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

Hello guy's

It has been a while for me to work on my Packard Patrician 54'
Last time i drove it it started leaking from the front seal.
There is a topic of it explaining this.
I removed the transmission and have it disassembled.
And well i found a lot of not so great things with the converter and the gear ox itself. It's a miracle it could drive with these problems (i think)
I'll start with this topic about the converter and start a second one about the gearbox, hopefully with a bit of help from you guys and alot of pictures i can rebuild this ( also if costs don't get out of hand), and hoping it would be a guide for other's that maybe end up doing some of this work.

I've added some pictures of the 54 gearstart converter i've checked some parts already.
Housing shelles are in good condition no cracking (Marking shell sides! Because unit is ballaced!)
Reactor core a vanes are good and not damaged,piston for engaging friction plate is in good condition but gummed up.

Now we end up at the not so great stuff:

-friction plate(clutch material) is hard as rock this has to be replaced (or relined)

-Converter shaft on outside housing has groves maybe can be saved with some sanding/emerycloth (light lathe work)?

-Reactor shaft AND sprag clutch are very bad need te be replaced.

- converter pressure plate (where clutch engages on) this needs to be a bit concaved in towards the clutch plate side. At this moment it is not it is concaved backwards what can happen when the system or components are not in good condition. My question is when thinking simple can i now just mount it ohterside around, or take the plate to a metal shop and let them press it back to Original position, or are these still available?

This is it for now if you guys have some ideas solutions or know /have some parts you can always contact me.

Like i said i do my best to keep this topic updated for you to follow and for others that need the help/info.




[PROCESSING IMAGE.... PLEASE WAIT]

[PROCESSING IMAGE.... PLEASE WAIT]

The pump shaft you can polish (not turn down) on a lathe, be careful to not remove more material than necessary as nice ones are hard to find.

I have relined clutch discs for sale.

The reactor shaft, you will need to see if it is ok. It's hard to tell from the image if it's damaged or just oily.

Used sprag clutch assemblies are available.

The other thing to check is how much wear is on your thrust washers. They can be polished smooth and reused, then the small one is available in multiple thicknesses so that you can set the endplay properly when reassembling. I have a bunch of spares and you can also get them on eBay.

You will also want to replace most or all of the journal bushings.

Currently this is not really any worse than your normal converter rebuild job. Let's see how the rest of the transmission looks.

Pump shaft (polish) noted
Relined clutch available thats good news
The reactor shaft is i thinks gone did have a photo of it so if i could have a new one would be nice, the sprag was at max merritt and not that expensive i've seen.

The thrust washers there are 3 copper ones? Pictures taken 2 seem good other one has a little step in in but i think not that bad.

The journal bushings are the 2 small ones in the back of converter and 2 in Converter shaft ? Seem not that bad but would like to replace just to be sure.

What do you thinks of the clutch pressure plate being bend outward vs it should be bend inwards to the clutch?

[PROCESSING IMAGE.... PLEASE WAIT]

Good for you for tackling this project!! I will be following along as one day I want to open up my 53's Ultramatic.

It should help in general but keep in mind that he's working on a Gearstart which is different than yours.

Quote:

Note that he has a gear start so it will only be so relevant.

Dion, for the thrust washers they basically need to be polished up on a surface plate to get them smooth. Yours look pretty good. The smallest one will be replaced with a thicker one to take up the wear.

I agree it's worth replacing the journal bushings.

NOS reactor shafts are still available.

So, when you are able to go through the rest of the transmission as well, I can quote you all the parts you will need to rebuild it properly.

Quote:

Noted! I think mine should be the less problematic Ultramatic, correct?