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

I set them cold at .010 and .013. Then I do final adjustment running. I like to do it when it's cold outside. Then I use leather gloves and welding sleeves. It can still get hot.
Good luck.

G'day all, It is even harder on RHD cars with the steering column in the way as well as the manifold, Even worse still on pre war with sidemounts. I set at .008 and .012 with a cold engine. I prefer to set to 12 thou to give the exhaust valve a few extra microseconds on the seat for cooling purposes. I recheck with engine hot and stopped. I check valves with engine in firing position and one revolution from. There is a listing of how to set all of the valves of a straight Eight, in these two positions, in most of the Motor or Chilton's as Owen mentioned. I can detail in this post if you are unable to find the list. I also find that the valve train is very quiet even if the clearances are a few thou from factory specs so long as they are of consistent clearance, that is, the valve train will be noisy if one valve has a few thou more or less than another. You then should check with the engine running and a single feeler to find the noisy valve. Tappet spanners are thin and long enough to use three at a time without much trouble. It is not as difficult once you have done it a few times. Best regards Peter Toet

Checque inner fender skirt to see if some previous mechanic has cut a long access hole in it and then covered it with a piece of sheet metal and screws. THis method was often used in service during the period

I'm not sure what the thaermal dynamics are on this engine but when setting them cold it mite be a good idea to set them .003 looser than hot spec. Then run the engine for a test. Better too loose than too tite. Most likely, as the engine gets hot the length of the valve increases (diminishing lash) but very little to no increase in block height.

Thanks to everyone who gave me good advice. The valve adjustment was very quick and easy because of the following "improvements" over the factory method:
1. Mechanic sat on a stool under the right fender with the car hoisted to a convenient position.
2. Engine was cold. we used .009 on intakes and .015 on the exhaust valves to compensate for thermal expansion, based on hot vs cold settings for a Hudson flathead engine.
3. Right side removable access panel, right front wheel, exhaust system, radiator, cylinder head, fuel pump, and crankcase breather are all removed from the car.
4. I helped the mechanic by cranking the engine to TDC, watching which valves open, and telling him what cylinder to adjust. We ran the entire process twice to be sure.

The entire adjustment process took only about 30 minutes! However tearing the car apart for access and putting it back together is about a 2 week job!!! I hope I do not need frequent valve adjustments.

Thanks again Packard owners.

wAIT A MINUTE!!!! was there an EXISTING access hole cut in the inner fender panel or did u have to cut a new one????

I know all the 51-54s have a removable inner fender access panel on the passenger side so you can access the valve covers. Just need to remove to passenger tire. I would imagine that previous years have something similar.

thnx for the update Kev.

The '50 has a two-piece splasher panel. Not a huge job to remove them but there is no access panel as such. Biggest problem I had was that most of the bolts were severely rusted due to the location causing exposure to water/snow/ice/salt etc. Replaced over half of them. The location of the ventilation tubes over the tire, under the fender doesn't help access any.

My 1950 Packard has a removable panel in the fender splash panel that allows access to the valves through the right front wheel well. That panel was difficult to remove mainly because it interfered with the manifolds, heater, and power booster. The bolts were not too bad to remove because this is a California car. The right front wheel had to be removed also. Now that I have everything off the engine I can figure out how to remove the access panel with less effort, probably by first removing the power brake booster bracket.

Without that access panel a mechanic would have to use drastic means such as cutting a hole in the fender splash shield. I have seen that technique used on other side-valve engine cars not as well designed as the Packard.