Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Hey John,

Maybe we got our wires crossed here somewhere; Classic Tube supplies ONLY the steel lines. Could the kit you're referring to, be a brake overhaul package from Kanters or one of our suppliers??? Chris

Yes, sorry for any confusion, I was referring to the Kanter kit

Digging into this more now that I have one backing plate off, I see that the rear axle seals need to be replaced. The outer one is simple, coming off with one of the backing plate covers. Inner one looks like it requires pulling the axle. And since I'm that deep into in , might as well inspect and repack the rear bearings

With that said, how are the rear axles removed? Do they come loose once I remove the backing plates or do I need to remove the differential cover and pinion to gain access to the u-style clips in the diff?

You've done the hard part getting the drums off of the axles. Good for you to do all the maintenance while working on the rear brakes. The axles can easily be pulled out after the backing plates are removed. Be sure to keep track of the shims on each side and do not mix them up. They provide the necessary end play between the axle and a center block inside the differential. Check the bearings and races for wear. Bearings, races and seals are readily available. When finally assembling the drums back onto the axles make sure the axle tapers are clean and dry and the mating surface in the drums likewise. The axle nuts are torqued very tightly, around 250 lbs. Good luck. JWL

Thanks JW !! Your reply made my day, did not want to have to pull the differential apart. Rear drums came off relatively easily with a puller and a rapping with a 5# hammer on the puller

I started to come to this conclusion when I read the rear axle end play is adjusted with shims, but didn't want to dig further until I heard from others.

BTW, right rear brake had not worked for awhile, as evident by the terribly frozen and corroded wheel cylinder and left one was leaking but working. I am replacing shoes, cylinders, all springs and hardware along with the 3 flex lines, doing a complete overhaul on all 4 wheels. ALso ordered new axle seals and gaskets.

Funny things is, this all started after a small drive with several car club cars when someone stated the obvious, "Hey your brake lights are dim". Did some research, found some "PLUG IN" positive ground LED's and that's when the fun started. Started with rewiring with period correct cotton covered wires, and noticed a dripping wheel.....rest is history

Also, a huge increase in tail light brightness was had by simply sanding then polishing the rear tail light bulb bracket. Mine were just a dark gray and polished up nicely. Then I media blasted the inside of the tailight hpousing and spray painrted them with a reflective silver.

Even in more modern cars, people usually fail to flush the brakes annually which leads to degraditaion of the rubber bits including the hoses. Personally, I always use synthetic brake fluid as it does not draw moisture and the parts will last a long time even when not serviced.

Even if you just clean and reuse the existing wheel bearings I would still recheck the axle shaft end play as it's a measurement and procedure sometimes just ignored and sometimes applied but misunderstood. And of course if you replace either bearing you will have to check it again and perhaps readjust. And to get a proper measurement you must make sure you bump the outer races (both) outwards against the backing plates before taking the measurement. Note that unless you need more than 0.050" shims, you can apply any needed adjustment to either side.

Valid point Owen and that is in my plans. Hoping axle comes out easily so inner seal can be replaced easily and I can inspect the bearing and race as well as repack it

-john

You may have to affix a slide hammer to the axle end to provide a little force but even at worst it shouldn't be very difficult to , remove. If on reassembly the fit of the cones is a little loose, I don't recommend using Locktite, rather use a center punch and stiple that part of the housing bore where the cone would rest. Otherwise you may run into problems later forcing the cones out to meet the backing plate to make your measurement/adjustment.

Thanks again Owen. Holding off until seals and brake parts arrive before taking it further apart

-john