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Got the repaired wiper motor back on so now I have wipers (with probably 10 y/o blades on them) but they only run on continuous high speed. Also I looked it up and it's a $260 motor. Doesn't seem like a super great design for that price, the motor strains audibly under normal operation.

Will be taking it for an oil change and tires put on tomorrow evening then garaging it for the winter this weekend... is the plan, anyway. Fingers crossed.

Here is a video of the wipers. Ironically I installed them when it was raining. (And dark, too.) Got a new LED light from Harbor Freight though which is very nice. Bright and has a very strong non-marring magnet on the base. Sticks to just about any size steel surface.

So I got it back from the shop yesterday, over $500 bill.
- mount 4 tires
- new battery ($45 install fee should have just bought my own from a different place while it was in the shop and took 45 seconds to install it in the parking lot...)
- Adjust E-brake so it works (still need to test this)
- Check A/C system charge (I found out that it has no R134a in it... obviously I will not be using it in the winter, but the question is whether I will even want to use it in the summer!). $63 just for this...

But then in the 24h since I brought it home, a tire went flat on me! I bought the exact same size that was already on the car (235/75-15 radials) and those had held air for years... when I first bought this car, they were all at about 8 PSI. So IDK what the problem is, I called the shop and they were like "yeah bring it back tomorrow" except that it will be raining like crazy so I might bring it Friday. Except there is a forecast of snow for Friday... the shop is only like 8mi away but either situation will be a hassle. Honestly not very impressed by the apparent quality of the work of these guys, though the shop has 4.8⭐ on Google and claims to specialize in old cars.

The good news is that it drives better on the new tires, I'm sure to the surprise of absolutely no one that brand new tires would be better than c. 13 year old ones that had sat still for about 5 years straight.

Honestly I'm looking forward to getting this thing garaged at my uncle's over the winter so I can stop worrying about it and come back with some renewed enthusiasm in the comfortable summer months. I'm also looking to move over the winter to someplace with a garage, for obvious reasons, and also closer to my work, so I don't feel as burned out all the time from my long daily commute. Driving in moderate or heavy traffic for 1½h a day is not exactly great to decompress and driving so much drains the fun out of driving the Packard around! Hence the first sentence of this paragraph; I'm hoping by springtime I will have been able to resolve all of these problems.

P.S. They are whitewalls, I just haven't washed the blue coating off yet. Also, purely by coincidence, the ultra thin whitewalls that I chose (due to being only around $100 each from Walmart) are very similar to some used on the Predictor.

Recent related threads:
- Fuel line fix:
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... c.php?topic_id=26176&post_id=251574

Charging system confusion (turned out that the charging system seemed fine, just the battery was super dead). Will install a voltmeter soon:
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=251276

V8 Exhaust Manifold Thermal Valve:
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=251358

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Just some thoughts on the AC refrigerant. It originally had Freon 12 and today that will be expensive and very controlled to recharge (if you can even get it in your area). If you use R134A be aware of some possible issues because R134 might work or it might not work as well as hoped in a car of that age.

An issue may be the old lines. 134 has a much smaller molecule than 12 and there have been many reports after a changeover of refrigerant quickly leaking out. It was found rubber hoses, fittings and even some compressor seals in cars much newer than the Packard could allow the molecules to escape. The rubber hoses may need to change to a modern barrier hose that has a lining which will contain the refrigerant. The old SAE flare fittings may need to be opened and a varnish type sealant used on the flare surfaces to sort of glue them together. The compressor seal is an unknown and if it leaks, doubt there is anything that can be done. Compressor oil is another issue between the two refrigerants and there is a good chance what is there will not be compatible with 134 so you may need to flush the complete system to clear the old oil from any spots it might have collected before adding the new oil.

On the operation side, R134 has different pressures at the same temperatures than Freon. In the factory system the compressor stays energized and is always moving refrigerant making the system pressure based. Temp control method Packard used is via hot gas bypass where a valve opens and closes to shunt refrigerant allowing it to go to or be short circuited away from the evaporator to maintain the desired temperature. With that in mind, the original evaporator and modulator valves are calibrated for Freon pressures. With the pressure changes using 134 the evaporator valve may pass excessive amounts or may starve refrigerant to the evaporator causing operation issues. If the modulator valve fails to open or close at the correct fixed temp to bypass refrigerant the evaporator can freeze if temp goes too low or system will not cool very well if it bypasses refrigerant too soon.

Valves can be adjusted up to a point but it takes someone with a working knowledge of the old pressure based temp control methods. Hopefully you have a good AC guy because I would bet the average modern mechanic will not have a clue and can do serious damage if he just goes in and starts messing with things. Ask me how I know this to be a fact.

So I got the tire aired up and found where the leak is, it's just on the tire stem. The stem internal screw is tight, it's leaking around the outside seal. I know I didn't mention it specifically to the shop, but would any decent mechanic look at this valve (pic below) on a car with dry rotted tires and be like "yeah that's good, no sense putting in a new one" especially when aren't these valves only like $5 apiece? Am I expecting too much?? At least replace the seals on the thing or call me and ask?

I put some blocking under the car so at least it won't collapse onto the rim if it deflates again, though I tweaked the stem enough so I could not hear a leak anymore before I went inside.

To make this whole situation even weirder, my daily driver is in the shop too for some collision damage, someone hit it a while back so his insurance is paying for a rental car. But my compressor and air gauges are in that car. So I had to run out and buy another compressor but forgot to pick up a pressure gauge so it's hard to judge whether the tire is losing air overnight unless it's enough to be obvious in other ways.

Thanks Howard for the valuable info but I forgot to restate that it has aftermarket A/C, installed some years ago (maybe around 2013?) that either was never charged or leaked out completely over that time. Edit: it specifically uses R134a.

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An aftermarket AC makes it much easier. That probably has cycling clutch for temp control so no worries about pressures. If that new it probably has 134 compatible components too. The leak could be anyones guess though. It may just be a loose connection but could be a damaged hose or compressor seal too.

Called the shop and they said "if they look to be in good condition we don't replace them". You gotta be kidding me...

I replaced mine recently with these to solve the issue of migrating hubcaps.


amazon.com/gp/product/B07HF31DR5

Thanks Kev, ended up picking up these
autozone.com/tire-repair-and-tire-wheel/ ... ce-tr416-tire-valve-stem/582043_0_0

plus these extenders
autozone.com/tire-repair-and-tire-wheel/ ... e-valve-extenders-4-pack/542360_0_0

These are all similar to the ones the shop installed on the wheels when mounting the tires for my Henney-Packard but I do not believe that extensions are needed. The shortest stem is plenty long enough to just stick through the wheel cover or, in the case of my Henney-Packard, though the beauty ring.

So I got the 400 parked for the winter in my uncle's garage. I noticed that the accel pump boot is looking cracked so I figure I might as well rebuild the carb over the winter It would have last been rebuilt around 12 years ago. It has the Rochester carb 4GC, 7008610. Any suggestions on where to get a good rebuild kit?

Also, does anyone sell rebuild kits for the vacuum wiper motor?

Any suggestions on what else to take care of while it's parked?