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Need help!! I have a 1940 120, while changing the engine oil I noticed a strong gas smell. The car as been sitting for about 10 yrs and has only ran about once a month ( just engine) for that time.I just recently had time/ money to go through the car to get it road ready. I am new to older cars and don't want to guess what is wrong. Does anyone know of any tests I can do besides compression?

Hi 'Darn'

I am relatively new to old cars as well and there are surely much better informed folks than I on this site that will weigh in on this, but in my experience with these cars so far, old rubber seems to be a common denominator for being at the root cause of a lot of problems. And, being a 'rubber guy' all my working life, I can certainly attest to rubber having a definitive lifespan. I would be suspicious of the diaphragm in your fuel pump. I'm not positive, but if there were cracks/leaks there, could the fuel get into the engine via the pump orifice in the block?? The other thing I was having problems with was gas leaking from the carb. The carb guys said if the curb idle was set too high, it could leave the throttle cluster slightly open and gas could siphon down, either into the manifold or out of the carb leaving fuel ON the manifold. The latter makes a mess and is dangerous from an ignition source standpoint, the former could certainly have raw gas running by the rings. Just a couple of suggestions from a novice - like I say, the pros will have 'the' answers for you. Good luck, Chris.

Percentages very largely favor a failing rubber fuel pump diaphragm. And even if not, after sitting for 10 years a rebuild would be advisable.

G'day Darn,
to PackardInfo, and I invite you to include your '40 120 in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Thank you for your input. It is freshing to know there is support out there. After my son and I dropped the oil pan, he discovered the rear main leaking and flywheel damage. So we are pulling the engine and doing for rebuild. As anyone done this and if so , while engine out , is there other things I should consider doing...

Pull the water distro tube and clean it!

"while engine out, is there other things I should consider doing..."

Depends on how much you want to do/spend.

As Kev says - pull and clean out the water distribution tube.

If doing that you'll also need to get the block and head water passages properly cleaned out too. That should be done as part of a full engine rebuild process anyway. Include cleaning out the main oil gallery too, mine went through the hot tank but still had a build up of solidified gunk which had to be cleaned later, but better to do it first!

And, because the water passages in the block and head are now clean don't forget to do the radiator too.

Check and rebuild, where necessary, all the bolt on units besides the fuel pump, ie carb, starter, generator, distributor, water pump, oil pump. Have I missed anything?

Perhaps your engine does need a rebuild and if so, go for it. But I just wanted to point out, in case you thought otherwise, that servicing the flywheel does not require engine removal. It's not clear to me just what your son saw that he thought was a rear seal, but your engine does not have a traditional rear seal but instead uses a slinger. Servicing the slinger does not require engine removal either, usually it just requires cleaning sludge from the drain return hole.

"After my son and I dropped the oil pan, he discovered......flywheel damage".

What is damaged on the flywheel? If it's the facing for the clutch, depending how on "bad" it is might or might not require resurfacing. If it needs resurfacing the pressure plate and/or the clutch plate might also require refurbishing.

Couple of other things to look at... if your gas pedal linkage is as worn as mine was, dealing with it, with the engine out is definitely a lot easier than trying to get at it behind the head. Also, these cars have a steering, center-arm bushing that I am told is prone to failure due to it getting missed by the the 'grease-guy' over the years. There is a castellated nut on top of the front cross member and it is also very accessible with the engine out. (pic attached) Also a great time to do any cleaning and painting of the under-firewall and engine compartment areas missed, where non-engine-removal-painting has occurred.

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