Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Jim,
Not to pull you off topic, but.... I installed an electric wiper motor from Newport Engineering. It bolts right up to the Packard firewall and wiper hook up. It works great. In Arizona my windshield wiper motors always dried up. This one has been working for over 10 years. Of course I try not to get caught in the rain, but it works great when I do get caught in the rain.

fuel pump,,using the ford y block,,first one didn't work,, think lever came off diaphragm,

Why not just use the correct pump? Mike Dulinksi surely has cores and then just have it rebuilt, or do it yourself.

hi,,dave ,,just wanted to get engine running,, rebuilding the carter is on the list,,,

I've been considering that, but the last time I received word from their website; they couldn't be sure that I would be able to use my WW knob in the OE place. If your set up does that, I'd love to know about it.

The other thing is that on my cars I like to keep things as designed as possible. With the vacuum can I'm very close to flawless performance. However I use them so seldom that I have had moments when I've had to get out of the car and "assist" the wipers until they could work on their own. I mean, if I wanted to stand in the rain, I could have walked to the store. If the Newport system is simply a bolt on and the switch can used the OE knobs AND provide for working the Windshield Washers I would definitely be interested in knowing.

On topic, I have something to add about the "stumbling". Yesterday when I was backing it into the garage it didn't seem to want to back up and in until I pressed down harder on the gas at which point it shot back into the garage and I barely got it stopped before I hit the wall.

I put it in drive and it sort of did the same then - probably the torque converter smoothed it out where as reverse is greared. While in the alley, I then tried Reverse again and once more it stumbled until I pressed down harder and again it shot backwards - chirping the tires this time.

Anyone have any ideas about what I should do now? The action in reverse doesn't seem to fit a Fuel Pump problem - at least to me.

On the wiper issue, 57 Chevy electric motor bolts on & you can use the original cable. You get the normal wipe not the extra wide one. I have one on my 56 Exec. The electric switch is in the motor so just run 12 volts to it. I put a small washer as spacers on the 2 screws holding the motor on.

This is an update on the Fuel Pump leaking problem I posted earlier.

I hadn't driven the car for 36 hours and when I checked under the hood I found liquid around the Fuel Pump again. This time though, I noticed something else. In addition to the gas around the pump, the fuel filter bowl just before the carb was half empty! It was full when parked and the pump area dry. There was enough on the rim of the pump today for a taste test and it tastes like what is in the Lawnmower tank.

It looks to me like the gas is being syphoned out of the fuel filter bowl and maybe providing the leak around the pump? I looked at the fuel filter bowl on my '51 200 Deluxe and even though it had been parked longer than the '55 Pat, it was full

Is this just a coincidence or is my guess have some foundation in truth?

Please let me know any thoughts you might about this.

Jim

It looks to me like the gas is being syphoned out of the fuel filter bowl

There are a pair of one-way valves in the fuel pump to prevent flow in the opposite direction.

Well Drat!!

Thank you once again Owen,for your fast response. I guess the next move is to check the fittings to make sure they're tight. If they are, then I'm at complete loss as to how this gas is getting on the rim of the Fuel Pump. I mean there is nothing else it can be but gas as I'm running a 50/50% mix for coolant.

I guess the next step is to take the pump off the car and check the rest of the screws. If those are tight I'm out of ideas.

I've gotten to the place where I was going to order a complete engine gasket set for the '51 Patrician but it looks like now there might be another contender for that cash.

I'll let everyone know what I find out.

Thanks again, Owen.

J.

Actually, there are two parts to this one.

First, the fuel pump. I haven't gotten much done as temperatures here have been in the mid to upper 90s, again. However, I did check all the connections I could with the pump still on the car and they are all tight. Not with standing, the rim around the pump is full of gas and the car hasn't been driven in 48 hours. Also, the fuel level in the glass filter bowl has been dropping. It was about half full yesterday and today is down to about a quarter of an inch. I know O_D said that there were two check valves in the AC pump that prevent fuel from flowing backwards but I doubt very much if the gas on the rim is coming from the tank.

I think I'm going to modify my plan and wait to see what happens when the fuel filter bowl is dry - probably tomorrow. If the gas on the rim disappears I can only think, given what O_D said, that those two check valves need to be ------ checked!

As for the second part, I'm damned if I can remember what I was going to ask! It looks like my mind is evaporating in the heat along with the gas.

Any comments from you all would be gratefully accepted.