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Plastic cable ties. Home Depot or wherever.

Haven't been on for a while. Been driving and tinkering.

Learned a couple of things:

1. Manual transmissions can leak. Mine was down on lube. Drained and re-lubed with some seal sweller/softener added. I'll see if it still leaks down the road. Seems to shift better into 2nd, without having to wait as long to avoid a "crunch." Maybe loosened up the synchronizers?

2. Front springs do not last forever. Left front has notably sagged lower then RF. No room even for a shim, because coils are so close together. Think I'll replace both.

3. Sure rides nicer after mechanic got lube chart to find ALL the zerks. This chart is in shop manual. I TOLD him I thought it said the U-joints should have 140 wt. gear oil. He greased them. I checked the chart again: even though they look like plain grease zerks, they are NOT supposed to be greased, but lubed with 140 wt. using a grease gun. I drove it a few miles with the grease in there, but I doubt it hurt anything. Going back tomorrow for correct lube.

4. The Mechanic got the instrument panel out. Lubed the speedo cable. He used STP which I think was OK, although manual calls for grease. He said the cable was burned in two places. It doesn't make any noise, but still pulses a little on the dial.

5. Temp and Fuel gauge still not working. Mechanic checked the circuit breaker to them behind the panel, and it had power. He thought it was the voltage regulato, which the manual says is part of the circuit for sending power to those gauges.

NOW THE QUESTION: Where the heck is the Voltage Regulator for the Instruments? Both the Temp and Fuel gauges can be affected if the regulator isn't working or isn't grounded, according to the shop manual. BUT the shop manual does not give any hint where it is. The mechanic said he thought it was under the middle of the dash.

Any thoughts?

Many Thanks.

I TOLD him I thought it said the U-joints should have 140 wt. gear oil. He greased them. I checked the chart again: even though they look like plain grease zerks, they are NOT supposed to be greased, but lubed with 140 wt. using a grease gun.

Packard called for gear oil on the king pins and universal joints for many years, for example on my 34, though Texaco and other independent lube charts of the era indicated chassis grease. Here's the issue as I understand it: There is a small reservoir in the center of the universal joint, if it's filled with gear oil the oil will gradually "spin" out to the cups over a period of time from centrifugal force at a rate allowed by the seepage of the cork seals; this gives lubrication over a lengthened interval. Grease, being immobile, it kind of a "one-shot" lube and is good for as long as the seals retain the grease. So, assuming the seals are reasonably effective I wouldn't be concerned about using grease on the universals but I'd be giving them a shot of grease more often. And DON'T use a high pressure grease gun as it can damage the seals, just use a hand grease gun with modest pressure. And if the seals are not reasonably tight, neither method will be adequate.

The situation with regard to the older style king pins is similar; over time the gear oil, loaded from the top to a reservoir, would continue under the force of gravity to seep down to the lower bearing and provide a longer interval of lubrication which grease, being less mobile, wouldn't do. But using grease is OK IMO as long as you do it often enough and the internal passages remain open. But once you use grease for the first time, the lube passage to the lower bearing is essentially plugged so if you revert back to oil, the oil may no longer be able to pass thru the grease.

So, IMO once you've used grease on either one, if you want to revert to gear oil you really need to either take it apart and clean the grease out, or flush it enough times with gear oil to make sure the passages are clear of grease. For me, I went to grease on my universals and king pins many years ago before I was aware of these nuances so I've stuck with it, just using the grease gun more frequently will no ill effects.

I'm fairly certain the instrument current regulator is mounted to the rear of the instrument cluster, same as prior years - others will correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Thanks to you, Owen_Dyneto.

This was what I was thinking of as a possibility. I don't know if the mechanic used a hand gun, but probably. He's pretty smart and old-school. But it's great to get confirmation about using grease, and a great explanation for why the 140 was originally specced. We used to have grease guns with 140 oil in them for farm equipment, but of course, it's unheard of now. You saved me from trying to locate such a gun. Thanks!

The mechanic insisted that he found the voltage regulator up under the dash. It sounded like it was near the instrument panel but not attached to it. I'm going to try crawling around under there myself. The shop manual, although it discussed the regulator, gives no hint where it is located as far as I could see.

As you say, somebody out there has probably got some information on the placement of the voltage regulator for the instrument panel. The book says this has a direct effect on the Fuel and Temp gauges, so the information might be very useful to those for whom those two gauges are inoperative.

Perhaps someone with experience can shed some light on those coil springs, as well. I'm thinking, just replace them. I have a new set of shocks donated by the previous owner ,which could be installed at that time too. They're JC Whitney specials, though, so what I have on there might be worth just keeping. But, then again, maybe the old shocks could be the reason for the tilted front end?

I will have some pics to go with this, including my trick shim for the accelerator linkage. Be ready to be unimpressed. But it works!

Voltage regulator is mounted at the bottom of the gauge cluster in between two circuit breakers. A short wire from it feeds both temp and gas gauges. If the regulator is hanging by its wires, it will not work as the case of it needs to be grounded.

Packards illustrations are somewhat lacking at times. This is the only one I found showing the relative position of the regulator. IIRC, It shares screws with the bottom of speedo and here they show it dismounted while they change the speedo. As Ross said, if your mechanic found it "up and under the dash" and not screwed to the cluster that could be the issue. The regulator case has to be grounded for it to work.

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Can this work be done without removing the instrument cluster? I think by "dash" my mechanic meant the middle of the instrument cluster, as you have pointed out.

I have looked at that photo illustration (which is not of a '54 panel, obviously), and wouldn't have known what that thing was hanging down there without the arrow you supplied.

Unfortunately I didn't have this advice for the mechanic when he pulled the panel, which is lost labor. But I might crawl around underneath to see what I can see. Good thing it's at the bottom of the cluster.

Thank you one and all.

Can this work be done without removing the instrument cluster?

Yes, easy enough but easier yet if you're younger and more easily contorted for a few minutes.

Here's a picture of the back of my instrument cluster, without most of the wires in the way. The instrument power regulator mounts in the center right under the speedo, between the circuit breakers. This is looking from the top rear.

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Regarding the coil springs, I had a similar problem with the left front sagging on my '54 Convertible. Both shocks were leaking, so I replaced them first hoping that would help with the sagging. No such luck as riding height is a function of the springs and springs alone. By jacking the frame up I was able to get a spring spreader into the left coil, but it just made the spring look crooked or even broken even though it wasn't. So I then replaced both front springs. What a difference in the ride that made! The car rides level, handles better and I've stopped wincing when encountering bumps and potholes. So in your case I'd recommend replacing both the shocks and the springs. It'll make a difference that you'll really feel in the ride.