Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Good morning & Happy New Year to all. I have a 1955 Packard 400 about 2 years now and I understand why people love these cars. It had an excellent restoration and I am doing my best to keep it that way.

As you've probably heard many times, the only problem is the Torsion Level Suspension. It always had a mind of its own, so to speak. Often when driving the front or rear end would raise or lower for no apparent reason. But, it always returned to level.


I just had the power steering cylinder replaced and the power steering works great. The only thing is that the front end is about 18 inches too high and the rear bumper is less than 1 foot off the ground.


I have read the posts and I think working on this is beyond my limited ability. It may be beyond that of my local mechanic as well.

My question is this. Is there a way to level the car and disconnect the TL system until I can find a guy who can fix it. I am in Easton PA right on the border of PA and NJ. Please advise and thanks !

Switch under the dash. Turns it off.

There is an adjustment lever under the car.

With no manual over ride.

Sit on rear fender. Let car go up

Get off . When car goes back down turn it off where you like the height.

See pp. 44-45 of the electrical manual if you want to set the height manually with the switch off. Ground terminal B on the "compensator" until the rear raises to the desired height. (Hint: the correct height is easy to tell with the fender skirts on as the bottom of the skirt will be centered with the rear wheel.)

If this does not work there are other ways but you must be very careful if you apply power that bypasses the limit switch as the motor is geared low enough to damage the suspension if the limit switch is bypassed.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/servicemanual5556/Sect08_Electrical.pdf

The procedure mentioned in the service manual is correct for 55 cars IF the compensator switch is completely original and terminals and markings are still visible. However, 55 switches were problematic in that the screw terminals would corrode if exposed to excessive moisture. Because there was almost always a constant 12 volts feeding the switch the corrosion could also cause shorts to develop requiring the switch to be replaced. Attempts were made to alleviate this problem by applying various water proofing compounds which would cover terminals and markings. On original 55 switches, if terminals or markings are covered the A terminal has a yellow wire and B terminal is pink.

For 56 the switch was revised so that different style terminals are inside a weatherproof enclosure on the switch bottom. To access those terminals a cover held by 4 screws needs to be removed. While solenoid placement and limit switch type were also revised for 56 the procedure for raising or lowering at the control sw is still the same but you need to access the terminals differently and wire colors may be different. The terminals are not labeled A or B and only designation is by a dot of color to match wire loom..

Because of the issues with the 55 switch, when stock ran out and a 55 control switch needed changing it was to be replaced by the 56 version. A small pigtail with different color wires was spliced to the 55 loom to connect to the new style terminals. If your car has had that change refer to the service article on page 22 in Counselor Vol 30 #6. In some instances the pigtail was not used and the different style terminals were added to the original looms instead of the pigtail.

Dealers also had their own way of doing things and the factory suggested waterproofing fixes or switch replacement method may not have been precisely followed even if they used the suggested parts. Over the years any number of other methods or changes in wire colors could have been done by independent mechanics or owners.

There is a delay switch which is supposed to wait about 7 seconds before trying to level the car to make sure that the not level condition isn't due to a pothole or the like. AS you say it always returned to level, the rest of the system was working. You may just need a new delay switch.

When your power steering cylinder was replaced, the car was on a lift in the air. They always seem to need to level when they are back on the ground. The underdash switch allows leveling to be turned off when the car is being serviced. Did the mechanic who put in the power steering cylinder turn it off? If so, you may only need to turn it back on. If the mechanic did not turn off leveling, it would have tried to level while on the lift and run until the limit switch stopped the leveling motor when the limit was reached. While the limit switch interrupted the signal to the leveling motor, the delay switch would still be sending a signal to level the car. The delay switch would be operating and sending that signal the entire time the car was in the air. This could cause a delay switch failure.

Having the delay switch running the entire time the car was on the lift for the power steering cylinder could also have caused the fuse to blow. This is the same fuse as the brake lights.

Check the on-off switch and the brake lights first.

On 55s, the control switch and brake light fuse is the Body Feed fuse located in the block under the dash. There is also a separate fuse for the motor and solenoids which is the inline type and located in a holder on a red wire usually somewhere near the starter motor.

Geez....I could have written this myself that is, until last week. Same car, 55 400. owned it for 8 months continuing to have brakes redone all around, power steering redone with treadle vac unit, hoses and all misc parts. Suspension was gone over with virtually every component replaced including bushings and body rubber suspension pads. Everytime it came back from the shop and off the lift, the front end was, as you say, jacked up to the point of embarrassment. It stayed that way for a while and then, magic, it was back as normal a few days later. BAck to shop....rinse....repeat. My car had been switched to negative ground sometime 10-12 years ago and then parked for 10+ years.
Last week, I had to put weight on the front bumper to walk from one side of the (crowded)shop to the other. about to step off the far side and "what was that noise". Front end started to respond to the TLS. Went to the back bumper, sat on that...bingo, 10 secs later, rear end comes up. It now always sits level
Part of my unresolved issues to work thru was the battery wasn't taking a deep charge while driving. Not sure who suggested it but I seem to remember Howard suggesting either bad generator, or voltage regulator had never been repolarized. I followed the suggestion, repolarized and noticed battery was taking a charge while driving and holding the charge for several weeks. Then this past week, TLS started working. Frankly..I have no clue but my story resembles yours until last week. Happy new year...

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I wish my 1956 Clipper Custom sat so level! Right now its back bumper is nearly touching the pavement but I can't work on it until the lift is free which I hope is soon.

Fortunately my 400 has never had problems with the TL system so I haven't had the joy of experiencing these gremlins... though the previous owner had it repaired in the past. Knock on wood...

It does seem that once the TL works properly it should be pretty reliable for a number of years. Nothing nicer looking than a properly stanced car. Beautiful car btw custo eight. BTW there was another red/red 55 400 that came up for sale recently, in somewhat rougher shape.

Mine have only had delay switch issues. I'm glad I tested the NOS replacements because one had a stuck relay from sitting on the shelf.

I recently thought it would be nice if there was an easier way of testing, so I built one of these.