Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

My mechanic opened up the torque converter on my 56 Patrician and found a mess. Years ago I heard of a "wavey washer" that would give out and pretty well ruin the converter. Maybe that is what happened.


At any rate, I need either a lot or parts or another converter. A rebuilt one is about $800. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

It is my understanding that the 55 and 56 converters are not interchangable.

Thanks,
Bernardi

Yeah, the wave washer did not prove to be an improvement; IIRC it was upgraded once during production to a hardened or phosphatized wave washer or something similar. As the washer disintegerates into little pieces of sharp steel it just churnes around and chews the living heck out of the turbine blades. The best bet is to just eliminate it and return (hopefully before it disintegratges) to the 55 arrangement. Kanter sells a wave-washer eliminator kit and has so for quite some years. Most of the better Ultramatic rebuilders are aware of this weakness and routinely make the change.

There may still be a few NOS units around, if not used 56 converters should be plentiful, I'd give Mike Dulinksi a try, that's where I got my spare unit.

The 56 input shaft has a fine grove, and the 55 is not. That is one of many changes fron 55 to 56, no they will not interchange.

I do not know on price, but call around, use the PAC yellow pages, and

ultramaticdynamics.com

Ross would be another one,

There are others, around to check as well.

I can not tell you about their work, because I have not used any of them.

EDIT: found another one to ask,
restorationhydramatics.com

Again, I do not know about the work, just saw the listing.

EDIT: I had heard of another guy somewhere in Kansas or Missouri, and I can not find the information. Does anyone else know?

My memory was that the washer was a fiber washer...and that it was removed; it was engineering overkill with nasty collateral damage potential....

The washer was spring steel and was deleted in assembly around mid 56 production. If you are a DIY guy be very careful with the converter as the non spinning items are balanced as a unit and must be marked during dis-assembly. Any spinning internal units such as DD clutch plate are individually balanced, as is the DD clutch piston which is non spinning but floating within the converter. Most Auto gearbox shops have no idea about the Ultramatic so go to someone who advertises expertise with this box. Some are mentioned in previous threads. PT

I would contact Joel Ray, AKA "Packards1" here on Packardinfo, I think he may have a NOS unit available.

peter ?...packard dynamics,,i think thats it...he is in the PI ads.

Thank you one and all for your suggestions. Mike Dulinski is looking over his parts to see if he has a 56 torque converter that hasn't suffered internal damage.

Wish I had known about the the balancing of the non-spinning items a little earlier. Apparently my mechanic knew or lucked out, as the 55 he rebuilt was apparently done correctly.

I've driven the car several hundred miles since the Ultramatiac was rebuilt,and recently the car has developed a noticeable vibration about 35 to 40 MPH. Somewhere the mechanic read of this happening if one of the internal valves malfunctioned. The description he mentioned was a "shudder" rather than vibration. Anyone familiar with that?

One last question - how does one post a photo here?

Thanks again. This site and you folks are invaluable and much appreciated.

Bernardi

Adding pictures to posts is relatively straightforward. This is taken from the FAQ concerning adding Packards to the Owner Registry -

"To do this, you will first need the picture required to be saved to the harddrive of your PC, Mac or Laptop. The picture must be a .JPG or .jpg only format File and picture size limitations apply. (Refer to FAQ - WEBSITE: Photo Posting Guide Lines) Click into the blank field or onto the Browse button, select the picture you previously saved to your harddrive and save that picture to your post".

There is also a FAQ for Image Resizing which may prove helpful too.

I would be very concerned about the vibration at 35 - 40 mph. If you develop an oil leak it will be at the converter snout as this held on by 6 bolts at 15 ft lbs and they will loosen quickly. Most mechanics blame the large seal in the ultramatic bell housing but it is more of a dust seal and does not have any fluid pressure agaist it. Drive it a few more hundred miles and if you develop a leak, it is because the original Packard Production converter balance job has been compromised. The only "shudder' which occurs with an Ultramatic is when the Direct Drive clutch engages under less than favourable circumstances....such as with almost zero throttle pressure and rear pump pressure at front to rear pump changeover and 20 mph under heavy throttle. If you can understand the last sentenence you should probably be running this country... Good luck. PT