Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Agree--although without a pit or some way to keep all wheels on the ground will be hard to do either of the service procedures since raising on a jack would defeat the purpose. Has someone put on wrong shocks --maybe air shocks or spring assisted in the rear--something crazy like that.

I was hoping the leveler could be activated manually by just moving the switch to get the short bar levers in approx correct position but apparently not. One thing I'm not clear about is can car be leveled anywhere close at all and if so, where are the short bars pointing.

Thanks for the info you guys have sent.

I have now measured the height of the rear and have sent a couple of pics for you guys to check out and i now think that the rear is to high. I have measured it at 13" at the rear of the body sill. As you can see, there is more than half of the rear wheel being seen. I also believe that the previous owner may have taken out the smaller torsion bars as there are signs of copper grease at the ends. I'm trying to get in touch with him to confirm this.

What i do know is that this car has been sitting in this position for nearly ten years. I have photos of the car when it was in America and it looked in a sorry state then.

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For the rear to be in "correct" position, the lower edge of the skirt should bisect the center of the rear wheel. In your picture P1853[01]_07-06-10.jpg, the rear is WAY HIGH, i.e., NOT in normal position.

As explained above, the T-L suspension is like a "teeter totter". If the rear is high, then the front is low and vice versa. I also agree with the other assessments that there is probably nothing wrong with your main torsion bars. Your problem is too much "up" twist on the compensator bars, causing the rear to rise and the front to lower.

When you previously stated that the compensator motor was working OK, what do you mean PRECISELY?

Craig

I think we need to start at basics.
1. There are two fuses located on the drivers side front fender to the rear of the battery attached to the solenoid buss bar. One is a 30 amp fuse, the other is a 7 1/2 amp fuse. Both must be verified as being good fuses.
2. There is a switch on the underside of the dash to the left of the steering column close to the door. This switch must be thrown toward the steering column.
3. If the unit still will not function, the limit switches built into the gear reduction portion of the leveling motor must be examined to verify the wiring is intact.
4. Assuming everything checks out so far, remove the four screws that hold the wiring cover on the "brain" and gently slide it down the wires. Then verify that all wires are plugged into their proper color-coded terminals..
5. If all of this checks out, then return to the solenoids mounted on the drivers inner fender. Connect a jumper wire to GROUND and TOUCH (not connect) BRIEFLY the small top terminal on the LOWER solenoid. You should hear the TL motor start. Do NOT hold the jumper on. Just touch it long enough to hear the motor and immediately pull it away.
6. If the motor runs as described in "5." then you have a problem with limit switches OR the "brain".

I'll be in the UK in late August (Wales and between Leeds and Manchester) if you don't get it fixed before then maybe I could drop by.

What an offer in this day and age, a Packard "Technician" offering to make a housecall! And so casually too "maybe I could drop by",

But, looking at a map of the UK, Ipswich is on the east coast of England about 200 miles south east of Leeds and Manchester is further in the same general direction while Wales is about 250 miles west of Ipswich. Mitch, if you haven't solved your problem by the time John(Mr PB) makes his trip, it would be worth your while to ensure he makes the large detour required to avail yourself of his experience and knowledge.

Mitch -

Thanks for taking time to uncover your project and provide us with some better views. (BTW, if the car was in a sorry state when you got it, it looks like you've done a magnificent job in restoring it.)

Clearly, the rear is sitting too high, but not so high that any damage was done. I've seen much worse. However, while I've seen more than one of these cars sitting just as high in the rear, I've never seen any of those cars sitting so low in front. There may be more than one problem at the root of this whole situation.

If the fasteners for the inner control arm bushing had been tightened with no load on the front wheels, I would expect the front end to be sitting high, which it is not. Still, you might want to review Step 2 in STB 55T-1 about friction in the front-end.

Also, have you given ALL of the grease fittings on the suspension (and believe em, there are plenty of 'em) a good shot of chassis lube, including load arm pivots? I've seen more than one car where some of those fittings were hidden - buried under a lot of crud that built up over years of sloppy lube service. Failure of the bearings in the front load arm pivots is not common.

After checking that, I would proceed with Randy Berger's advice on electrical troubleshooting. A battery cut-off switch might prove helpful, as well, while you attempt to manually jumper the solenoids.

Once you have the car reasonably level, you can then begin to explore some other possible sources of the problem.

Since it appears the compensator (short) bars have been removed and re-installed under a previous owner, one has to wonder if anything else might have been removed, but perhaps re-installed incorrectly. It could be that the compensator control link is mis-indexed the left main bar. A pair of crossed wires could cause problems, too. It will require a thorough review of the factory service manual and inspection of the car.

Independent of that, there could simply be a malfunction inside the compensator control box.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Again, I thank you for all your info. I will be checking everything out over the next few days and i will keep you informed.
And just for the record i bought this Packard as you see it now so i can't take the credit of restoring it. All i have to do is sort the suspension out and redo the interior. Then enjoy driving it down the road.

MrPushbutton, If I have no success with it you are more than welcome to come and check it out.

Ozstatman, I will soon put it on the register.

Thank you.

help I have a 56 clipper custom and the one subsystem i thought i would not have to deal with has reared its ugly head . I jacked the car up from in front of the tire and sprung the right torsion bar out of the stirrup i have also lost the small cup that goes between the two parts,looking in the manual the first thing i noticed was a warning not to jack the car from there.I need info on obtaining the threaded rod tool and any info on the correct procedure would be appreciated have tried brute force method to no avail. i have been working on this car for about 4 months mostly taking it apart and using por 15 on the bottom. thank you i can send pics but i have a feeling someone out there knows exactly what i am talking about.

Quote:G'day Buddy,
Missed welcoming you with your first post some time ago, so now, and sorry I can't help with your question.

But I invite you to include your '56 Clipper Custom in the Packard Owner's Registry here, together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?