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

And the DD disengages, or kicks down!

The lack of kick down working on my car, not that I ever use it, is what got me checking and setting my throttle valve and linkage as per the manual. Now if I go heavy on the throttle the DD doesn't engage until the governor engages it around 50 mph.

Just wanted to keep you updated on Throttle linkage and DD

My spring in the throttle rod seems to be stuck for good, nothing got it moving. I found a replacement in good working condition at Packards Southwest, not big money. They wouldn’t ship internationally though, so the part is waiting for me in NH until my next trip back “home”. Luckily, it is coming up pretty soon.

DD is a different story.
First, I adjusted the length of the rod to the measurement provided by 53 Cavalier. I took a test drive, but DD did not engage, neither at gentle throttle at low speed nor at medium throttle up to 40 mph.
Yesterday, I made another adjustment and added about 1/16 in to the length of the rod.
Then, I took another test drive.
This was a 20 minute drive with intersections, narrow rotaries and sections of open road.
Right out of the gate, again, no DD at gentle throttle and low speed for the first mile, but once I accelerated to about 35 mph, DD engaged pretty smooth but noticeable.
Surprisingly, this initial DD engagement was the only one during the entire test drive. This at various speeds and throttle. I did not notice any switch back from DD into torque converter drive when slowing down, no noticeable disengagement. On the other hand, acceleration out of a rotary or intersection felt fine, no sluggishness.
At one point I purposely made a complete stop, waited, and accelerated at medium throttle to about 45 mph. DD did not engage as RPM was noticeably higher compared to the DD at the start of the test drive.
Any thoughts?

Thanks for the data. I suggest you disconnect the rod and match its range of motion to the throttle rod, so that when the throttle is all the way down, the transmission rod is likewise in the furthest position.

You may want to hook up an engine tach to watch the RPM at various speeds, as sometimes the engagement is not obvious.