Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Great job getting it this far. Looks like fun. Congratulations.

Kevin; I also commend you on your progress. Well done!

The ‘squeaking/chirping’ could be just about anything for a car that sat for a while. Suspension parts are the normal suspects, but if you’re willing to invest 2 more cotter pins, I would double check the torque on the rear axle nuts. You previously quoted 220 & 235 foot pounds, so if you leaned on them with 200 foot pounds the nuts shouldn’t move and the new pins will slide right in. You said you put on about 15 miles and I know the rule of thumb for a torque recheck is about 100 miles, but a loose hub can/may (emphasis on vague) make noises. If the squeak is random it’s likely suspension, but if it’s one to one with mechanical rotation then address. While you’re down there you can also re-verify the brake drum run-out.

Which one of the kids has claimed the car as their inheritance, or for their exclusive use to drive to high school in the future?

Thanks everyone. It was a great feeling to finally drive it. I'm looking forward to doing more testing and hopefully more good news.

Flack, I agree regarding the wheel covers. They cleaned up nicely and really make the car shine. A little extra bling.

David - the squeak/chirp was definitely rotational. Hard to tell, but seemed like it matched the speed of the wheels....definitely not a random suspension squeak. Couldn't tell which side. Do brake shoes make any sounds as they are wearing in? These are all new shoes, rear drums turned, and they were adjusted so the shoes were dragging lightly per Ross's video.

I'm really hoping it's not a bearing. I followed the guidance on the axle play adjustments to the letter. I'm pretty sure I did everything right, but I've never done anything like this before, so who knows? I just don't want to have to tear into the axle again with my brand new seals and components. I will double check the axle nut torque just to be sure. Are the cotter pins supposed to fill the hole entirely? The pins I put in are big, but they aren't a tight fit in the hole.

-Kevin

Kevin:

With all of the grease you put on the bearings I doubt whether the squeak could be coming from the rollers. From what I know about the subject you would have to be wildly off on the cold clearance to produce any abnormal noises. It’s much more a bearing life issue.

Brakes can make noise, but I think that is predominately a disk brake characteristic. I did you put a dab of Lubriplate on the backing plates whether the shoe would contact? A light film will do, not a lot. You should also put your eyeballs on the brake drum that you straightened.

I think the rule of thumb for cotter pin fit in a hole is something like 80%, but I believe that’s something I picked up from working of helicopters in the Army, and that was a while ago.

Here’s what I found on the web;
American standard cotter pin sizes are in nominal fractional inches, starting at 1/32. The sizes below 5/16 inch are intended to fit a hole 1/64 inch larger than the pin size; for pins larger than that the pin and hole size are the same. Lengths are not standardized.

dp

Nice going, Kevin. Looks great. Maybe Try it without the hubcaps. See if it still squeaks. That style can flex and squeak.

Good point Joe . . . those caps do eat-up the wheel paint, tend to fly off on hard turns, cut valve stems, and, as you said, make funny noises, especially if a clip or two are missing. That’s a design we’ve long since retired. When I bought my Cavalier the covers had quite a bit of black electrical tape wrapped around them. I’m not sure why, and I took it off as soon as I discovered it. If the covers made noise after that perhaps I had the radio turned up high and didn’t hear them squeaking. Until I bought the Cavalier I don’t think I ever owned a car with full wheel covers with the toothed clips that dug into the wheel.

Removing the offending wheel cover is a pretty easy fix for Kevin.

I'll pull off the rear wheel covers today and see how it sounds. They were tough to get on, and I'm surprised that there would be that much flex in the wheel to allow the covers to creak. But hopefully it's something as simple as that.

If a bearing was going out on a car of this vintage, what would it sound like? On my modern vehicles I could tell by a humming when turning the vehicle (putting pressure on the bad side).

The driver's side rear bearing was completely cleaned and repacked (was covered in axle oil), but the passenger side wasn't. It looked like new grease and fully filled every part of the bearing, so I left it alone. I don't think the car was driven much.
Now I'm thinking I should have just repacked it.

-Kevin

Congrats on the first run! Happy you got it out. Ice cream runs are in your near future!

Typically a wheel bearing will grumble rather than squeak.

Agree with Don. Bearings typically grumble, or grind if they are going. Usually accompanied by visible wear in the bearing or race.