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

Water or other coolant will expand considerably at operating temperature and return to its original volume when it cools. A freshly filled cooling system may contain some trapped air. Air dissolved in the water will be expelled when the water is heated, which might reduce volume slightly. The engine should have a thermostat installed and should reach full operating temperature for 20 minutes or more. Ideally, it would have some load applied. It is normal for some moisture to be expelled at the exhaust. Burning one gallon of gasoline yields just over three gallons of water, most of which will be expelled at the exhaust as steam. Some of it will reach the crankcase. Getting the engine up to operating temperature for 20 minutes or so will remove it.

I would run the engine through 6 or more warm up and cool down cycles, and retorque the head in the process, following proper procedure. It's best to run the engine at various speeds and loads for an hour per cycle. This helps seat rings and will avoid water condensation collecting in the crankcase.

To sum up, I would watch for water in the oil pan, and observe the coolant level over several run cycles without adding any coolant.

I agree with TxGoat, and I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but be extra extra sure you don't have water in your oil again. I would loosen the drain plug to see if any water is present in the pan. If there doesn't appear to be any oil, then I would proceed like TxGoat suggested.

If you start it back up again I would pull the dip stick after it's run for a minute to make sure your oil is clear and not foamy.

In the service manual Packard suggests running a new/rebuilt engine at higher rpms to make sure the rings get adequate lubrication.