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

Good afternoon. Eaton Detroit Spring made the springs for your Packard. They will make new ones for you if you wish.Ernie in Arizona

You can reach them at: 313-963-3839. Ernie in Arizona

I had the same problem with my car. First thing is put a trolley jack under the diff, if it still leans then it is the front springs. Then move the jack under the center of the front crossmember. If it leans, then the issue is rear springs. If so, have a good look for a broken leaf. If it is the front, take the springs out and see if they are the same height. All I had to do was swap sides of the front coils. Please let us know what you find. Gary

Not uncommon for the rears of these cars to sag.

My 54 Clipper would scrap the tailpipe even on the most modest of driveway incline.

I installed a set of bolt on helper springs in the rear and it solved the issue.

$40 from ebay.

A good general height gauge is that you want the bottom edge of the rear wheel skirt to be roughly aligned with the middle of the hubcap.

Quote:

I think the rear should sit a bit higher than you noted. At least that's what I determined after looking at pictures from the 50's when I was working to level up my Cavalier.

This is how my Cavalier is riding, which other than fixing up the rear driver's spring pack, it hasn't been lifted. I think the front is pretty close as well, it's at least sitting level.

Kev's comment is correct for TL cars which automatically level. Spring cars it's a couple inches higher. Oddly, the parts book shows them level, but it doesn't make any sense to me to engineer it such that driving the car with literally any load will make it look like it's sagging.

Most all older cars with front coil springs have "flat" front springs, even low mileage ones. Most of these cars rode about level when new, with the back a little higher than the front when free of any load. All springs sag over time, but the front coils on cars up through the 1980s seem to be especially prone to it. On cars with a front and/or rear sway bar, loose bushings or bad links can make the car more prone to listing to one side or the other. Shock absorbers do not support the car, but cars driven a lot with weak or non-working shocks give springs an extra hard workout.

I'm thinking that the first thing I'll try is loading the trunk on the right side.

The spring shop that I spoke with, which is older than my car, told me to put my car somewhere level, at least side to side, and put a jack under the frame on the corner that is low and jack it up so it is even with the opposite side. (It your case you would want to jack up the front driver's corner.)

Once the front is level check and see if the back is sitting level from side to side as well. Measuring from the floor to the frame is the most accurate. This should give you a good indication of what's going on.

53 Cav - the photo of your car had me wondering how cars from the factory sat. My first thought on seeing the stance of your car was it was too high. But factory photos show about the same ride height as what you have:
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=9018

Interestingly, other 53 models have way lower ride height. 2 door coupe:
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=9022

And a touring sedan
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=9019

So maybe we can say that all sorts of ride heights are acceptable? My '54 is closer to the last car linked above.