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Monday 12th September 2016

With the Aussie 17th National Packard Rally starting at the end of the month it's time to prepare the Coupe for the trip. The Rally is based at Victor Harbor, South Australia, but starts at Adelaide. Prior to the start of the Rally I'm taking the Coupe in the Bay to Birdwood Run from Adelaide to the National Motor Museum, a great event.

For me it's a 1,330km trip there which is being undertaken over 3 days in convoy with some other club members. Day one will include a stop at the Binalong Motor Museum as well as 395kms of travel. Days two and three are 542kms and 379kms respectively. While the trip home will be by an alternate route, about 1,440kms, stopping at Forbes to visit McFeeters Motor Museum.

As part of the Coupes preparation, today I bought a grease gun and a cartridge of grease. This was made easier by one of my sons giving me a auto supplies store gift card on Fathers Day. Previously I didn't have to worry about that piece of garage equipment but with Wade now 230kms north it's now not that easy to drop in to get your Packard serviced, although I had tee'd up an appointment, but some other matters prevented that from happening.

So after reading the instructions for both grease gun and cartridge, just about a first for me, assembled and loaded up the gun. Then jacked up the front of the Coupe, placed jackstands under the front frame rails and started my grease monkeying. Started off on the creeper but I abandoned that after a while and just crabbed around on the concrete. Hmmmm, it wasn't this hard when the Coupe was up in the air on a hoist and you could walk leisurely around underneath from grease nipple to grease nipple. Same problem arose from last time when the right lower arm rear cap and nipple popped out as I was greasing it. But managed to reinstall the cap with hammer, socket, centrepunch and a few choice words.

Also, being under the Coupe, thought I'd check the level in the trans, but on taking the fill plug out a stream of oil ran out and down my arm necessitating replacing the plug hastily to prevent an Exxon Valdez type disaster. Then thought I'd better check to see if I had any trans oil, and didn't, so that'll be chased up on Wednesday. Will also check diff level as well and, for that, I do have oil!

After these levels have been attended to I'll then take the Coupe for a decent run to thoroughly warm the engine and change the oil. A little while back ordered an oil filter only to learn late last week the supplier is out of stock with expected delivery to be after the Rally is finished! Any one with any ideas on whether you can clean the old cartridge or not? Or is it just drain the oil, drain the cartridge, clean the filter housing, reuse cartridge, add oil and there you are?

Mal, a common maintenance instruction "back in the day" was to replace the filter at every other oil change. I think your idea to reuse the filter cartridge will work just fine. Be careful with the top's gasket.

(o[]o)

Wednesday 14th September 2016

Things didn't go as expected, I'm still without oil for the trans. Was going to visit the supplier Wade put me onto 8 years ago for the oil concerned, Penrite Transoil 140. But.....the guy retired about a year ago saving me a 170km round trip. Instead it was off to Supercheap Auto nearby, about a 10km round trip, although I knew it wouldn't be on the shelf. Although not on the shelf the guy serving me couldn't find it on his computer until this Luddite was able to direct him to it!? Good so far, but instead of a 5 litre container it's only available in 1 litre containers. To cover myself ordered 3 x 1 litres only to receive a call later; that of their 2 suppliers one will only supply a pack of 6 x 1 litre containers, albeit at a discount rate, while the other will supply 1 litre containers but at a premium price. Bit the bullet and ordered the 6 x 1 litres because at some stage I need to replace the trans/OD unit with the one Wade rebuilt for me, so the extra oil won't go to waste. All the conversation about the oil order changes being made while on my back under the Packard, couldn't think of a better place to do it!

And what was I doing under the Coupe without the trans oil? Well, after a good 25km round trip in the Coupe to get the engine well warmed in preparation for the engine oil change, jacked up the front and installed jackstands under the frame rails and drained the still very hot oil. Also took off the oil filter canister top, removed the dripping filter very carefully, then using a turkey baster sucked the residual oil out of the canister and finished by cleaning out the canister. Set the filter up to drain vertically, then later laid it on it's side and rotated it at intervals to remove pretty much all of the old oil. Also climbed under the front end again and greased a nipple I'd missed on Monday. Noticed the missed nipple when adjusting the front brakes, there are a lot of nipples to grease!

