Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Just some curious questions because something's not right--either from sag or something else. A properly working system will have a ride nothing else of the era could touch and a bad system is just that-no range of motion and running over a toothpick will cause rebound bumpers to hit..

As mentioned, when car level it should be at 10" height, suspension about centered in front. How high is your car when level? The front load link has some grooves on it. Just wondering how many on yours? That is piece that can be changed to raise or lower overall height. Wondering if someone has already worked on it and it's as high as possible. When level, is the compensator having to really twist the rear bars or are they in neutral position or close to?

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Ill go out and look in a few, but my opinion is that the front end is not holding up quite right.

the side hieght is 8 3/4 inch.

my driveway is extremely uneven, which makes getting the car level hard to do.

Mike,

Take a picture of the entire car, from the side, on level ground, so we can see the relationship between the front and back. That might us all understand what you are seeing.

might take a day or two, but i will.

longer load links in the front should correct the probelm.

ALSO, be sure to roll the car back and forth or drive it a very short distance of say 20 feet back and forth when ever the attitude of the car is changed so that suspension components are normalized. THEn check the attitude of the car and the dimension.

I greased the front end, and it seems to ride a bit higher, and it definately rebounds better.

HH56, The arms are in a neutral position.

If the arms are neutral, then that's as high as it's going to get with the links you have. It has either sagged or someone has worked on it before and possibly changed something. When you get everything working and start taking it out for longer drives, then you can get a feel for whether you can live with it.

In order to raise it, there are adjustable links available but unknown how much they would help without knowing what's in there now. Just be sure to read up on the procedure and hopefully someone close will have the holding tool, otherwise the load arm can be chained but is a little more involved. Tool is much easier. You can check the adjustable links out here:


http://www.thepackardlibrary.org/New%20Items.htm

Thanks for the info hh56. After a greasing the front end seems to be sitting a little better. Ive had it on the local hiway once, and it seems to ride ok. the headlights are a bit low. Ill try again soon with the front end sitting better.

Riding height is a good check, but keep in mind that it can be affected not only by load, but tire size and inflation pressures.

The cross-section of the factory-installed tires was a bit taller than modern tires. According to Coker Tire's website:

US Royal 820-15 has a 29.59" OD

Coker Classic 800-15 has a 29.08" OD

Coker Classic 760-15 has a 28.7" OD

Coker Classic P235/75R15 has a 28.91" OD

BF Goodrich P235/70R15 has a 28" OD

Coker Classic P225/75R15 has a 29.08 OD

BF Goodrich P225/70R15 has a 27.4" OD

Of course, you need to divide the difference in OD by 2 to determine the effect in riding height. 800-15's were standard equipment on the Patricians.