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Mine is not holding when sucked.....

So what is the result on my engine if this does not work?

How problematic is this where you are? Keeping in mind I am in AFRICA and it seems to be an impossible piece to repair here...any advice will be appreciated!

Failure of the vacuum advance diaphragm results in stumble or hesitation on acceleration, plus of course the ongoing problems of an open vacuum leak - lean mixture, perhaps overheating, etc.. NOS units for most Packards are pretty much extinct and even if you found one it may well give a very short service life as the rubber is often age-deteriorated. Rebuilt units are available from Max Merritt and perhaps from Kanter Auto Parts. I won't say it's impossible to repair yourself, I have at least one friend who has done so, though I don't know how well it performed. You'll need the rubber diaphragm material more or less equal to the original in physical properties and to install it you'll have to open the metal crimp on the container and then reseal it later, plus whatever is required to attach the actuating arm to the diaphragm. And if you go that route you should try to get the distributor on a test machine and make whatever adjustments are needed (springs and shims) to match the OEM specification for degrees of movement versus applied vacuum.

Advise distributor number please and I will see what I can come up with...

DAF

G'day Barrie,

There is a guy in Oz who rebuilds vacuum advances. I know, lot of good that'll do you, but if there's one here might be one in SA.

Thanks for the offer DAF! But also we don't have a very good working post office system anymore - they are always striking and loosing packages! I recently waited 6 months for a package from the US! 2 Weeks to fly 10 000 k's from US and 5+ months to get from the postage depot 20 k's from my house!!!

Anyway, here is a photo of my distributor attached. I am investigating using a cloth fabric impregnated with nitrile rubber as replacement material. Dont know how to open up the canister yet....as well as how to crimp the rod and canister closed so it can be airtight....some good write ups online, but it seems to be a tough little job! Best Regards.

Barrie

My Auto Lite:

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Managed to open up the canister. Very tight fit and obviously not meant to be repaired. Looked at rubber duck material, but it is too thick. Found a chemical resistant glove material that I think will do the trick as it is same thickness and pliability? Should be durable as well. Now the biggest issue is to re-attach diaphragm to shaft and then refit and totally seal the 2 halves of the canister.

Although it certainly won't have the appearance of the OEM unit, one way to reattach and seal the halves of the vacuum chamber is the way that the Bijur factory repaired the vacuum diaphragms on their chassis lubricator pumps. They used a pair of matching steel rings, one on each side of the prior crimp; the rings were drilled and tapped for about 8 or 10 machine screws around the perimeter to effect the clamping force.