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

Removing all the plugs and cranking the engine is the standard practice to check compression. It lets the engine spin freely and gives an accurate reading to compare with factory specs.

Owen is right, you can tell a great deal about the condition of an engine by running compression checks as he specified.

If you try it again I feel sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the difference.

And typically one records the value after three compression strokes which typically are enough to reach a maximum value.

Also keep the throttle blade at least close to wide open too. Are u at high altitude???

No, I am near the coast. So low altitude. I'll give it a go this weekend.

you probably can not spot a head-gasket leak with a compression test. The amount of air that can make a LOT of noise leaking out of a head-gasket leak is typically too small in volume to make much of a difference.

Unfortunately, Packard's engineers "missed the boat" on cyl. head hold-downs. Too far apart. Not enough of them. All Packards are prone to cyl. gasket failure (well, I dont know about the V-8's - other than tune-ups, never worked on one).

Best way to avoid this, is reasonably frequent re-torquing of cyl. head hold-downs. Follow the head-tightening sequence in the shop manuals.

When EVER you pull a cyl. head, check its face - Packard heads, both alum. and steel, are prone to warping. Any half-way decent machine shop can re-surface the cyl. head.

You are NOT likely to find un-even-ness in a Packard block.

I personally do not believe in gasket paste on cyl. heads. Not convinced it can stop a gasket leak under the pressure of combustion. When I replace a cyl. head, I just spray it with a light engine oil, so that when I tighten the head-bolts, the gasket will "crush and slip" nicely as the cyl. head comes down. Works for me.