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I was able to get the rear cap loose by blunt force with a dead blow hammer. With the help of a friend we got the crankshaft and torque converter out.

To get to the underside of the engine I first had to flip it on the stand. The engine is heavy enough to not be able to flip it by hand, so I used my 2-post lift to aid in the endeavor. Using the arms as a beam, some chain, and some grade 8 bolts and washers, I used the lift to tilt the engine up and control the spin to the other side. I documented the process in the video below. With a cherry picker this would be doable but also more dangerous and uncontrollable.


I'm not totally sure what equals a good bearing versus a bad one. They are all clean, shiny, and no real grooves noted. Here's the front main and 1st rod bearing.



Rear main and #8 rod



Inside the rod caps all look like this:



What I initially thought was rust on the crank and various surfaces turned out to be some sort of discolored sludge. It wipes right off. There are definitely some spots of rust though. The rods for sure have some.






Once I had the engine flipped and the crank out, I was able to get the pistons out without much trouble. But like an idiot I assumed I could drive them into the engine, but turns out the piston skirt contacts the flange of the main bearings. I realized that too late and ended up breaking the edge of #1 piston skirt.



So I drove them all out the other way without issue. A few were very stuck and took a good beating with the dead blow on some wood to persuade them. Only one piston (#2) had broken rings.






The cylinders didn't look scored, at least at first glance. I just quickly wiped them with a paper towel. Surface rust in the upper portions of those that were exposed. Once I get it all broken down I'll see what a machine shop thinks.

Generally as long as you can still see babbitt on the bearing you can throw it back in. For most engines people never reuse bearings or even pistons in a rebuild (see the V8 bearings thread recently) but in Packard world people reuse what they can, as you know.

Use Scotchbrite and brake cleaner to clean the crank surface and the bearing shells. Make sure the mating surfaces for the boss are clean. Repeat for the other 4 bearings. Set the plastigage in place. Install the other bearing shells and progressively torque tighten the bolts to spec. Remove the bolts and half the bearing shells. Use the plastigage package to read the value.

Max is .003.

By the way I hope you are keeping track of what came from where. The connecting rods and bearing bosses should be labeled, but everything else won't be. You will want to reinstall the bearings the same way they originally were if you are reusing them, etc.

When are you taking apart the converter? 😁

Sludge and rust are evidence of lack of timely oil changes and perhaps use of poor quality oil. Severe service, especially short trip service, like the "little old lady who only drove the car two blocks to church", will also cause heavy sludging and magnify the effects of running dirty oil. I would not re-use any insert bearings or cam bearings. The picture shows a broken ring, indicating severe abuse or very advanced wear or damage done when removing the piston. I'd replace all 8 pistons and rings. The condition of the crankshaft can be determined by inspection and micrometer measurements. All main and rod bearing caps need to go back exactly as they were. Valve lifters need to go back in the same location as before. The same goes for used pistons and valves, should you choose to re-use any of them. Cylinders will need ridges removed and a hone job, if not rebored. It's best to remove any ridge at the top of the cylinders before attempting to remove the pistons or damage is likely to result due to the rings catching on the ridge. The water distribution tube is another critical part that must be in good condition to get good results.

Connecting rod journals can wear out-of-round, resulting in a "flat" crankshaft. It's important to measure the rod journals both for overall wear AND for out-of round.

Thanks both of you. Everything removed is labeled and kept together, apart from the rod bolts and nuts. Pretty sure it doesn't matter where those go.

There were no detectable ridges in any of the cylinders, so I didn't feel the need to address that. I believe that one ring was already broken, but not sure. All the pistons have significant scoring/wear on the sides of the skirts. Not sure how normal that is.

I'm going to remove the torque converter either today or tomorrow. Anything in particular that I should know about that process? I'll need to order some plastigauge and learn how to use it. How do I check for out of round?

Last night I attempted removal of the valves. The compressor I'm using is one of the small screw types. It compresses the springs easily but the spring seat is not lifting up off the keepers. I was able to get the keepers off a couple of valves but the valves are stuck fast and sitting all the way closed. Any tricks I can use to remove them?

Working on the valves. Brother in law and I spent an hour tonight and were only able to get 3 valves out, and broke the head off a 4th. They are all incredibly stuck.

Looking through my options I think I have a plan that will work. Tell me if I'm an idiot and not looking at this correctly. Here's my plan:
-All the keepers are off and springs are loose.
-Most of the valves are down and I can't get underneath them to move them. I have solid lifters, so I plan to adjust them up and push the valves up along with them as far as the lifters will go
-Then I will adjust the lifters all the way back down and allow as much wiggle room as possible.
-Flip the engine upside down and let gravity pull the lifters away from the camshaft
-I'm hoping that gives me enough leeway to pull the camshaft out of the block.
-Remove the lifters after the camshaft is out
-With the camshaft out I should be able to use a drift and tap the valves out of the top of the block

Will this work or do I need much more room to get the camshaft out?

Quote:
I think more than gravity will be required for the remining valves, alhough I could be wrong which goes without saying. I don't know how much room you'll gain with the adjust the lifters trick.

A BFH might be an option!

It's unusual for valves to be suck that tight. I would apply heat to the head of any valve that is off its seat, along with penetrating oil to the stem in the port and in the lifter chamber. Get the valve head HOT, so as to allow heat to travel down the stem and into the guide area. Do that several times to each stuck valve. /// For valves stuck while on their seats, wash all oil out of the port and off the stem above the lifter and then place the engine where liquid can pool in the ports around the valve stem. Spray enough Westley's BlechWhite into the ports to make it puddle around the stem. Let it soak for a couple of days, adding more as needed to keep the puddles filled, and spray the lifter ends of the stems as often as you can to keep them wet. That may free rusty, stuck valves. It's OK to tap lightly on valves that are off their seats with a SMALL hammer as long as the valve stem has clearance between it and the lifter. Tap the valve in the center of its head, never out near the edge.

Thanks for the tips, heat is my next step.

I can confirm that adjusting the lifters up can indeed move the valves. We were able to get all the exhaust valves to move up quite a bit by adjusting the lifters up. The intake valves though are stuck fast. I think there is significant rust in there, judging by the condition of the intake ports. Couldn't get any of them to move.

The cam will not come out unless all the lifters are able to move completely out of the way. So until I get the intake valves moving I can't go much further.

I have the engine upside down right now, which makes it easy to apply some penetrating fluid to the valve stems right were they enter the guide. I'm going to hit them every day morning and night for the next several days and see what happens. Next step it heat on the valves themselves.

The intake valves are usually a tighter fit in the guides, and they are probably a more rust-prone alloy steel than the exhaust valves. Heat can be very beneficial due to the force of expansion and by helping penetrants get into the valve guide as the parts cool down. Several heat cycles are best. I would not apply much heat to a valve that is seated, since it could lead to a cracked seat. Westley's is a soapy, acidic substance that will attack carbon and rust. It will sometimes loosen stuck parts that oil will not. CLR would also work. The challenge with either one is keeping the parts wet or even submerged, since the acid won't be effective if it is dry. Oily parts will prevent acid and soap from working, so parts need to be cleaned with Brakleen.