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

I know you have to have the radiator, water pump, etc. out to remove the tube. Do you have to remove the grill on a 1951 to slide out the water distribution tube?

On my 53 clipper I was able to leave the grill in. It was tight getting it out though. If your car is beautiful and you don't want anything scratching the grill remove it, but if it is a driver it should be fine.

I removed and replaced the water distribution tube on my 54 Patrician w/o removing the grille. I was too long ago to remember details but I do recall using a jack to push the engine slightly one way or the other. Other than that, no problem. Same with removing the camshaft, it does come out thru the grille opening.

If one turns out to be bad are there replacements or would it be something to try to reproduce?

Max Merritt carries NOS ones for $195, so they are out there, but supplies are dwindling. It's highly unlikely to be bad -- in fact, I don't know what CAN go bad, since all they can do is get dirty or be broken by human intervention -- but if it is, it's not cheap. Why are you pulling it out? Speaking from experience, these things are very delicate and are more likely to be damaged from being taken out and stored outside of the block than they are to be bad. I just ruined one the other day...luckily it was a spare and not the one I've been using.

I have a spare used one if you need it. $85 plus shipping. But pull the old one first and check it. Use the search feature to see discussions on how to remove it. Bet it's not bad.

I pulled one out of a mopar 6 cyl that had a rear cylinder hot spot it was tough to get out as the get crusted in place but was glad I did the rear hole was crudded shut so no " cool" water getting sprayed back there on the guides and seats. The hot spots. would have never gotten the hot spots out it's pressed into a tube so u can pry up one front corner . grab it with a needle nose vice grip and roll it inward to shrink it then it slides out ruined tho so I f it's stuck get a new one ,I put descaler in the block let is soak and the flushed it with the garden hose ,sorry EPA!

Another reason to examine the distribution tube is that some late 30s junior Packards have been found with steel distribution tubes. Whether these were original or perhaps service replacements with substandard parts I don't know. But if I found I had a steel distribution tube I'd remove it before it looks like the one shown and replace it with the proper brass one. Removing all the fragments of this one was one supreme PITA.

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Was reading one of the Model Garage stories today and the subject was water distribution tubes. Fellow came in with car gauge reading hot but no other bad symptoms. Had to have the car fixed in a short time or the fellow would be out of a job. Gus saved the day by doing the usual checks on the engine, radiator and gauge in no time at all and then diagnosing the tube as the most likely culprit. Interesting part of the story was how he removed the old and inserted the new without pulling the radiator since that would have taken too much time.

Old tube removal was not a problem. It apparently was rusted in pieces like the one in the photo posted. Since this was a 1949-50 story and a tube was rusted, wonder if replacement tubes during and maybe just before or after the war were made of steel instead of brass and a reason for the steel tubes occasionally found?? I digress -- At any rate the new "quality" brass tube Gus installed in a hurry was done by cutting the tube on three sides several times at a distance a bit shorter than that between block and radiator. He then bent the tube at the cuts so it would fit in that space. Slide a section in, straighten and solder the tube shut then slide to the next bend, straighten and solder and repeat until the tube was fully in.

Gist of this post is since this story was in a national magazine, wonder how many mechanics -- shade tree or otherwise -- decided to take a short cut in their own repairs. If anyone has run across a strangely cut and soldered tube, this might explain it.