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"I enjoyed all the people that stopped to talk and reminisce especially one guy that told me how in 1955-56 during his senior year of H.S. He remembers how he and his buddy's would stand on the back of any Packard they saw on the street just to test the torsion level system. "

Now that is funny

James, do you ever wonder if 1956 Packard Four Hundreds can telepathically communicate with one another after 58 years of separation? My hardtop started doing exactly the same thing with the leveling compensator this past weekend. This was after I had used a floor jack to lift the front end to adjust the front brakes. The compensator motor runs (maybe not as often as it usually did), but the car looks like the rear end is up higher than normal and the front a bit lower. If I sit on the rear bumper, she'll sag and then raise. But then won't "resume the position" after the normal fifteen or so second delay.

Was the removal of the compensator box a difficult chore, and can I attempt it with the car on ramps? Without my own Kanter technician standing nearby, is this something you'd recommend a reasonably adept guy to attempt? Or should I just drive it a bit more and hope that she corrects herself with time and some bumps? This is my first issue with the T-L system, so I am open to advice from one and all.

Dave, not to jump in on James, but you don't need ramps to pull your compensator switch unless you're an exceptionally large person. Just use a jack under the driver side frame rail and raise a couple of inches, that's all you should need. Insert a jackstand just to be safe, slide under and disconnect/remove the unit.

Don't forget to disconnect the battery first. Ask me how I know.

Removing the box was rather simple all you needed was a 7/16 wrench, 9/16 wrench, 9/16 socket with ratchet and a phillip screw driver. I would say it took all of 15-20 minutes to remove. Hardest part for me was removing the wires from the box. For me wrenching has a calming affect so after a long day at work you can normally find me under one of my cars lol.

I think you would be more than capable to do the work yourself. It is a very simple and well thought out design from a stand point of servicing. Just take your time.

Thanks
James

Thanks for the encouragement and tool recipe. I also find peaceful time under an old car, looking at what's happened to it over the years. Far away from work and family dramas, this time is therapeutic.

I'll plan to be listening to satellite radio's broadcast of the Indy 500 while tackling the box. The first time I remember listening to it was a hot day waxing a neighbor's brand new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere hardtop. They trusted me, a twelve year old, to drive it over to a shaded garage. That was all my father needed to see and I began an illicit driving career in the family cars of the mid-50s vintages.

Fifty-eight years later, it's once the same, again, when I'm looking up at the bottom of an old Packard hardtop. Now, safety glasses are a must when eyes are in the path of falling rust and crusted oil debris. As someone else recently mentioned, it's the getting up that's getting harder. Your tool recipe has eliminated one of those events.

Thanks to Dave, James and Howard (who kept me from those embarrasing head bumps from 12 volt surprises) I think my T-L repair was done in nearly perfect fashion. The good news is that I didn't have to take much apart, once I was under, armed with all those SAE wrenches. My adjustable rod had loosened (it was apparent from the newly exposed screw surfaces). But while I was there, I took the rod end out of the compensator box lever and worked things back and forth gently to cure any arthritis on the points. Once electrified, the motor works nicely to bring the car up and down. My six year old granddaughter calls the compensator gear noise "the dinosaur that lives in the Packard."

All seems to be right, and the box seems in the shape that it left Conner. Years of training reinforce my feelings of not messing with stuff that isn't broken, so my 45 minutes under it did no additional damage. It gave me a bit of time to contemplate a few minor leaks as nothing serious. A perfect Packard hour or so. Thanks, guys.

I have been working on the 400 here and there( as my wife an I are expecting our first child any day now) About a week ago I changed out the front load arm links from the 2 groove to the 4 ring groove. The car was pretty much sitting on the bump stops and made for an unpleasant ride. With the new links the car is riding higher in the front and smooth. I have a rail road crossing near my house which I dread to cross with my 53 Buick in fear of sea sickness for the next 1/4 mile. But with the 400 its like going down a road with no crossing at all. I am not one for car shows but I do like the occasional cruise night. So this past Thursday I went to one in my local town (Hackettstown) with the 400 for the first time. Ill tell you know, man did that car get a lot of attention and to boot I went with a cruise night trophy for sponsors choice.

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