Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

hello bobby:
you give good advice as i already found out. yesterday afternoon i took off the after market fuel filter, which is less than a year old & looked at it more closely. it was very dirty, looks like rust sediment...... So i replaced that and bought an extra one to have on hand.....
than i went back to recheck the last tune up. i checked the timing and it was off. so i reset it. although i am curious to know why the timing was off........I pulled 1 pllug & it was black.
i took the car out for a drive after i tried to adjust the carb....
the car ran well. much better....
as far as the dirty fuel filter goes i think the last fill up ,( and i filled the tank full) prob loosened up all that debris etc. i never fill the tank , i just put in 5 gal here and there.

while doing all of this i uncoverd another problem:
several wks. ago i replaced the exhaust gasket where the flange is under the carb area. easy job . all went well. after, i checked and no popping noise and i could feel no air leaking out. YESTERDAY I NOTICED IT WAS LEAKING AGAIN.
when i installed the new gasket there was no sign of an old gasket. My quest. is what is the engine telling me.????
advice anyone????
as always thanks for all your help!

Tim, if your tank is pulling rust, etc, you should drop the tank and clean it out. You're on borrowed time, and if the debris gets past the filter it can really do some damage to the carb, fuel pump, etc. If you only put in 5 gals. ( I understand your logic, but..) you increase the probability of this happening, as there's less fluid(gas) to dilute the yuck. Dropping the tank is pretty easy, btw...

I'm glad you were able to recheck and reset the timing. In the future, if you notice she pings a bit at higher speeds, instead of adding diesel to reduce detonation, just retard the timing a degree or two.

The issue you're having now with the gasket is common, after installation, a new gasket often needs to be re torqued after the initial pressure squeezes it down..IDK what the proper torque is, but initially what i do is snug it down, and then come back *later* after running it for a while and re snug it. You don't want to make it so tight that you mash it. Check now to make sure that didn't happen.

hey, thanks for the advice. good advice on the exhaust gasket and i will follow up with that.

working on the tank has been on my mind. i already bought the chemical kit to clean and etch the tank etc. the insulation for the straps and have located a radiator shop to check the solder points where the drain plug is and the fuel line attachment. I always thought the gas gauge worked , but when i drove it to the station the guage was on empty , but the tank only took 11 gallons. I always thought guages worked or didn't.....
so when i drop the tank i will need to fix the sending unit as well....
so much fun to look forward to.
i agree with you that i need to look into this sooner than later. if not i am better to keep the tank full rather than on the low side.

The float may have developed a small leak and therefor would not register properly. Double check it when you pull it out.

Tim, If the engine pings on your timing setting you will need to RETARD it a couple of degrees. ADVANCING the timing will only make it ping more.

(o[]o)

JW is right...you RETARD the timing....I knew that...(why did I type advance?).

You can check my blog for the tank resto. Been there, done that. I am posting here details of how I repaired my sender float:


1. I drilled a small hole,1/16" or less will work, in each end of one side of the float.

2. Using compressed air, I blew into one hole until all of the old gas came out the other. Much like you would blow out an egg for Easter.

3. Then I added soapy water into the float- Dawn works well- and shook it to clean all the gas and varnish.

4. Blow out again and repeat step 3 as necessary.

5. While you are still in the soapy water phase, you will notice that the introduction of air into the float will reveal where the leaks are- foamy bubbles will appear there. Make a note of the location. Mine was around the center where the wire hanger attaches.

6. Rinse thoroughly, and blow it completely dry inside and out.

7. Solder the leaks.

8. Using step 3, test to see if the leaks are closed. If bubbles only come out of the holes you drilled, proceed to step 9.

9. Rinse and dry again, and solder up the holes you drilled. Should be good to go!

I used one of those little butane soldering torches with plumbers solder and flux, if I remember correctly.

thanks for this info joeyearl. i am so glad to have it.

I now have the car back to running much better. thanks everyone.!!! i will play with it more today and tomorrow.
the main problem of the engine being rough at about 50mph.....
that was the cause of the timing and points being off. this i don't understand because not too long ago i put in all new points condensor. plugs wires etc, cap and rotor and had a "mechanic friend " check my work and all ok. then when i finally got enough sense to follow the evidence i recheck and the timing etc. whas off. maybe tomorrow i will go for a long drive and see what happens.
if the adjustments don't 'hold' i will let you all know.
now i have my tank to clean, float and sending unit to check. and my list can go on for ever lol.this is so much fun . i love it ... for me this is like play time.
but i need to keep this to a minimum as i need to build a shop or garage!!!!!! so i can't get carried away.
thanks guys

For your 52 -- if the float turns out to be in bad shape & not worth repairing, new brass floats are available from many of the 50's Ford suppliers as is the sender.

Glad it worked out, Tim. As a general rule, when I putter with some part of the car, and as a result, something doesn't seem quite right afterwards, the first thing I do is recheck what i just did. Points, etc., are not as simple as they sound, if they're not done precisely..you see the result. This is more likely if the repair is one you're not familiar with.

The only reasons I can think of for timing to change is either a loose vacuum hose or a lose distributor nut (if you forgot/did tighten adequately).