Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I have been through every component, except taking the actual compensator gear box apart, and my 56 Executive's TL system is just not working correctly. The rear end seems to be stuck, no longer raising and lowering, either automatically or with the manual switch. All cross links and the center 'yoke' are in their correct positions, according to the pictures in the service manuals.

I removed the compensator control box and drilled out the brass rivets holding the cover on. Upon inspection, it was clean as a whistle. One of the metal contacts was slightly bent away from vertical, so I bent it back to the vertical position. This was a contact for the moving lever, that is operated by the tiny rod link attached to the driver's side torsion level rod.

There were several bad or questionable wire connections that I corrected, one by one. I used 'crimp' connectors, because I absolutely SUCK at soldering! I am thinking that the issue might be mechanical, at this point. What are your thoughts?

When you run the motor with the manual switch does the motor run or are you saying motor runs but there is absolutely nothing happening with the transverse bars or no rotation of the lever exiting the compensator??

If no motor, then strictly electrical and will need to troubleshoot to verify where the problem lies.

If motor does run but no other action then two possibilities. The first is the retaining clip for the worm gear end bearing has slipped and allowed the bearing and worm to move so it has shifted far enough from the pin on armature shaft the motor can't turn the worm. That was an issue on early 55 units but AFAIK was not a problem later.

The other possibility is sometime during all the problems you were having the compensator rotated the bars around to the wrong side and kept trying to rotate but bars and lever were blocked. Hopefully the fuse would have blown in that situation but if not, because it would have meant trying to moving the bars thru a solid object damage could have been done. In that situation it is possible the part of the output lever containing the splines connecting lever and transverse bars to the planetary was weakened and have now finally sheared off so the compensator in effect has nothing to move.

At this point if motor is running the easiest to eliminate is the out of place bearing. Remove the motor by removing the two end screws and check the worm position. Bulletin 55T-12 details the problem and what to look for. If that part is OK then it is time to remove the compensator.

Thanks for the quick reply, as always. The motor does run and the connecting rods don't seem to move. I'll check further. After all the TL drama that I have had, I would still rather have it rather than a conventional spring suspension.

Had the same problem with my 56 Patrician.The previous owner used the override switch to operate the load leveler.When I got the car, the motor worked but nothing happened.It appears that the override also overrides the limiter switch.In my case, the gear box basically destroyed itself.Replaced the gear box and motor, fixed all the other issues that he never bothered to and now it works as it should.

In addition to what has already been said,

Can you observe the system when you manually operate it? Do you see the bars moving at all?

My 55 Patrician had an issue once where the outside of the case would spin, no bar movement. I tightened up the case screws and the problem was fixed.

https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/servicemanual5556/Sect16_Suspension_Steering.pdf

Excellent point on the slipping center ring. Not very common but just a friction hold so with the units other issues it could have loosened. It is the mechanical transfer point between the two sets of planetaries so under a lot of load.

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If it is properly installed, it does not over ride the limits. The proper install is to parallel the control box relay outputs connecting the manual switch at the control box terminals which is before the limit switches. A connection there and limits stay in the circuit.

The factory manual switch also has a second set of contacts which disconnects the control box as soon as manual switch is moved so the two do not "fight" when manual is chosen and car moves enough out of level the control box would want to bring it back.

An aftermarket switch should be wired the same way also before the limits but won't have the disconnect function. On those installs the operator must remember to turn off the TL toggle switch under the dash before using the manual override or fuses will blow.

Remove motor and chek the drive pin near end of motor armature shaaft.

I have found several wire breaks, all of them in the 'yellow' wires that goes thus: 'manual switch' to 'control-box terminal' to 'down limit switch'. As I mentioned, I SUCK at soldering, and I used Crimp connectors, which I need to check again. One other problem is that the TL wiring diagram states that the manual switch is "grounded through switch case". That may be an issue as well. My metal dash was re-painted way back when I had my interior done. The necessary ground may be hampered by the new paint (since I installed the manual switch after the interior was done).

All of this must be corrected b4 I can thoroughly check the actual mechanical movements of the TL system. Then I'll find out about the motor, pin and rod movement.

Thanks for all the hot tips, every one of them is a blessing

Now that the beautiful sun has finally appeared I was able to remove the TL motor and found the drive pin intact and engaged to the worm gear. I am now kinda confused as to the TL's actions or rather in-actions. I did find that I was under the mistaken idea that there was a 'keeper washer' located on the worm gear shaft to hold it in-place. Apparently the motor shaft/pin on one end and the end cap along with some spacers hold the worm gear in-place. This was evident by the parts diagram and the ability to remove the worm gear once the motor was removed.

I must examine all switches and all wiring and repair or replace any questionable wires/connections or components. It's gonna take me some time to get through this one

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