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Thank you Ross. And thanks to Kev for posting it. I did not know the original compensator valve spring was stainless. Even if you don't rebuild your own, you now have a better understanding of the unit and how it works.

Very nice article. Is Kanter selling or repro'ing the compensator valve spring now? I notice you said throw it out if in doubt which is good advice, but was under the impression none were available for replacement except thru rebuilders who had them made for their own use only.

Ross Miller's treatise sure does bring the factory shop manual procedure (which was pretty comprehensive, itself) up to date for units that have seen decades of use (or neglect) - a great help to anyone wanting to rebuild the BTV. The images that he provided show several things that I've encountered, but words alone could never describe. His approach includes a few new things that I'll incorporate in future overhauls, as I intend to retain the BTV.

However, I'm also confused about the original compensator port spring being made of stainless. Of the three units that I have had completely apart for rebuild of at least the hydraulic sections, none of them appear to have been overhauled previously (based on the difference in appearance of the replacement residual valve compared to the original). One of the compensator port springs showed some discoloration, another was starting to pit (which I want to replace, when possible), and the third had broken in two (replaced with another from a core). I'd wouldn't expect to find that with stainless wire, but there are probably as many grades of stainless as there are colors in the rainbow.

Sadly, I don't have a source for new compensator springs, though I don't think it would be a big deal to have some wound. I have a shelf full of BTVs in the basement and regularly canabalize them for oddments. The spring shown in the article was original to that unit and somehow sat in that decaying fetid brake fluid without damage.

I've found a couple suppliers who offer this style of spring, in stainless, but I don't have the necessary specs to select and order one. If I had an OE spring, I might be able to measure it myself, but it's too cold to even think about pulling one out of one of the cars - provided it's condition is sound. Hopefully, things will calm down a bit here, and I can pursue sourcing and evalute a sample in one of my cars next spring.

Now Online!

1938-1939 Shop Manual

From the Dan Yocum Collection

Now Online!

1929 Standard Eight Brochure

Thanks to David McCredie for the donation of this content.

Now Online!

1954 Packard Owners Manual (Senior Cars)

From the Dan Yocum of collection.


Well folks I think that was the very last item to scan from the collection of Dan Yocum. Hopefully there was something in his collection that everyone can enjoy. Thanks again Dan for thinking of the website and making arrangements to pass on your collection with your passing.

I hope that others will learn by his example and make arrangements to pass on their collections to a new home (wherever that may be) when they pass so future generations can benefit from it, and the collection does not end up in the trash.

Kev, thanks for posting the 54 senior owners manual and sorry I ran out of "round to its" and didn't get it done in time to spare you the effort. Incidentally, there appears to be an extra .pdf on the file name so it 404 not found errors without removing that.

Not a problem Howard. I didn't know I had it until I got to the bottom of the last box of literature I went through.

Also I fixed the link. Thanks for the heads-up on that.