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Joe - good suggestion on the siphon. I may just do that. Draining the tank is just a mess.

JWL - Yeah, I was working on it in the garage with all the doors open, no electrical or sparks near me. But I realize it was way too dangerous. Especially since the gas was getting everywhere.

If I can find time this weekend I'm going to roll it out of the garage, then lift the car from the driver's side and tilt it slightly to the passenger. That will move the gas to the side of the tank away from the hard line connection, as well as give me some space to work under the car. This way I can work on the connection, then drop the car back down to check for leaks. If I empty all the gas out I'll have no idea if it leaks until I fill it back up. I don't love the idea of drain the tank, fix the fitting, fill the tank, find out it leaks, drain the tank, fix the fitting, etc, etc.

-Kevin

Quote:

As long as you properly threaded in the fitting several turns by hand (without a wrench) it won't be cross threaded but who knows what a previous owner may have done!

It's a new tank, so any cross threading is my fault. If it did cross thread then it's because the line is so stiff....it doesn't line up perfectly with the hole, which makes it easy to go in slightly off. I hand threaded when I put it in, but still managed to somehow get it wrong.

-Kevin

I have found on those kind of fittings, pulling the the nut away from the flare, pushing the flare into the female end, then hand tightening the nut allows me to find any alignment problems before ruining metal.

Of course on the tank, that may be tough!

I’d encourage you not to install rubber there, it would just be a future problem spot! Rubber lines don’t last like metal.

Thankfully I got the fuel line figured out today. I only had a few minutes so I'm glad it worked. Pushed the car outside, lifted the car from the driver's side and placed jack stands under the frame. This pushed the gas in the tank away from the outlet.

I was able to get a good look at the threads once I removed the line. They were definitely cross threaded. I could see where the correct threads were, so I was able to fairly easily correct how the fuel line fitting went in. It was very easy to check to see if I had it right, because I could just let the car down and see if it leaked. I got it right on the second try.

Still need to figure out what is causing the squeaking. I thought it was maybe the rear brakes, but now I'm not so sure. Now I'm wondering if it's maybe the rear universal joint on the driveshaft.

I'm used to the driveshaft on my truck, which has zerks everywhere to grease it. I spun the shaft while I was down there and I didn't see any zerk or fitting at all. How do I lube this joint short of disassembling it?

-Kevin

So, I've got a problem. The squealing from the rear is getting way worse. I'm not sure where it's coming from. I have a video showing what it sounds like from within the car, out of the car, and with the car on jack stands. I was thinking maybe the pinion bearing, or the rear universal joint, but now I'm not so sure.

When the car is on stands the passenger tire spins far faster than the driver's, until the driver's eventually stops spinning. I'm assuming that's normal on Packards, because I've seen similar on my truck with an open diff. Looking back at the video it almost seems like the squeaking occurs only when the driver's wheel is spinning.

What's going on here? Is my driver's side axle bearing going out? I cleaned and repacked it well. Was my axle shim job bad? Should I have just left the shims where they were at? Is it the bearing race spinning?

I really can't drive the car until this gets fixed. It got significantly louder today after a couple short test drives.

Video:


-Kevin

Kevin,

My thought, which probably isn't worth much, is that your squeaking issue could probably be related to the issue you had earlier with the warped drum/hub? It was the same wheel, wasn't it? Maybe things aren't as true as they could have been after the straightening was done? Only now apparent that the car is operational and not static, with forces not evident before coming into play. As I said my thoughts might not be worth much, but throwing them out there anyway.

As an easy test, you could try swapping the rear wheels, then running it on stands again. If the issue stays on the same side, then swap the drums and test again. If it doen’t change, you’ve at least eliminated wheels and drums.

For the sound itself, I’ve never heard one quite like it. A wheel bearing would make a grumble and so would a u-joint although I suppose if it’s totally dried out it might squeak. Seems unlikely, though. It really sounds like something dragging, such as brake springs.

Have you considered getting an automotive stethoscope? They’re cheap and should help to quickly locate the source of the noise.

While you have the car up on the stand perhaps you can use a gloved hand (use those heavy leather construction gloves) to put some light drag on the tire that is spinning - that should cause the other wheel to spin, and cause the side you are putting drag on to slow down. Have the car idling and maybe in "low" so the speeds are low to begin with. Another option is to use a 2-by-four applied to the treads of the tire. This should help you determine whether the problem is at the wheels or in the differential.

One thought, and this is a long shot, but maybe the pinion seal is running dry? Do you quite have the differential full? Have you checked that? Did you install the seal with some grease or oil?

All good suggestions.

I would:

1. Check differential fluid.
2. Remove both wheels and see if the noise goes away. If it does, but one back on at a time. Try swapping the wheels.
3. If you still haven't found it, use a stethoscope, or even a long-handled screw driver, to try and narrow down on the noise.