Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hi All,

I've got a mystery - at least it is to me. I found out why oil was getting blown all over the driver's side of my engine last night - I think!
I removed the oil filter cannister and found about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of "taffy" like sludge at the bottom. I had to soak it in solvent and chisel it out with a screw driver. Now that it's clean and the fittings removed and cleaned, how does the oil enter/leave the cannister? I know one path is the pipe on the side, but how does it move in/out of the pipe at the bottom? I don't see any entrance/exit. I really don't want to put this all back together again only to have it happen again. I looked in the FSM and there isn't any diagram for the filter that I could find.

Any help is really needed!

My thanks in advance!

There should be one or two very small holes--maybe 1/16" or so on the side of the center pipe. On most postwar filters Packard used, oil enters side port, passes thru the filter and exits the center pipe via the hole(s) and back to engine. They might be closed with the sludge but may be high enough to still be open.

Am surprised being a partial flow filter with oil free to go elsewhere in the engine if that path was blocked that there was enough pressure to do all that leaking just because of a clogged outlet. If the lid wasn't loose, there may still be an issue and I'd look very carefully at gasket fit and mating surfaces. Make sure the lid or rim isn't distorted.

Howard - you are a LIFE SAVER!!!!

Thank you so much! I knew I could feel air when I blew down the pipe, I just couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

Thanks again!

Tell us more: which year/engine? Is this a car you run or is it new to you?

If you run it, what kind of oil are you using? Adding seafoam?

Hi Pat -
It's my '55 Packard Patrician with its original 352. I've got a blog running under "Waking Sleeping Beauty....The Blog". This is the first engine I've had with the cannister oil filter. When I started it last night after a carb rebuild it blew oil out around the cannister. Right now, I'm running Valvoline 10-30wt. I'm unfamiliar with Seafoam so please fill me in.
I've installed a new water pump and deep cleaned the cannister this afternoon. Plan to re-start this weekend. Car had sat for 26 years in former owner's garage.
I decided not to try to run it tonight as I was tired and when I did try last night I was too tired to remember I never reconnected the vacuum lines to the big connector at the back of the carb.

Jim L. in OR, strongly recommend you use a new filter element. If that element has been in the car for 26 years it is dangerous. It can come apart and cause serious damage to your engine. Did I read somewhere you were using an element that came with the car? If so, same warning. Get a new one, they are cheap. The filter housing is easy enough to remove from the engine so it can be thoroughly cleaned. Good luck.

(o{I}o)

Excellent advice! I've seen one instance where the paper media failed, plugged oil lines, and resulted in severe engine damage.

Hi All:

Needless to say the bypass filter is pretty much a joke. It was an accessory in most years except for 1955-56.

The main method of filtration in applicable motors is settlement. Dirt ingestion is avoided via the floating pickup.

As stated in the Packard Manual the most important filters for the motor are the Air Cleaner and Oil Filler cap. The primary cause of dirt being poorly serivced/contaminated Air Cleaners. Never sandblast these parts. Always store them in closed containers when off the vehicle. Given they reduce dirt ingestion to 40 microns do not take them to the local Hot Rod shop to be repainted and thus filled with dirt.

I have pictures from Packard showing the oil filter lines connected either way even in the same series.

I have done a lot of Packard services over the years and complaints about serivces times. However, nobody ever complained about oil filter leaks on any on the cars I serviced or about the service time.

I have found that the filter must be carefully torqued to 15-18 ft lbs using a gasket in good condition. Over tightening will cause leakage.

Beware: Many filters (including WIX) may have unsuitable gaskets and so do not destroy or remove the old gasket unless you have verified that the new unit is the proper fit and quality.

I don't plan to work on these cars forever and so in the future someone need not put up with complaints if I record this procedure here.

Good luck.

Tim, not disagreeing at all, and strongly agree about the oil filler cap and air filter. I suspect the oil filler cap mesh is ignored much of the time and certainly leads to engine wear from ingested dirt.

The Senior Packards (Twelve, 320 and 385 Eights) had full-flow Purolater filters from 1934 thru the end of the line for them, 1939. Bypass filters were standard beginning in 1940 on all models with hydraulic lifters (initially, just the 356 engine).

You're right on target about the gaskets in the 55/56 filter boxes. One vendor supplies two gaskets and one will be the correct one, another vendor supplies just 1 and it will be incorrect. Also, the 55/56 filters with the deep conical and stamped steel covers are indeed prone to being bent, probably from overtightening and thereafter are always a problem. My own leaked and I ultimately replaced the lid with the cast steel (domed) lid, end of problems.

PS - actually I take exception to the statement that the bypass filters are pretty much of a joke. Judging by the amount of sludge in the bottom of the canister, they certainly do perform some filtration.

Quote:

Owen, the sludge in the bottom of the canister supports the idea of "settlement" being a major goal of the oil "filtering" system. As a portion of the oil goes through the canister, it increases volume and slows down long enough for some "settling" as well as a bit of filtering. I wouldn't be surprised if the goal of the filter is simply to minimize the amount of sludge that builds up at the bottom of the canister.

A plugged up mesh on a car without positive crankcase ventilation will obviously raise heck with crankcase pressures, in addition to introduction some dirt into the system.

The fact that Packard had full flow filters "back in the day" and changed to the partial flow design is one of at least two backward steps I believe they made over the years. The other is regressing from electric wipers back to vacuum.

Why did they do this? Cost? Did they think that oil bath air cleaners were going to keep the oil cleaner? Did they think it was going to stop raining hard?