Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

The car was acquired in 2009. It had been stored inside since 91. Repaired: fuel system, brakes, front floor pans, and a new interior. The TLS is the last thing that needs to be addressed.
The car sits high in back, (1&1/4" in 4' as measured on the frame). The control arms were bent. A mounting boss was broken, and the shaft mounting plate bent and scored from interference with the control lever. The down limit switch wires were also broken.
The control arms have been straightened, the broken boss can be welded, and the shaft mounting plate has been straightened. When control unit was removed the lever was froze on its shaft, and had to be pressed off. The spline had twisted (see pic.) and the ID distorted. Ground out ID to a slip fir on shaft. Assembled unit with bent spline functions in both directions off the car. Motor checked out OK. Have NOS limit switch.
It is interesting that with the control unit off the car it still sits high. Adding my 190+ lbs. to the back bumper made no noticeable difference.
Any suggestions on:
Leveling the car without the control unit installed
Using bent spline as is
Finding a good used compensator lever
Type of grease

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A good example of why limit switches are important and what can happen when something fails or they get bypassed. Maybe that happened when your bars swung to the opposite side that time.

Just from my own experience that twisted part has been weakened but I think it will suffice. The first 56 I bought had one like it and also bent bars for who knows how many years. It was still going but I did replace it when I went into the mechanism for another reason. Don't remember why I went in but that part was not it.

Also for what it's worth I used high pressure moly grease but Ross may have a better suggestion.

If you mean temporary leveling without the entire compensator assy then probably a sack or four of cement or sand in the trunk would be the easiest to put in -- and take out. Maybe your wife has something in mind that needs sacks of landscape gravel you could pick up a few months early.

If you mean leveling without the control switch box you can do it by grounding the yellow or pink wire that would be coming out of control box & headed to limit switch. Just momentarily to bias it slightly so the short bars are pulling down. If no limit switches then the the blue or orange wires to solenoid. Just watch where that lever is while you do it and there should be no issues.

Of course, with either part missing the car's rear is still likely to be up one time and down the next as the suspension will want to float around with stops, acceleration, load or anything else that might change.

As to the lever, they are available new. Part# 6489021 for the 56 piece. Max has them and am sure Kanter too. The 56 levers have the missing spline to locate them into the limit switch cam plate properly. IIRC, a 55 lever will not work so need to be sure what is offered if looking for used..

Happy,

Are you saying that with the compensator motor, and gear box out of the car, you can not level it? It the car on a lift or jack stands?

With the leveler missing the back end of the car will be high unless quite heavily loaded.

During most light load conditions, the leveler is actually pulling the back of the car DOWN. It only starts to push it up when there is something fairly substantial in the trunk.

I believe Mr. Allison did this to get a larger range of leveling, and also to cause the overall ride height of the car to remain fairly constant regardless of load.

I think he would have been pleased to see me coming back from the machine shop last week with two straight eight blocks in the back of the Packup, dead level and riding like on glass.

I would have thought that with the leveler in or out, that the main torsion bars are at rest, and tht the car is level.

Thank you! Appreciate the response. Won't be able to reinstall control unit until mid-January. Will update then.
The car sits wheels on the ground. The control on the work bench.
PS: Previous speedometer problem caused by replacing rubber washer/spacer on the wrong (inside) of the glass face. Where it used up the clearance in front of the indicating needle causing it to bind and brake.

I would have thought that with the leveler in or out, that the main torsion bars are at rest, and tht the car is level.

First of all, the main bars are not "at rest" when the motor and gearbox are out, they are still loaded by supporting the weight of the body. Secondly, the "leveler" function isn't just some neat little add-on feature but an essential part of the suspension system because without any loading of the short bars the car body will simply come to rest in a position based on the center of weight and it can rock back and forth from there just by applying a little weight fore or aft.


There are several publications about the design and execution of the system that you might find useful reading. One of the better ones is the paper Packard presented to the industry, to the SAE as I recall. Perhaps it's available on-line here.

Owen,

Poor choice of words on my part, yes the torsion bars are still loaded. I was looking at the suspension and steering section of the service manual (found on this site), under compensator removal on page 15......"it will be necessary to take the load of the body and frame off the compensator bars and links". So I said at rest, my bad, as the kids say now days!

You kind of made my point that it should rock back and forth. Happy said it will not come down in back. So it sounded like something is keeping the back end up.

The SAE paper is on this site. I will attempt to read, but I am not an engineer, nor do I play one on TV. I am just a shady tree guy. It will probably be over my head. The movie "The Safe Road Ahead" kind of discussed the torsion level suspension, so that is also where my question comes from.youtu.be/4ZGXN_XfIg0

Do you have coil over shocks in the rear? If so, they may be lifting the rear.

NO. Shocks are standard. No over coil.