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

Thanks, Deluxe. Many of us here gathered'd welcome the pictorial saga of your shock rebuild, if even only out of curiosity,
as i sent mine off to Five Points Classic Auto Shocks in Santa Ana, had them set extra firm, not that that likely makes discernable difference in my '47 Super Clipper or any of our fairly heavy 1941-50 cars using these same type lever shocks.
Switched to urethane front sway bar bushings and would've gone to a stouter front sway bar but noticed the postwar Clipper 148-inch wb. limousine uses the same sway bar, same part number as my 127-in. wb sedan.

Car drives well and am happy, but as i view Packards as luxe road cars, like to set them up with an eye to such spirit while remaining essentially stock, even tho' i drive sedately, "....enjoying the ride," as the Nissan commercials put it.

Any lever shock mavens here who can tell me if rocking my car vigorously up and down should it sit a few months between runs helps keep these shocks' seals healthy?

What weight of oil do you use in the shocks?

".....for refillable shock absorbers I use Mobil DTE-24 (SAE 10) or DTE-25 (SAE 20) hydraulic oil." Quote from an older publication of mine on lubricants and fluids. If the shock leaks, don't expect a more viscous fluid to reduce the leakage much if at all, but it should give a somewhat firmer response to jounce,.

The oil that I used was AW-46 hydraulic oil. I am pleased with the resulting action. The car handles very nicely and rides very smooth if the road gets a little rough.

Just curious, what is the brand name or manufacturer of the AW-46 and what is it's viscosity?

Manufacturer should not matter. AW-46 is an industry standard. The viscosity is listed in a couple of ways. There is "cSt" which stands for centistokes which is measured at 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) That's what the 46 means. That transfers to a viscosity listing of 100. The "AW " stands for "Anti Wear". It has excellent anti-foaming properties, that's one of the reasons I chose it for the shocks. It has a flash point is 227 degrees Celsius, which is 441 degrees Fahrenheit. I called it hydraulic oil because that is what I have seen it primarily used for. But I also have used it for headstock gear box oil in some rather large lathes.

Article is is up! A BIG thanks to BigKev for his help in getting it converted from a Word document to a pdf file.

I refilled the shocks on a '41 Clipper using shock fluid I bought at a parts house that specialized in vintage English car parts. The fluid was available in 3 grades from "soft" to "firm" and having gone with the "firm" was pleased with the difference in ride and handling. I don't remember a brand name because they sold it from bulk supply.