Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Unfortunately both are not level. There is a 1" difference side to side. I thought it was the old shocks but is there a bigger issue?

I will try to re-adjust that arm to make it level.

Ross,

I do not recall any sounds that the unit in the car may or may not have made. The unit I dropped off at the rebuilder is fine. They called and said it works as designed (I'm amazed - the unit is 58 years old) so no costs involved.

Now I guess I need to return to my mechanic pit and ??????

There is a 1" difference side to side. I thought it was the old shocks but is there a bigger issue?


Ordinary double-acting shock absorbers cannot raise or lower a suspension, they are neutral at whatever point the suspension settles at and only add resistance to up and down motion from that point. It can be a different story with "coil over" or gas-filled shocks.

A point to remember that's been brought up before is that the inventor of the TL system advised against anything except simple double-acting shocks. I believe even heavy duty shocks were not recommended by Allison though I believe Packard used them on the export models, a browse of the parts book should clarify that.

What about changing one "link"...the two/three/four ring piece of steel that changes height....

need someone else to explain this.....

Once the car is sitting nicely level front to rear, then doublecheck how much out of level it is side to side. It is not unusual for one bar to settle more over time than the other. Side to side level is easily corrected by installing a longer "pin" on the low side. This is the vertical link you can see on your front suspension right next to the shock absorber. They come in different lengths and for a one inch sag I would recommend the next longest link which is 5/8 longer. It works exactly the same way as putting on higher heels on your shoes.

If your search this site you will find many pages on the topic. But before rushing to do that, do a close inspection of stabilizer and other rubber cored bushings and get them up to snuff as they all have an effect. For example, its not unusual for the rear torque arm bushings on 56s to be pulled almost clean through their mounts making the car a good 5/8" lower all by themselves.

Quote:
It's right here, in the site's Service Index - straight from the horse's mouth (typewriter).

However, note that P/Ns listed therein are specific to 55; see the factory parts book (Gr. 15.969) for 56 counterparts.

Unfortunately the front shocks are gas and are dead and the rear are coil overs. I know all are no good anymore and they are on my list to change. If you measure the ground to the tail fin and then sit on the bumper and then measure it again the car is actually 1 1/2" lower than when it started, so the shocks are not rebounding the whole way, at least immediately.

As mentioned in bulletin 55T-1, if measured on a level floor design height is 10" from the floor to the bottom of body sill at the center. That was for the side to side height but as the sill is pretty much straight across it's a valid measurement front to back as well. A 3/8 inch variation was considered acceptable.

While the 10" is a given figure, there are some differences with body styles and loading. That was mentioned in another bulletin as an issue with convertibles with the extra bracing and heavily accessorized cars. They could be so heavy the bars couldn't support them at the recommended height even with the longest links installed so a stronger bar was made available. If your car isn't the prescribed measurement, as long as it is the same value side to side and front to back would be more important.

Depending on how much friction is in the system, the car probably will not return to exactly the same position each time the front or rear is changed either.

It's also possible too little friction can be present as was experienced by another poster whose car was continually trying to level. The least little thing would upset the balance causing the compensator to work. In his case it was trying to level as he drove with the rear going up and down as it overshot. Out here that would be a desirable feature. Many of our local residents pay good money to have their cars hop up and down.