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Put about 60 or so miles our 1939 Packard 120 today for the second time this season. About 5 miles from home I experienced rough running and power loss, almost like the car is running out of gas. Made it to a gas station a couple miles away and filled up, but about 1/8 of a mile down the road power loss seemed worse. The car seemed to run rougher and finally, on an uphill grade it seemed to lose almost all power. I could not initially restart it. So we called AAA for a lift home.

I thought it was the fuel pump but when I got it home I did get it running and noticed some drops of something being thrown from the tailpipe, and the car was still running rough with barely enough power to manouver around in the driveway. Moisture does not have much of a gasoline smell and I am thinking it is antifreeze & oil. I also see, at the back end of the block, a simillar fresh residue near the back most middle nut on the head. So I am 90% sure this is a blown head gasket. Tough to tell if the oil is "milky" or not, but I am pretty sure that the stuff the exhaust is throwing out is a mix of antifreeze & oil.

So, my questions are:

1) Is this the most likely issue and

2) How hard is it to do this job at home? It does not look terribly difficult but I am trying to decide if it is better sent out. Also, is there a better technical guide than the 1938-39 shop manual? It gives the torque specs but no torque sequence, and no dissasembly/re-assembly steps.

3) If I do decide to do this is there a recomended gasket for this car and are there any specific issues to look out for doing the job?

4) Is it necessary to remove the hood to do this?

Thanks, Steve

FIRST, try torquing the head. Maybe put 5 pounds more on the bolts near the leak if just the retorque does not work.

Start at the Center most bolts, working diagonaly toward each end of the head.

Believe the info in the later engine manual will be almost identical for your needs. Maybe some differences but sequence and procedure should be similar. You can check it out to see.https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/servicemanual4650/Section5.pdf

Here is the torque sequence chart out of that manual.

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Very easy engine to work on,you should have no trouble doing this at home.
You need to properly diagnose the problem.
Easy to check , remove and inspect the spark plugs . Inspect for anything that looks like coolant on the plugs. Rock the engine over slowly.I prefer to leave the trans in 2nd gear and rock the car a little.best to do it slow because if coolant has filled the cylinder it will look like old faithful when it exits the plug hole.
If it does have coolant in one or more of the cylinders its best to get the head off and cylinders cleaned asap.Let the oil drain out while your installing the new gasket.Keep your best buddy's favorite beverage available,the cylinder head is heavy and best handled by two .
Take the head to your machine shop for inspection and and machining if needed.Taking the hood off isn't necessary,but it sure would be nice not to bang your head.

Worth a shot to try to tighten them. I read that recommendation on here not long after I got my car and found some of the nuts quite low. Probably saved me a head gasket.

And if it is too late, as has been stated they can be worked on fairly easily....time and patience (and a friend to help lift it)

Hi there,

An easy enough job to replace the gasket, did it several times before an engine rebuild.

I lifted the head off myself by standing over the engine
(Health and Safety people look away!), the 8 head is amazingly heavy! While replacing the head I likewise did the job myself, only problem was when the head was reluctant to go the last few inches. I, in my stupidity, had my fingers underneath and when the head suddenly dropped my fingers were jammed solid between head and block.

My cell phone was sitting uselessly in my pocket and my garage, constructed to keep noise in, did exactly what it was supposed to do!

Eventually I dragged my fingers out, but had to remove the head again to remove lumps of skin off the gasket!

The solution is to place several pices of wood across the block to prevent the head suddednly dropping thus saving your fingers for more important tasks.

Pat.

G'day Steve,
to PackardInfo. Remiss of my as I should have done this earlier when you first postedQuote: and for including your '39 in the Owner Registry it looks great!

But back to the question at hand, here are some pic's from an old Motors Manual.

PS - Click on each pic to enlarge in a new window.

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I don't recall if anyone answered one of your questions, but yes you can remove the head without removing the hood. And while the head if off, it's a good time to have it checked for flatness and/or cracks. But if it's only ten or so thousands out of flat, resist having it surfaced if you possibly can; you won't know how many times that might have been done in the past and you could run into valve clearance issues which can become unpleasant problem to resolve. It would also be a good time to take a look at the condition of the valve faces and seats. Check the top of the block for cracks and pray you find none, they usually originate at an exhaust valve seat and progress towards a cylinder.

Thanks guys, this is all very helpful information for a newbie. I think the gasket is shot, based on the leakage level, and while a few accesories need to come off under the hood, this does look pretty easy. Packard did not even stick the distributor through the head like it was on my Model A! (But I DO expect the head to be just a bit heavier, and have bribed a friend to help on that already.) Will post an update on this, but again thank you all very much.

Interesting that the Packard manual does not show the tightening sequence but a general repair book from the era does! That will be a big help.

Best, Steve

When taking it off, I also used those small blocks of wood to slowly lift the head off. Started by prying it up a little and put a small piece of wood in the gap. I did put a 32 super 8 head back on by myself by stacking small pieces of wood at each end of the block. Just took at one piece of wood at a time. It's a heavy sucker.