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

Well, I did nothing, which is why I asked about the choke and rich idle setting. The engine ran decently with 2 or 3 blown cyls, ie, that were running on a fuel air water cocktail. It seems to me that since the air is whatever comes thru the carb and is therefore relatively constant,, and water does not burn, there has to be more fuel to get the cocktail to explode. This would make the non blown ones too rich, but they still fired.
It seems to me that removing the water from the cocktail by retorquing would not cause it to not start, but rather to run badly because it's too rich. Or maybe I flooded it. I put a screwdriver in the carb to hold the choke open, so that should evap all fuel from any cyl with an open intake valve. I'll check the carb manual as to the choke and idle mixture setting tonite and set them before I try to start it. It'll have a full charge then.

Yes the carb could have/or cause the mentioned problems....but,
the last operation of an overhaul or repair or tune up is carburation, if EVERYTHING else isn't right carburation cannot be used to fix engine/exhaust/timing/fuel/electrical issues/mechanical issues. When inspecting the carb, something as little as the heat path to the choke system can cause the carb to flood the engine causing difficult to hard starting and carbon build up in the chambers/spark plugs. So yes the carb could be the problem but putting a new carb on does not fix the mechanical linkage that uses heat to activate the choke system. All I'm saying here is, sometimes it's the little things that "get-ya".

Owen_Dyneto gets the cigar! The manual says that the idle mixture screws should be about 1 turn out. They were 3-4 turns out! I screwed them in carefully, and backed them out 1 turn. I set the automatic choke as in specs at index. I hit the starter and it.... fired right up! I ran it to get it up to temp. It was still running rich, but running. Once at temp, I noticed that the automatic choke flapper was still 3/4 closed, and it was still running rich. Time to find the WDO manual! Thanks for all of your suggestions! This forum really is a great resource. Now to defornicate the carb...

On the choke, I generally set it cold so that it just lightly closes without paying any attention to the index marks. I think the specs say something similar but that they close it a mark or so more after that. Anyway, that should at least be a good place to start.

I'm most always reluctant to trust at face value the correctness of the index marks on the automatic choke. Don's method is one way to get a good approximate setting but I go the other way and get my preliminary setting with the engine fully warmed to operating temperature. I then set the choke fully open with a hint of spring tension holding it in that position; my rationale is that for a preliminary setting I'd rather it be a little too lean than a little too rich.

Great Advice, guys, but I'm not there yet. Without having looked at it in a couple of days, it appears that the choke flapper/butterfly is about half closed when the engine is warmed up and idling. Is this what its supposed to do, and increased throttle pulls it all the way open? Or is it supposed to be all the way open? Also, when it is half closed and warmed up, its still on the fast idle cam. Am I just not letting it run long enough? By "warmed up" I mean the thermos has opened and the gauge is reading. Infrared Heat gun tells me its 180-220 degrees, depending on where I put it. Maybe the exhaust tube from the manifold to the choke housing is clogged, but it looks pretty new.

When warmed up, the choke should be fully open and on the slow idle cam and these things should happen fairly quickly. In other words, the choke should fully open as soon as the engine starts to get warm because it is sucking in hot air from the manifold so be sure your heat-riser is working. Similarly it should move from the cold-idle cam when warm,

The plate or "flapper" should NOT be shut when the engine is warm. There is a simple adjustment on the round black
bakelite cover on the side of the carburetor, loosening the three small screws around the perimeter of the cover should move the flapper directly, a rough adjustment can be made to rotate the cover toward "lean" just enough that the flapper is vertical.
A couple of things might not allow this to work, there is, under that black cap, a coiled spring, a peg, on the back of the cover, has to fit into a loop at the end of this spring. If the cover was put on improperly or the spring is broken.Other problems might involve a restricted tube that the hot air is drawn through.
Sorry Packard Don just repeating you

Went out to deal with the carb last nite with a pal. Fired it up and he noticed some liquid around a spark plug so he pulled out the plug. And lost it. Of course, no old one around. Found it under the blast cabinet after a 10 minute search. Liquid was some from heater hose install. Ran it up to temp. Block was 200 degrees. Exhaust was 276. Heat riser tube was....
84. That explains the choke problem. Put a screwdriver in it and adjusted the timing a slosh. Then it would not start. No fire. Took off the cap, things look ok, still no fire. Substandard language in abundance. End of coil wire had collapsed. Replaced wire. Fired right up, still running rich. Leaned out left screw, still running rich. Leaned out right screw. Makes no difference at all. Put hand over carb cutting off 3/4 air... runs perfectly.

With a bad heat tube, no working idle mixture screw, and MASSIVE AIR LEAK, removed carb, sent to be rebuilt.

While the carb is being rebuilt, it's time to deal with some minor issues.

1. My car has a beautiful set of modern stainless steel hose clamps on every hose. Unfortunately they did not have them in 49. In researching this, I learned way too much about hose clamps, but also not enough. First, let's get the terminology straight. The shiny stainless ones from the auto parts store are aircraft clamps. The ones with towers used by Ford are called towers. The wire ones are called wires. The springy large ones that you attempt to get off with pliers are Corbin. The smaller flat ones with tabs for the pliers are spring clamps. There is one more, which are sort of like aircraft but the screw goes into a nut (like wires). So- what hose clamps were on a 23rd 2&&?

2. How on earth does the rear reading lamp lens and bezel go in? Also, is that light activated by the door switches like the under dash lights are? It's not clear in the wiring diagram, which is for a 4 door. Mine is a club sedan.