Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Hi all, Thanks for your comments and advice. I forgot to mention that I believe that the axle nut had broken off at least 150 miles ( 2 years) ago. I noticed a few years ago that I developed a slight click each time I reversed. I didn't worry about it as it was only a single click and it did not develop into a "squeak", which is a sure sign of a hub and taper working on each other. I would have expected that if the hub and taper were working on each other this would give a shiny surface to each, not rusty as in this case. The broken off washer ( both faces) and nut faces were very polished and had been working on each other for a long time inside the hub cap. I suspect that I may have stressed the thread in 1974 when I was pulling the hub and was using a 20 lb sledge to shock the hub puller under extreme tension. I know better now and tend to load up around 200 ft lbs on the puller, tap confidently on the hub casting with a lump hammer. if that does not work I go away for a day and let nature and expansion/contraction do their job. Not keen on excessive heat on the brake hub with everything under load since a friend of mine ( now deceased) had his wife seriously injured when his 57 Supercharged Packard axle broke at the hub and somersaulted the car. The failure was traced back to the use of heat on the axle to change bearings. Sorry about the long winded story. PT