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(1) 2 »

torsion level question
#1
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Mathew Rattray
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Hi Guys,

This question has probably been asked before, I am finding that when i'm driving the 55 Caribbean it is constantly adjusting the level of the vehicle. After speaking to other 55-56 owners in the Australian Packard club they have advised me that their vehicles do not constantly adjust when they drive the vehicle. Has anyone experienced an issue like this? Is the car meant to keep level or keep adjusting its self?

Many thanks,
Mathew

Posted on: 2014/6/11 0:57
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Re: torsion level question
#2
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Craig Hendrickson
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Mathew:

Sometimes the T-L will "hunt" a lot as I've experienced that on my 55 Pat. What I do is turn the T-L off when it has finally decided where it wants to be. No more hunting. If it needs a "fine adjustment" after that, I do that with my manual override switch (DPDT center off). Then everything is fine, mate!

Craig

Posted on: 2014/6/11 3:13
Nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure! Ellen Ripley "Aliens"
Time flies like an arrow. Frui
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Re: torsion level question
#3
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Peter Packard
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Hey Mat.... I forgot to tell you to turn the T L off when you go courting. Great to see you at Mildura. PT

Posted on: 2014/6/11 3:18
I like people, Packards and old motorbikes
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Re: torsion level question
#4
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Mathew Rattray
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Thanks Peter & Craig, It sure was good to catch up at Mildura. If I turn the T-L off it will still move around and by the end of the trip (and during the trip) the car will end up with the nose up or down.

Posted on: 2014/6/11 5:09
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Re: torsion level question
#5
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Ross
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TL cars rely on the fact that the rubber bushings prefer to remain in their neutral position to keep the car from see-sawing. The upper inner control arm bushings are particularly important in that function. They have to be in good condition and must be in their neutral position when the car is level. The TL on my 56 operates so rarely when underway that it is unnoticable.

Posted on: 2014/6/11 5:16
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Re: torsion level question
#6
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Steve203
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Another culprit might be the timer. Articles written when the 55s came out said there was a timier in the system to prevent hunting:

<i>Because it isn't practical to have the leveler working like crazy every time the car hits a bump-it wouldn't react in time, but it'd wear itself out trying-the control system has a six-second time delay built in
<Popular Science Feb 55></i>

So climb on your bumper and see if it takes the full 6 seconds to react.

Posted on: 2014/6/11 9:08
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Re: torsion level question
#7
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Steve203
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Saw an episode of "My Classic Car" on line today that covered a 56 Caddie and a 56 Packard 400.

While driving the Packard, the host of the show and the rep from the museum that owns the car both commented on the weird feel of the car as it keeps adjusting the suspension as it's driven down the road.

here's the ep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgUaSwO0bV8

Posted on: 2014/6/16 19:06
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Re: torsion level question
#8
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Let the ride decide
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34,

Ross suggestion is something that you should look into.

How much does the car go up/down in front from level when it hunts?

Look at service technical bulletin;
http://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/article/view.article.php?67

55T-1, read procedure 2, this may help with what Ross pointed out.
55T-2, probably not the cause, but FYI.

Posted on: 2014/6/16 19:39
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Re: torsion level question
#9
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Owen_Dyneto
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...both commented on the weird feel of the car as it keeps adjusting the suspension as it's driven down the road.

Yeah, that comment also strikes me as odd, they obviously didn't change the load in the trunk or backseat enroute and didn't go far enough to burn up a significant weight of gasoline to make the system want to adjust. Like Ross, unless I'm driving long enough to drink up a lot of gasoline, it's pretty uncommon for my TL system to "adjust" more than once or twice briefly in the course of a couple of hours on the highway and you really have to be attentive to even notice it.

Posted on: 2014/6/16 22:12
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Re: torsion level question
#10
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Steve203
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<i>...they obviously didn't change the load in the trunk or backseat enroute and didn't go far enough to burn up a significant weight of gasoline to make the system want to adjust.</i>

And normal road irregularities are far shorter than the 6 second delay that is supposed to be built into the system. Only way they could compress the suspension that long would be if they were doing hole shots, and from the road tests done at the time, the rear suspension geometry sharply reduces squat and dive compared to conventional cars of the era.

Only things that come to mind would be the suspension binding somewhere so that it doesn't want to come back to level and keeps overshooting, the delay timer being on the fritz so the TL wants to correct for every bump, or the switches in the TL being somehow out of adjustment so the system's tolerance for body alignment is much smaller than what it was designed to be.

Posted on: 2014/6/17 0:35
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