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

Check engine temp with your ultraviolet thermometer. Compare the #1 cylinder to #8. They should be nearly the same. If the front of the engine is way cooler you have a bad distribution tube.

Rusty is giving excellent advice there, don't underestimate the importance of the integrity of the water distribution tube. It has a very important job to do. I have seen cars where there was so much rust built up inside the cooling passenges that the only fix was to disassemble the engine, chem strip the block and heads (which is an essential part of any engine rebuild, don't just settle for the parts store "hot tank" job) then reassemble. Myself, and others like to coat the now spotlessly bare cooling passenges with epoxy primer to keep them for rusting again. Put it back together, and the thing can't and won't run anywhere but where the thermostat tells it to run. I hope you don't have to do this, look at the tube, know its condition for sure.

The last few inches of my distribution tube was clogged with rusty scale and crap. So I was glad I cleaned mine out.

Also you can pick up a digital non-contact laser thermometer at Harbor Freight for under $30.

The reason I mentioned that the trans shifted at 35-40 is that I took the car down to a carb rebuild place and they "adjusted" a rod that goes to the trans. I made it to the Bay Bridge (about 10 miles) and blew the trans. Interesting thing is that the car overheated as I waited to pay the toll. Same problem now long run..idle..overheat.
(just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you !!) Makes me wonder if I don't have a throttle pressure and/or governor issue still. How would one tell ?

The thermocouple is a good idea. Where can I get one ?
They use them on aircraft to measure head temp. My trans has a dip stick that extends into the engine compartment so it would be easy to insert a couple. Good idea !!

Have to check the fanbelt. guess if it is slipping at high speeds why does it overheat in idle when there is no squeal ? Fuel for thought.

Never heard of a distribution tube. What does it look like ? I will uv test it regardless thanks for the heads up. Didn't know about that or think of checking front vs rear.

Lets say the muffler is full of critters. (wouldn't be surprised it did sit for 15+ years. would I be able to cruise at 70+mph for an hour ? One would think the engine would starve out after a while ? I'll knock on the muffler and see if it sounds "different". Any other ways to check it ?

Wow I am impressed with all the ideas. Got my work cut out for me this weekend. Will keep you posted in what I find.
Thanks again...

If your trans dipstick is under the hood, either you have a later Twin Ultramatic transmission, or someone reworked it to use a later pan as only the late 54 & 55/56 had that feature.

You'd know the carb-to-trans linkage was adjusted wrong by the shift pattern, and by checking the adjustment yourself. It's covered in the shop manual. If a "carb" guy adjusted it, unless he was very Packard-savy the chances are that he didn't have the foggiest idea what he was doing.

Water distribution tube removal is covered in the shop manual.

Sounds to me like you need to buy or download a shop manual and begin reviewing it.

The distribution tube comes out of the block at the front, behind the water pump, and there is a fair amount of stuff, like the radiator that has to come out in order to access it.

Following onto MrPushbutton's advice, to remove the water pump, at the least you'll have to jack up the motor and loosen the front motor mount to access one of the lower bolts. I find it easier to jack up the front of the engine and remove as a unit the entire front mount and the inverted "U" bracket that supports the motor to the frame. I believe you'll also have to remove the grille as the water distribution tube is essentially the same length as the engine block. Take note as you remove the water pump bolts, all may not be the same length and some will use a flat copper washer as a seal because the bolts go thru into the water jacket. Don't forget to shellac the threads on those when reinstalling.

Regarding the restricted muffler, yes - I'd expect it would cause more problems at higher road speeds, except that the efficiency of the cooling system is greater at such speeds so there could be an offset there. Still worth a check.

Speedwell put the dip stick in the trans. I agree Glenn Burnie Starter/Carb doesn't have a clue what they are doing. They rebuilt the carb for $500 then charged me an addl $250 to fix it. The fix/adjustments they made caused the transmission to fail. Speedwell had to rebuild the carb again (said it was totally screwed up) and fix the "adjustments" that they did to the linkage prior to rebuilding the transmission.

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They charged you a total of $750 to rebuild the carb? Boy, they had you over the barrel! I hope they rebuilt your trans for free after that.

As for the water tube, like Owen said you have to jack up the front of the engine, remove the grille, and of course the radiator, to get the tube out. I also recommend flushing the engine out with a garden hose, as you'll be amazed at the amount of crud that's in the engine.

If you need any pointers and want to talk over the phone, send me a PM and I'll give you my # and can walk you through the procedure, as well as a few other things concerning your trans, etc.

If your muffler was plugged you would not be able to go 70, well maybe with some resistance if it was only partly plugged. But it would run OK at low speeds and your overheating would be at hiway speeds not at idle.

In other words your symptoms do not point to a clogged muffler.

The water distribution tube is a metal pipe slightly flattened into an oval shape. It slides into the engine block behind the water pump. There are holes strategically located to allow water to flow out of it to each cylinder.

This tube extends the length of the engine. To get it out you have to take off the water pump and fish it out with a bent metal rod or special tool.

But check the engine temps first. As long as the front of the engine is more or less the same temp as the back the water tube must be OK.