Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

ok i want to thank all of you for answers that totally have me to the driving it point, i been touching it daily...

i need the radiator out its cold in the lower area and leaking prety bad . i need it out. whats the procedure on this 1935model 120 please.

Put on your work gloves, or you'll have skinned knuckles. Remove Hood. Remove 2 support rods from cowl to radiator surround. Remove air cleaner and brace and put cover over carb. throat. Remove radiator hose from thermostat housing to radiator. Carefully remove 4 bolts with lockwashers that hold fan to waterpump/pulley. remove fan/pulley. Fan blade lockwashers are important, but that's another story for another day. Remove lower radiator hose clamps, or if you can get the hose out, that'd be good, otherwise its time to get the 4 bolts that hold the waterpump to the block. You will have a hard time with the one nearest the engine support, the trick here is to jack up the engine a little to allow a socket onto it. Your welcome. Remove waterpump. There are 2 bolts on each side of the radiator that hold the radiator to the radiator collar, remove these. Note the position of the headlight wiring harness. Now for the fun part, there is a large carriage bolt that holds the bottom of the radiator to the radiator surround, and through the frame. There are a bunch of rusted metal washers, and crusty fiber washers that have held moisture and are a mess. You must get the nut off this carriage bolt to remove the radiator. Note the position (or stacking elevation) of these washers as they are critical when you reassemble to have proper hood alignment. Once you get this carriage bolt all loose, you have won the battle, mostly. The radiator may be reasonably loose in the radiator surround (collar), or maybe tighter than YOU FILL IN THE BLANK. Lean radiator back towards cowl and lift out. HA! Easier said than done. Either you will be standing on the engine (I use the thermostat housing to leverage my left foot..., and the manifold for my right) or have another friend leaning over the other fender while you struggle to get the radiator out without bashing the core on the front engine mount. Let me know what I've forgotten, as I probably have many "suppressed memories" of doing this many times. Once you have the radiator out, refer to 39Pickles notes on re-coring radiators. Hint: Suggest you apply to the Federal Bailout Fund before its all gone to Detroit. Tomorrows lesson: freeze plugs and the water distribution tube. Stay tuned!

Quote:

David,

It's like an old fashioned metal cheese-grater when knuckles and radiator surface come into contact with each other. And I like your detailed and informative description of the process required.

10-4 on the gloves! FlackMaster can always be counted on for solid help, and the procedure above outlines the most effective way of the 1935 radiator removal. Removal is not so critical as you are removing the old before a recore, but is good practice knowing you won't want to beat up your new one. Angle of attack is key, and correctly performed you can get it in and out without so much as touching the fins. Unless you own a radiator shop you can figure on a couple weeks turn-around on a recore. You won't believe the difference it makes in your cooling though, and worth every penny it costs. Did you get the water pump to stop leaking?

YES I MANAGED TO GET THE PACKING NUT ON THE WATER PUMP BACK ENOUGH AND USED A COAT HANGER I SHAPED INTO A PICK, I GOT OLD HARD PACKING OUT AND HAD A 58 283 CHEV REAR MAIN WICK SEAL HERE
THAT I USED FOR PACKING
IT DOSNT LEAK A DROP.
NOW THAT I TOOK IT FOR A JOURNEY ABOUT 3 MILES I SEE IT GETS HOT WHILE DRIVING.

IM GLAD TO HEAR THE RADIATOR CAN COME OUT WITHOUT PULLING THE SHEET METAL NOSE.

AS I SAID EARLIER THIS IS NOT A BEAUTY QUEEN.
BUT I AM DETERMINED TO KEEP THIS PACKARD ON THE ROAD.
I KNOW IT WILL NEED A RECORE FOR SURE.

IM WONDERING IF AT ALL POSSIBLE TO MAKE A 70`S GM CROSS FLOW RADIATOR FIT UPSIDE DOWN.

PLEASE PREPARE ME... WHATS A RECORE WORTH ON THIS.


ps THAKS FOR THE HEADS UP ON THE SKINNED KNUCKLES..LOL

AS OF LAST WEEKS WATER PUMP PACKING . THE PULLY WILL NOT COME OFF. IT HITS RADIATOR.
THIS IS A 120 MODEL.
AND WHAT ON EARTH IS A WATER DISTRIBUTION TUBE.
1/4 IN FINE THREAD WITH STAR WASHERS



THANKS GUYS...

OK,OK, you are correct on the pulley... but the fan should come out. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your idea on finding a modern radiator to fit. Many of these 35-37 Packards are being streetrodded and I always look to see what radiator the builder has come up with. The original radiator is fine, its just that its expensive to recore, and you have to find a talented shop to do it. The seams are flat soldered (no male-female groove), just requires experience, especially the bottom tank around the water outlet - be very careful here. A recore is gonna cost 700-900$. OUCH. Right now I have 3 35-36 radiators. 1 junker core, 1 flows good but has few leaks ($250, likely repairable, but I haven't had the time or reason to bring it to the shop) and one original correct honeycomb core that is for the 100 point restoration crowd... ($$$). Back to your idea of a modern radiator substitute - I hope you will followup and do some research on this as your contribution to this collective resource. Or at least find something for "test and research purposes". First, there are many 35-37 owners just wanting to have a less expensive option and don't necessarily care about the original look, and of course the streetrodders want to know too. I believe there is enough room to find SOMETHING that will fit...

OH, I forgot there is also one more bolt from a tab, top center of top tank to the radiator surround, but you probably already know that...

And for future planning, removing the nose is actually pretty easy. Probably easier than removing the radiator singlehandedly. Another story for another day...

I watched a fellow remove a radiator from a 1936 120 at the Packard National in Boston a few years ago. He had two helpers, about 2 dozen supervisors, half-a-dozen tool boxes, and he did do it w/o removing the nose but if he ever had to do it again, I suspect he'd pull the nose clip.

I think some of your other questions didn't get answered so I'll take a shot. A recore for your current radiator, probably in the range of $400-$650, at least that's the going rate here in New Jersey

The water distribution tube is a brass tube behind the water pump that goes the length of the engine block and establishes the route of the cool water, first to the exhaust valve seats. Any time the pump and radiator is removed, the tube should be removed, cleaned and inspected, repaired or replaced if necessary though that's pretty rare.

the water distribution tube..
is it removable threw a grille slot or does the grill need to comme off. also if i get the fan blade off, wich was just off 3 days ago.. with fan off does water pump have to be removed. or will radiator go past the pump