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Are you sure the tube shaped object isn't the float for the oil level gauge? Packard couldn't make up their minds on how to do it so they dropped it in 1936.

Quote:

Tim,
Thanks for your input.

The car is a 1935 1205 with a '36 engine and it does not have an oil level gauge. For fear of breaking something, I did not pull the oil pressure unit totally out of the side of the block but was able to determine when I moved it, the mentioned loose tube in the bottom of the pan also moved. So, I assumed they were connected but perhaps not if that tube had a wire coming out of its end that might have caught on the oil pressure mechanism.

Still at a loss to understand what that tube is and if nobody chimes in by tomorrow, I will be moving on to fill the engine with oil and fire it up.

Glen

Contrary to Tim's comment, I believe that 1934 was the last year for the crankcase to have an electric oil level sending unit in addition to the dipstick. If your gasoline gauge (1934 Twelve pictured) doesn't have the word "OIL" beneath GASOLINE, your car doesn't have that feature. The oil level feature was triggered by a small momentary contact switch under the dash rim. The crankcase unit was not unlike a gas gauge sending unit using a cork float.

Note the hefty gas tank size, 32 gallons. Baffled into 6 chambers to minimize sloshing effects.

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Okay, so when you said "sending unit" I assumed you were referring to the oil level sending unit.

Whatever it is a picture is required, because the pump feed goes to the regulator then through the filter and back to the engine.

As for when Packard stopped the oil level feature, this is one situation in which I hope I am wrong because the parts book lists the 12th series (1935) as having it. If that is wrong that also calls into question these painted radiator shells on eight cylinder cars and what not that have been causing me indigestion given that, after researching thousands of period pictures, I found only one such verifiable period example (excluding black out cars where all chrome was painted), and that probably was done by the dealer.

I think I finally realize what that loose tube shaped object is in the bottom of the pan, thanks to those who responded. I was confused about what it was, having never heard of such a device in a car before. It's the oil level gauge float which apparently has come loose from the sending unit attached to the exterior of the oil pan. The serial number on the engine definitely shows it is a 1936. However, raised lettering on the bottom of the pan reads 1-16-35, indicating the pan is a 1935 mounted on a 1936 block. I also didn't realize the dash gauge is a combo unit for gas and oil which was confirmed after a careful check. I guess this is proof the '35 cars had the oil level gauge but the '36 cars did not.

The gauge does not work as the dash gauge reads 5 with the crankcase full of oil and also reads 5 when it is empty.

I guess it would be prudent to drop the pan at this point because a loose float inside a running engine could be disastrous.

Regarding the painted vs chrome radiator shells, I too have been confused on that issue. The previous owner of my 1205 said chrome was an optional extra in 1935 but I have never seen a photo of another '35 with chrome although there appear to be many chromed '34's.

Glen

My apologies Tim. According to the 1933-1936 Eight parts list the electric oil level indicator system was used on Senior cars thru 1936.

Glenn, a photo of face plate of your gas gauge, please. Or your confirmation that the word OIL appears on it as I have shown in the earlier photo of a 1934 gauge.

Yes, my '35 has a dual purpose gas-oil gauge that I did not realize until now. I took a photo but it won't load into this reply, probably because it is too large. I don't know how to reduce photo sizes.

The gauge reads 0-5-15-25 which I assume means gallons of fuel in the tank. However, what do the numbers mean with regard to measuring oil level? As mentioned, it always reads 5 whether it has a full crankcase or is empty.

I dropped the pan today and was pleased to see there was almost no sludge, just a 1/16" layer at the rear of the pan. Also, the cork float for the oil level unit is intact, attached to the sender and is not loose in the pan as I thought. However, it doesn't seem to be working properly so some troubleshooting is in order for tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.

Glen

When activating the oil level movement on the gas gauge, it is not a quantitative measurement. Its simply pointer full left of the scale indicates empty or nearly so, and full right of the scale indicates full.

Glad to hear sludge was minimal.

Apologies are not required. One thing I learned from the Bush administration is how to shrug off being wrong.

For those pictures of the mystery part if you go onto the junknet you can download a free program called PIXresizer.

One last question on the subject. Is the gas-oil level gauge in the gas mode or the oil mode when the button under the dash is not pressed? What mode is it in when it is momentarily pressed? I'm asking because when not pressed, the gauge always reads 5 and when pressed, it reads just under 25. Assuming the gauge is in gas mode when unpressed, the constant 5 reading would mean there is a likely problem with the gas tank sending unit. With the pan off the car, I tested the oil float unit and it seems to be working ok.

Glen