Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Thanks, have you gotten tired with this question? Growing up in South Florida I did not see snow until I was 16 much know about heaters or heating oil. To me a home heater is a .357 in the night table .

Questions are good, especially when dealing with a 53 year old car. You'll find that few people, today, even know how to time one, adjust carburettors, etc, let alone have any idea how to adjust the throttle shift control linkage and a plethora of other things as well. Nearly everything on modern autos is controlled electronically by computer. Before I started working on mine, myself, I paid some highly qualified, "experts," big money to screw it up. Now I do it myself. At least I don't have anyone else to blame when it's screwed up.

Mikec - I had to go back and re-read your post on the oil change procedure. I've used a lot of different fluids (transmission fluid, etc) to clean out a gummed up engine but never ran across that particular use for diesel fuel before although it sounds logical that it would work. Am a strong believer in MMO. Once had a car with a MMO top-cylinder lubricator installed on it.

questions are good, man. thats how we all learn!

the diesel trick was recommended to me by an older gentleman who used that trick many times on his own vehicles. he has a very nice car collection.

my family (lots of mechanics) has been using marvel for as long as we can remember with excellent results. the mix i suggested above is what i used with awsome results. it freed the lifters in seconds and kept them clean.

I am a firm believer is MMO. Two years ago I parked both my 49 convertible and my 47 Custom. I fully intended to winterize them, put fuel stabilizer in, etc. But, you know the rest. They both sat for about a year and a half. I did start them once or twice during that time.

When I retrieved the cars the 49 with the 327 started but ran poorly. The 47 with the 356 started and ran fine. Long story short, the 356 has a upper cylinder lube system from MMO and the 327 does not. I had to un-stick the valves on the 327 by removing the valve covers and manifolds. Then soaking them in MMO and Blaster. Never had a bit of trouble with the 356.

Again I say, I am a firm believer in MMO, at least as an upper cylinder lubricator.

I am frustrated also by the "expert" mechanics, I tried the MMO as suggested but could not find the diesel. I therefore only put in one quart of MMO. She started with the lifter click but within seconds it was gone. Five minutes later the clicking was back but closer to the front of the engine. I drained out another half quart and put in the same MMO. Still nothing. The car is level on front risers and I just let it idle should I reve it up or try more MMO or even the Kerosine or drive it gently for a few miles? What is the level of damage that I could be causing. Could a short blast of air from the compressor into one of the outlets in oil filter clear the clog. What really is on the other side of the Moon (sorry wrong forum) Thanks

Knowing what I do about diesel fuel and home heating oil, I cannot see why you couldn't just go to a service station that sells diesel fuel and buy a gallon of diesel. You might want to wait for some input from one of the other folks (mikec) regarding this but I do not believe there'd be much difference in this particular application. You're not going to run it any longer than it takes to clean the inside of your engine, anyway, before replacing with your regularly used motor oil.

If you've explored this forum you probably already know that the Packard V8 is prone to oiling problems and that lifter clatter is the first symptom noticeable. Proceed with your engine cleaning operation and see how it turns out but, if the lifter clatter continues, you definitely want to look at it. There is plenty of info on this website on the oiling issue. I do not recall how many miles are on your car and know that you probably don't know what kind of repairs or maintenance were done on it prior to your acquiring it.

The saga continues with the engine noise. I have tried all of the suggestions and the sound disappears only for a a few moments. It looks that the noise is not coming from the lifters as I have been told by another "expert" that it coming from the connecting rods. That involves pulling the engine and he suspects that the gas leak has "washed" the bearings. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks

Noisy lifters and rapping rod bearings are distinctly different sounds and a good mechanic should be able to tell them apart rather easily. Washing the bearings from lots of gasoline diluting the crankcase oil is certainly possible, but if you want to be sure, drop the oil pan and inspect the bearings. At some point I believe all owners of V8 Packards should be doing this even in the absence of problems, if for no other reason than to clean the pan and intake screen, and get some peace of mind.

Any idea of prior history of this engine? Total mileage? What kind of care it had? Frequency of oil/filter changes, etc.?

i said off road diesel because of the higher sulphur/lubricity content.

i do alot of diesel mechanics, and ive seen alot of problems due to the lack of lubricity in modern ulsd (on road diesel)
i suppose it would be fine for a short run.

It is possible that the gas leak washed the bearings, that does happen. the only way to tell would be to drop the pan and pull main bearing caps to see.

The Packard had a frame off restoration in 1990. From the photos it was a real mess. It appears to have been resembled nicely and been driven afterwords in a Southern town for a number of year and in storage for a couple more. Milage is estimate at 65K, looking at the engine and underneath it is clean and well assembled. Sold to us with a "strong engine". The engine was started and ran smoothly however we never drove it beyond putting it on the trailer, jumpy brakes and the fear of unknown fluids kept me from taking it out. The noise only occurred after the oil change and radiator flush and stopped for a few moments after I added a quart to MMO. Does the engine need to be pulled for this and does it need to be pulled for a leaking rear engine seal?