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The other day I found myself stuck in reverse so I opened the hood and reached in a moved the levers back to center. Well when I got back into the car I then had 2nd and 3nd no 1st or R so I got the car up on ramps and got underneath and looked all the linkage to see that all seemed to be free of any binding. Then had someone try to shift the car as I watched from below. What I saw as at the end of the column was that after the cotter pin and nut there was something that moved up and down. I oiled that then watched some more. At that point I have 1 2 3 but no R so I keep watching when I realized that there was a key or chuck that moved up and down and back and forth. So I thought might be the problem and put some white grease on that but really it isn't any better. I can drive the car but sometimes I get 1 and R but then cannot get 2 and 3. unless I put the car in neutral and move it back and for a bit then zI can get the gears I am looking for. Any ideas guys?

Assuming it's not internal in the transmission which is possible but not too likely from your description, it's often caused by accumulation of slop in worn linkages and bushings and misadjustment of the levers on the column and the link rods. Perhaps you should try Packard's recommendations for Handi-shift found in service letters etc. beginning as early as 1940 or 41. Dropping the links, aligning the levers with the drill or pin, then reinstalling the links with adjustments for fit, preceeded by replacement of all the worn bushings, washers, etc. is the usual drill. I haven't looked but I suspect you'll find some of these service proceedures on this website. If not, it should be easy enough to get copies for you.

Try putting some oil in the lower part of the column. Open the hood and look down near the end of the steering column, you will see a very small hole, put some motor oil in there and let it sit for a while, then try the shift. I had he same problem with my 48dlx and the oil solved the problem. Good luck

Quote:
G'day Dave,
Little but see you have a '48. Could you please include it in the Owner Registry together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?

it's in there

jsa03781,
Sorry for the confusion, I saw your entry in the Registry, my "request" was to davegnh hence my "G'day Dave" and start to the post. I like your Registry entry for the depth it provides in your narrative about the car, very comprehensive.

And now to davegnh for including his '48 Super Eight Touring Sedan in the Registry.

I am trying to get my 1950 Deluxe 8 Packard mechanically sound before starting any restoration efforts. I hit a snag when I found the shifter was stuck in 1st(?) and would not allow me to shift into reverse (or 2nd and 3rd as well, apparently). When I disconnected the linkage to the rear lever coming out of the transmission (Low-Reverse?) I was able to move both the rear and front levers manually. Each lever seemed to have three positions and I found each lever had to be in the middle position before I could move the other lever. I had to move the rear lever to the forward position to reconnect the linkage to it and when I did so, locked up the shifter again.

Another reader pointed me towards your post from 6/5/09. I've attached a photo to assist in zeroing in on the little hole you mentioned where you added motor oil.

Any help is appreciated.

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There's an easy solution to these linkage blues:

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It is about 2/3 distance of shift col from the firewall. It should be towards the firewall from your photo. I would suggest not using wd40 as a lub. Use 3-1 oil or product from Kano.