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

Since the engine and transmission are out of the car I am trying to look at other things to ensure the car is safe and reliable for my dad.

The steering gear at the front is leaking oil through the hole that the horn wire exits the steering gear.

I bought a replacement gasket / seal kit from Maxx Meritt.

Is there anything I should do when replacing the front cover gasket other than the expected remove four bolts and replace gasket and re-install four bolts.

Should I remove the steering gear and disassemble, grease it up, and do any kind of adjustments?

I was told that the gear shifter mechanism might need to be inspected

I am in the process of adding power steering to the car as my dad would like PS so perhaps this might be a good time to even think about replacing the non-PS gear with a PS car unit to get the advantage of the closer ratio. Does any one have a good serviceable PS steering gear for sale?


Any suggestions and advice is greatly appreciated!!!

Bill

Bill,
If you haven't already, I would take a look at the shop manual, as it covers this in detail.
The hole for the horn wire is the end of a tube that extends above the oil level. So, hard to imagine a leak where it exits, unless there is a problem where the tube is pressed into the bottom plate.
The tube also makes it a bit more difficult to remove the bottom plate. You may have some disassembly to do.
Also note that those gaskets are actually a set of shims that adjust the gear play, also covered in the shop manual.
Can't help with power steering.
Good Luck,
Mark

I added power steering to a 1952 but it was much easier due to it being an option anyway. I had to make the bracket to weld to the frame on the driver's side but, as I was a journeyman prototype machinist with a machine shop at my disposal, that was easy and the guys who welded it on charged only a case of beer. After that, everything just bolted in.

The steering gearboxes were the same as I recall but the Pitman arm was longer on the PS version which gave the car a slightly tighter turning radius. That was great because it was a 156" wheelbase Henney-Packard and really helped both with steering and parking. As I'm sure you've discovered by now, a 1948 needs a bit more work for the installation.

By the way, I am also in San Jose, CA.

The steering gearboxes were the same....

Not true. The steering gear boxes may have been the same externally but with power steering they had a different internal gear ratio to provide less turns lock-to-lock.