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

Car is a 1947 2122 sedan. Seems original, and under the hood looks really complete if somewhat deteriorated.

I saw this . . . thing. A pipe, fastened in a sturdy manner, to the head/block. It's maybe 10" long and about an inch in diameter and serves no earthly function as far as I can tell.

The question remains: what is it, and what do it do???

Attach file:

---

  IMG_2025.jpg (264.84 KB)

It is an air duct placed in the fan air flow to direct and force air into the crankcase because of some of the 356 engines developed a condensation and rusty valve issue. There are numerous articles starting after the 1940 356 debut about sticky valves, noisy tappets and related issues where they changed this or that to try and alleviate problems that occurred on some but not all engines.

All the changes more or less go together and later changes may be somewhat dependent on a previous change being done. For the complete story you need to review the changes all in order but on the reasoning and introduction of the air tube, it is mentioned in the sticky valve article in this service letter.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SC/SL-VOL15NO3.pdf

After introduction the tube was used on all the 356 engines but eventually eliminated with the 49 or 50 production.

Ha! Figures! I did notice, and you can't see in the picture, that the oil filler cap's air vent is oriented so that it will either get pressure or vacuum, depending.

I may have some other such silly requests for information as I go along with this behemoth. I've never had one before. I have two more (sorta) in my sights, so . . . .

And I assume that this thing will be stuck. I plan a full rebuild, so if I have to break something, I was probably at least considering replacing it anyway.

Is there a "best way" to unstick one???

And to think that my answer was going to be "Deer whistle".

Quote:


As long as they don't eat the squirrel corn.






Does anyone have a go-to method for engine unsticking? I have one definitely stuck and two more likely stuck.

I have used a mixture of 50/50 acetone and ATF. Mix thoroughly and fill the cylinders and intake manifold to the brim. Then go do something else for a week. Then try turning the engine with a wrench on the front pulley.

Maybe that is my problem, I'm not filling the engine up enough with the solution....

Quote:


I have the head off. I've got maybe half an inch of ATF/acetone on the two stuck pistons. And there it sits. The others had it run through months ago. The sucker won't budge.

I'm wondering if it's mechanical at this point.

The last stuck engine that I un-stuck wasn’t a Packard but in that case it was primarily the rods that had somehow glued themselves to the crank journals and piston pins that wouldn’t move. I had never seen that happen before and, as it was a V8 where there was no straight and direct route out for the pistons and not being able to turn the crank to get them aligned, it took ages.

Point is, some persistence might be required on your Custom and possibly taking the rod cap off to add some lubrication there. You can also sometimes pump oil into the galley to get it in where it might not be now.