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Gday my fellow Packard addicts

I recently rebuilt my bendix power booster in a 54 clipper and used a rebuild kit from one of the major suppliers , I noticed a small degree of pedal pressure loss which became worse every time I started the car . After a couple of weeks the pedal was going to the floor , fortunately the car was not registered for road use so I did'nt kill or injure anyone.
Looking at the system I found fluid swirling back into the reservoir while pedal pressure was applied . I dismantled the unit and found the compensator valve was the problem , this valve stops fluid from returning to the reservoir when the piston pressurizes the system . It was a new valve that came with the kit and I had'nt noticed how badly made it was , its a 2$ part that could kill and I had assumed that because it was new it was good , in the words of funny man Benny Hill
" when you assume you make an ass out of you " . The design fault was in the sealing shoulder of the valve , it had almost no raised section to seal against the return port , in fact it was almost metal to metal .

I don't know if I was just unlucky with this particular kit but when I told the supplier about the he problem he apologized and said they'd had problems with these valves recently and sent me another one . I ended up using the original 54 year old valve because it was still soft , looked in perfect condition and looked the best of the 3 valves that I now had .

The photos show the differences between valves

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Where did you buy your kit from?

I'll take "Eric already knows where it's from and what country made it" for 500 alex...

The supplier is in USA and I reckon all the suppliers have the same kit and would they be manufactured in Mexico ?

Chris

Mexico or China, who is the supplier?

I have taken a picture of comp valves made by 3 different manufacturers that should explain a lot. Being new at this electronic stuff I'm not sure if the photo is atached but if not will get expert advice and post is ASAP.


Valve #1 is an original Bendix supplied one which we bought from them for years in the 70's-90's?? until they stopped selling them. Note the sealing surface is raised and rounded and is molded into the cup.

Valve #2 is from a supplier that specializes in brake parts, note the raised rounded sealing surface. Note, that like the Bendix part, the bottom surface is a stamped cup and the rubber is molded into the cup.

VAlve #3 is different and it also comes from a supplier The rubber is molded form the bottom and top of the cup completely encapsulating the cup.
The sealing surface is raised and rounded

Although they are slightly different in length, the functional length and placement of the groove are the same.

We currently use valves #2 and #3.

The valve in the post above shows an almost flat sealing surface and it barely protrudes from the cup. The flatness will yield less pressure/sq in and my result in a poor seal.
The lack of protrusion may do the same.

THESE TWO CONDITIONS MAY ALLOW LEAKAGE AND FAILURE OF THE BRAKES.

There has been a suggestion that the valve spring be provided with the kit as years of use may have weakened it. The spring has miniscule pressure and we've never seen a bad one. Replacing it will not solve the failure problem, the valve seems to be the fault.

Treadle Vac's are not rockets, and diagnosing problems is not rocket science. It is quite clear to me that an improperly made part may be the cause of the rash of failures as never before. NO argument that a dual master cyl is safer, but "the sky is not falling". Proper main- tenance and repair will keep your well engineered Packard as safe as when it was new.

Fred Kanter
Kanter Auto Products
Boonton NJ

PS. I wonder how Eric Boyle could tell the the defective valve was made in China or Mexico. To do this by looking at photo on the Internet is an invaluable ability. I would like Eric to tell me where my valves #2 and #3 were made.FK

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Fred Kanter writes:
" Proper main- tenance and repair will keep your well engineered Packard as safe as when it was new."

Can u please be more specific. Specific as in MILES and/or TIME. I can not find any such maintenance specifications in the FACTORY service manual nor owners manual indicating specific procedures in any terms of MILES/TIME intervals.

It's midnight and I don't have a service manual handy, but not all safety related inofrmation is contained in the SM. The OM an SM were written for cars in regular use, not seldom used and 55 years old, therefore many age/storage related maintenance procedures were not contemplated. MIles and time are irrelvant in many cases when a car is this age, common sense applies.

See below for some critical safety items for which miles/time do not apply

For instance I don't think tire tread wear covered, neither is ozone cracking or age cracking. Common sense, taking your car to a tire shop or a repair garage should give you need.

Fire safety is not covered in the SM either. Inspect the fuel hose for cracking, fuel line for rusting, wiring harness for deterioration or damage, battery cables/clamps, installation of a battery cutoff switch. Fuel tank rusting is not covered, but an inspection several times a year for leaks should suffice.

Brake safety matters should be well covered, I believe that brake adjustments are covered both in the brake section and the specifications for shoe/drum clearance but not sure. Rmemeber that the SM was written for a trained/dealer mechanic and not for a novice owner/mechanic adn many assumptions are therefore made about the mechanical competency of the person working on the car. Brake fluid should be flushed and changed periodically, more often if the car is not used regularly as condensation is the biggest danger.

There are numerous auto maintenance books on the subject, some specific to collector cars or if you do not feel competent, take it to a restoration shop or mechanic and they will give you a schedule and do it for you.

From Starliner, post #1 above:
"... but when I told the supplier about the he problem he apologized and said they'd had problems with these valves recently and sent me another one . I ended up using the original 54 year old valve because it was still soft , looked in perfect condition and looked the best of the 3 valves that I now had ."

There may be many of us with the incorrect valves too. We need to know what supplier to contact for a replacement.

To Packard V8 and all other Packard owners

Kanter Auto Products has always supplied correct, safe compensator valves. We inspect our incoming product.

If any Packard owner thinks they have a defective valve, mail it to us with a return envelope and we will mail a new one free of charge in the interest of safety.

Mail to:

Kanter Auto Product
BTV Safety Program
76 Monroe St.
Boonton NJ 07005

Include a note with the year and model of your Packard or other BTV equipped car