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

Is anyone reproducing lifters for 1941 super 8? I spoke with kanter auto parts today and they said they are not reproducing the lifters anymore.

I'm not aware of anyone currently reproducing that particular hydraulic lifter. There seems to be a reasonably good supply of used units and Ross Miller has a video demonstrating his preferred method for checking the leakdown rate.

I going to try cleaning my lifters but I thought it would be a good idea to get a couple ahead of time. when I shut the engine off I can hear at least 1 creeping down there is a slight clicking noise. And others will not pump up at all.

Are you sure you don't have an issue with oil supply to the lifters?

Since you have a 41 engine then going along with O_D's suggestion you might check out a few of the service articles on the known Hydraulic Lifter and Oil Filter issues.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/serviceinfo/catindex.php?cat=20&series=7

Some of the first 1940 356 engines had lifter issues so during late 40 thru 41 Packard was doing some experimenting with changing plumbing, filters, and how the lifters were supplied with oil. That even went on in a limited fashion in 42 but at least on those engines some casting changes incorporated the earlier work. The final fix wound up with direct feed to the lifters and a couple of special fittings to restrict flow thru the filter and directly return filtered oil to the crankcase .

Your engine might have had all the changes and be OK and the problem is one or two lifters but maybe not. It could have also been accidentally reverted backwards if someone did not have access to the articles detailing the changes or used unmodified fittings or a filter assy from another engine.

As an additional issue, on some prewar engines there is what Packard called a jiggle pin valve in the front of the lifter gallery. It consists of a pin in a hole and in some engines that valve pin was found to wear in the hole and fall out opening up the hole where a substantial amount of the oil in the lifter gallery would bleed out and flow unrestricted into the timing chain compartment. There is an article covering that in the Low Oil Pressure issues and it is again a mostly 40 & 41 and maybe early 42 issue.

thanks for the replys. I googled the lifter issue a couple days ago and came across a post about the plumbing after the oil filter near the block, My thoughts were to clean out the lines to and from oil filter. Also when I changed oil i tried to stick my finger in the oil pan to check for slug i could not feel any but I stuck a coat hanger in to scratch the bottom and there is some slug so I am going to remove the pan and clean that.Afyer i do this and start the engine again if I pull the lifter cover off and see oil at the lifters would that mean its getting enough oil or is there a way to check pressure near the lifter?The car has surprisingly more than 40 psi warm.But has been sitting for 35 years so maybe something is clogged.I noticed in the service letter that the oil filter should be replaced with a 341764 but I could not cross this number. I installed a Napa 1080 but that was not the number that was in the car.

Good afternoon...If/when you drop your pan, be sure to clean out your oil pump. To speak to Owen's comment about oil flow. If the car has not run much in years, then it is advisable to clean out the pan, the valve gallery, and the oil pump, as well as the filter lines. Also change the oil after a couple hundered miles, a couple of times and that will begin to get clean oil in all the places it needs to go. The type of oil you use can depend on where you live and the time of year...how cold or hot the area is...Owen is an oil expert and so a PM to him for what to use in your car in your area might be helpful...Ross Miller is another person to ask...Ernie in Arizona

If you clean the oil pump, it may lose its ability to pump and you will need to prime it. There are a couple of ways to do this. One, is to pack the gears with some light grease. Another way is to inject some oil back through the outlet for the lifters and filter.