Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

On occasion I have trouble getting my car into reverse. It is definitely being blocked by the overdrive mechanical interlock at the back of the transmission. It only happens when the overdrive cable is pushed in (engaging overdrive). The cable will not pull out when the problem occurs unless I move the car and make sure that the car is not pushing against the trans by being on a little hill trying to coast. Level ground is OK.

Is this due to improper adjustment of the lockout cable? If so how do you adjust?

Or is there some electrical control that causes this?

John from KC

Since it's an R11 there haven't been many mechanical problems reported with reverse like there was with R9s. One problem that was mentioned was moisture in the governor which kept the solenoid engaged. When that happened trans wouldn't go into reverse. Basically water was getting in and shorting the contacts. Water may not be the only issue because anything else that could ground the lead from governor to relay to energize the solenoid could also be doing the same. Symptom was if reverse wouldn't engage with ign key on and engine running but would with ign key off, electrical was suspect.

As to the lockout lever, don't recall any specific adjustment procedure. You want to adjust so the lockout lever will be almost all the way to the front against the stop when knob is pulled all the way out. When knob is pushed in the lever will go almost all the way to the rear stop.

Thanks. This gives me something to check. Can the governors be repaired if that is the culprit?

The overdrive had not been used for at least 20 years. The lockout cable was rusted up and somebody had even removed the clevis from the overdrive and wired it forward so that the unit would not work. I used a new conduit using a manual choke cable from the tractor supply house and adapted the Packard switch end to the dash part and made a clevis to hook onto the R11. I used some 3/8" copper tube to guide the threaded rod at the transmission end. I silver soldered the control wire to the Packard parts at each end. I machined parts to fit over the cable housing to hook them to the stationary Packard parts.

That said, the overdrive worked after the cable was installed and the electrical was hooked back up except for the glitch with reverse.

John from kc

You can remove the governor and take the contact plate off to clean. It is an odd size hex -- 1 7/16 I believe -- and has to be thin. The wrench handle is short and bent to clear the frame. Some have made a tool by cutting off a regular open end wrench and grinding then bending the handle slightly. Others have had luck using channel locks. However it is done, it might be a good idea to remove and check the governor since it had sat for so long. One I removed had oil that had leaked inside and congealed so the flyweights were gummed up and sticky. Also check the condition of the wiring all along the path. That old insulation just loves to dry out and drop off in chunks when disturbed. That could also be causing electrical problems if it's next to the frame.

The repair on the cable sounds ingenious. Bet that repair cost a whole lot less than finding a Packard original cable in good condition. Those are expensive and not in great supply. The full travel of the cable knob is 2 7/8 inches so as long as yours is adjusted so the lever is at the front when out and does the full travel it should not be the cause of any issues.

The governor wasn't working properly. The switch was on even though the car was not moving. I took it apart and found that there was an adjustment that was too tight on the contact so that it had no freedom to release. The governor was clean inside. I am still fiddling with it.

My governor top was cracked and there was a mis-adjusted contact for the overdrive. It looked like someone did a little modification as the end of a screw was all that was used for the contact. There did not seem to be a good way to tighten the wire onto it without messing up the gap (the screw to fasten the wire onto the governor also adjusted the gap).

So, I settled for getting a used one after an internet search. The overdrive works fine now. However, the unit did not have a NC contact to run the engine clutch. I had hoped one day to get that weird clutch working!

If someone has the two wire governor top for a reasonable price, I might be interested.

I have a NOS 2 wire governor cover. Not sure what a reasonable price is...but MM offers the 418710 cover for 125. I'm certain I can do better than that...

If you and flackmaster can't meet on a price, if you wanted to play with the clutch you can duplicate the governor functions with a 6v relay.

You could have the existing single governor wire operate a relay instead of going directly to the current switches. Use the relay to provide the two outputs exactly as the governor would.

The clutch accelerator switch would connect to the normally closed contact of the relay duplicating the missing EC wire of the governor. AD function now going to kickdown switch would be supplied instead from the relay normally open contact. Contact common would go to ground. 6v to one side of coil and the wire from the governor that currently goes to kickdown switch goes to relay instead to complete the coil circuit. The relay could be conveniently connected to the existing wires and hidden down by the kickdown switch. When you get a cover the whole thing can be reversed back to stock.

I settled for a one wire governor cover for $20 + $6 s&h from Herm, the Overdrive guy. Herm is a general overdrive fellow who has a lot of parts that he refurbishes. He wasn't aware of two wire tops, but is an OK source of some parts for R11 (maybe R9). He shipped quickly after receiving a check (no credit!).

Link:http://hermtheoverdriveguy.com/?page_id=889

I don't need he luxury of a 418710 NOS switch, but would be willing to go a little higher than $20 for a workable unit.

I can use a relay as was suggested to gain the necessary functionality.