Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Cheap? The "woopsies" end up costing more!

Get them started young.

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Tom,

One suggestion, you may want to check the clearance between the pump impeller and the casting in the block. An easy way to do this is to stick three small pieces of clay to the back of the impeller equally spaced around the diameter that is facing the block.

Maybe you can ask one of you "helpers" to donate some. Playdough will work fine also.

After you attach the three pieces of clay to the impeller bolt the pump back in, then remove it and check the thickness of the clay. What you're tying doing is measure the clearance between the impeller and the block. If this clearance is to large you're going to reduce the flow of the pump.

I did this on a '32 which had .110 clearance. most modern water pumps are designed for .035 - .055 clearance between the impeller and block. I removed the impeller from the pump and machined a large copper disk which I soldered to the back of the impeller after machining it flat. I used .062 thick copper which gave a working clearance of .048, after the pump was bolted it.

I took temp. readings before and after I did this and saw a 15 degree drop in the coolant temp. under identical test conditions.

The impeller clearance is critical because as this clearance increases the coolant circulates from the center of the impeller to the outside of the impeller through this gap, instead of flowing through the block and radiator.

I've also had good luck using a wetting agent, which reduced the surface tension of the coolant. Most parts stores carry this, one trade name is hyperkool.

Regards,

Dave

Tom

Gee, reminds me of Saturdays when one of us will bring a Packard over to Owen's and we all work on it. Actually maybe one working and the rest supervising. When we wear gloves they're not as nice

Did you have hot dogs afterwards? That's part of the ceremony.

Regards


John Harley

Hi Tom,
Nice to see you are sorting out the overheating problems on the 34s. Mine has got a lot better but is still not quite right. Would it be possible for you to write out an idiots guide on the Rad removal procedure? e.g 1, Remove bonnet (hood)2, disconnect headlamps etc etc
Also where are the bolts situated that hold the Rad on? are they under the front crossmember?
I look forward to reading the outcome of your Rad rebuilding.
Regards
Terry

I completely agree with 32model901's comments and methodology; impellor clearance is a very major and often overlooked factor in pump performance. The playdough method is also a very good way of measuring the engine valve-to-cylinder head clearance.

Its its mystery that it even cooled. Photo 001 and 002 are the bottom. 004 and 005 are the top of the core.

Stay Tuned...

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New core....yummy.

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Is that rust or a mineral deposit clogging it or something else? Looks rather strange--almost like pulp as in dissolved paper. Whatever, bottle it. Looks almost guaranteed to stop anything from leaking.

Quick update...

Its amazing what a new core will do. Finally, I can enjoy this car. I will keep everyone updated, as its still needs to be run in 90 degrees. Over the road is 160-165...at extended low RPM idol, 180-185...back down to 160-165 once underway again.

Terry, I will put together something on what I did and what you will need to do the job.

Thanks everyone.

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Hi Tom,
That new rad sure looks cool(excuse the pun)How the heck did she run with the other one God only knows.
The photos were good but it would be nice to know your sequence of work and thankyou for your offer of putting something together for me, I look forward to it.
Our first show of the season is coming up soon and then a fifty mile run to one of our seaside Towns in aid of Charity.
Jean Luc will get a bit warm at times but i've learnt to read the signs and stop accordingly for a bit of a ccol down.
He never gets as hot as yours did.
Please keep the updates coming.
All the best
Terry