By now the engine had virtually finished draining, with only intermitent drips still emerging from the sump plug hole. Sump plug back in, about 6 litres into the sump, filter replaced and about 1/2 litre of oil added to the canister and the canister top fixed in place. As John said, was "careful with the top's gasket", and used some small daubs of grease to position the gasket when putting it on. On starting up the Coupe, no oil leaks and went for a short test run which went well. Oil pressure good with brakes pulling up straight and true.

But on returning home disaster! I'd left the drain pan under the car and had driven out OK, but on returning home the bottom of the front crossmember hit, split and dragged the drain pan. Although I did mention the Exxon Valdez on Monday, never for a minute did I think I'd be captaining the ship when disaster struck! I can only put it down to the premise that, after the front of the Coupe had hung in the air for the oil change, on returning to ground the suspension hadn't fully settled until being driven for a while. Is that an explanation or an excuse? Whatever it is, as Noel would say, "It's all my fault"!

Fortunately no sea, bird life nor the natural environment were harmed in this disaster. A concrete floor and an old strip of carpet serving as my drip device bore the brunt of the spill. About 1/2 of the used oil was still in the drain pan and that was able to be decanted to a waste container. Then cleaned up the slops and drops.


Have now jacked up both the front and back of Coupe with jackstands under both ends. This in preparation for Friday, when the Transoil 140 is expected to be delivered to Supercheap. Will also clean undercar from the splash effect of the 'mini' Exxon Valdez disaster.

Mal don't clean the underside before you go to Victor Harbour as the oil will help keep out the water. (lol)
Regards Pepe

Thanks Pepe, but I'm hoping the current weather will clear for our trip over next week.

Sorry to hear of your oil spill the result will be that you will always remember to check the location of drain pan before moving car. Hard lessons do help us when you stop learning you have quit living.
My experience with creepers is I do not use them having had one for many years which I don't use. A large piece of cardboard is easier to slide on and has a small amount of cushion effect and when it gets dirty just put it out with trash. If used when changing oil "SMALL" spills do not get onto concrete floor thus saving clean up time
Hope you have safe and trouble free trip

OH NO!!! Call out the environment people. You know what this means, we will have to tear up your garage floor and dispose of it and probably 6' of dirt under it to a proper waste management site.....LOL

I do remember an old article in either Pop Sci or Mechanix that showed how to dispose of your waste oil by digging a hole in your yard and filling it with sand then you dumped your old oil in that.... Seems like an approved method to me??

John

OZ....just realized I have not keep myself up-to-date on this blog. I had no idea Wade moved and I had no idea you took half you motor apart!

I'm sorry for lagging behind. my last post was 2013...geesh I'm horrible!

I found the work you did to your engine very informative and helped me understand ALOT about the Packard 8.

Quote:

Ahh for the good old days. Today in this state that would get you in deep doo doo and all it would take is a "concerned citizen" making a phone call.

The environmental police in the form of any number of bureaucrats who live for making examples of that form of transgression would be swarming the property. Every environmental group wanting to be more visible to call attention to what ever pet project they have would start picketing the place. Lawyers would work overtime building a hanging case and to make it complete, you would get to pay for half the acreage of the property where the quart or two of oil got dumped to be dug up, treated and then for good measure carted off to a hazardous landfill.

Back in the day - working as an young teen in my father's Packard dealership - we would take the crankcase draining accumulated in a 55 gal. drum and spill it on the dirt road leading to the city land fill. The city encouraged this to keep road dust down. This was common practice. Today we would go to jail for doing this, and rightfully so. We did so much unintended damage to the environment in those days.

(o[]o)