the freeze plug replacement is a must.

Also, check out the oil pump drive shaft from bottom of distributor and check how much play/wear you have in it.

Good advice from all who posted. If it were mine I would thoroughly wash out the cooling system with the core plugs and water pump removed. Good time to get the radiator flow tested and cleaned too.

(o[]o)

Thanks for the advice. Last night, we followed Ross's directions and pulled that whole thing off. I was skeptical at first but once we got into it, it really wasnt that big of a deal.
Now I need to figure out how to store it out of the way since it is so large.

This will make pulling the engine a whole lot easier, although removing the exhaust pipes still seem like a bear.

Thanks to all for inputs and I will post more as I get into it.

-Bob

So pulled the engine a few days ago. Wasn't really too bad and I now see a lot of 'opportunity' for clean up in the engine compartment now that the engine is out of the way......

Regarding the engine, I am unsure as to how far to do on it. It did great on compression and leak tests
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... um=3&post_id=176985#forumpost176985


Talked to the PO and he has owned the car for 7 years or so and has not done anything significant to the engine or transmission. He said the previous PO (PPO) was a skilled mechanic and did a lot of work on this and other classic cars but no info on what was done and when.

I did flush the engine with diesel/oil mixture before pulling it (as per Mr. Vines) and that may have really cleaned it out as it looks great on the inside. Here a few of the many photos I have. 2nd to last one shows a curved piece of hard rubber/plastic that is a piece of something (?) that was laying next to a valve spring.

But since I have it out, it seems like an opportunity to do something to it that will ensure reliable performance for a while as I dont want to have to pull the engine again in a few years etc.


Jack made some suggestions about replacing the freeze plugs, rocker arm end soft seals, and valve stem seals. I think I can manage that kind of work. But wondering if I should pull the heads and take/send it to a machine shop to assess and 'spruce' up. I don't know how to tell by looking what needs work and what should last for years. Ditto for the pistons and block etc.

Any suggestions as to how to get some more data on this to help decide on a path forward would be a huge help.

Anyone know of experienced Packard V-8 mechanics somewhat in the Houston area?

thank you

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Spent some time tearing down the engine. I'm going to take the block to "Westside Performance & Machine Shop" in Houston tomorrow to have them go over it, clean it, see what needs to be done to it etc. I plan on doing the head job myself. Figure it will be a good learning experience.

I popped the core/freeze plugs and look at how much crud is there!! That was the same for the 4 forward ones. (the two rear ones were in decent shape.) FYI, prior to pulling the engine I used the Prestone coolant flush as directed. It got a lot of brown stuff out, but didnt help with all that crud.

Question #1: The back, right plug is brass or copper and has a cap nut on it. Is that just a different style: more of a compression fit vs the standard steel friction fit? the other 5 were conventional.

Here are also a few shots of the heads. Definitely some plug coolant passages.

Question #2: the heads have this curvy piece of metal that goes around the valve springs. 1 head has 2 of them for full coverage while the other only has 1 of these. Are they to direct oil a certain way and are they important enough for me to find one for the missing location?

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AFAIK, the core plugs were all the same and don't recall ever seeing one like that before. Is there something holding the plug in other than friction or is there a passage thru the plug like maybe a temp sensor could be installed? If so maybe it was added for that purpose or for providing coolant to some kind of accessory. IIRC, on an earlier post I think it was mentioned or it appeared the engine originally came from an AMC product????

Here is the info on the retrofit baffle. IMO, if you are running the original type seals and can find one it would be a good idea as Packard had some issues with oil consumption. If you install new modern seals on the valves it might not be as necessary as it was at the time but still wouldn't hurt.. Mike Dulinski might have an oddball single baffle.

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Regarding the odd core plug, here are a couple more pictures. It's copper as it is starting to turn green. There is a carriage-type bolt that comes through the back to where the cap nut was attached. I can only guess that tightening the nut squeezes the plug, forcing it to be wider and makes a seal.
This is a stock Packard 352 engine stamped 5587. My car is a 5582 but as far as I can tell, the only difference between a 5582 and 5587 engine is the stamping of the model number...

thanks for info on baffle. I will try to find one.

-Bob

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