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Hi all! after acquiring my Packard for a couple of days now, I noticed some leaks on different spots under the car.

1- There is a leak from the diff pinion. I believe it is not a big deal and can be fixed

2- There is a leak from the gearbox. This is my big concern. How bad could be the problem and any suggestion as I am planning to visit the mechanic next week.

3- There is a leak from the engine and I believe it is from around the drain plug. I believe it is not a big deal too. There is some oil around the engine as in the picture but I do not know if that is just a sweat or something to fix.


The car is 1948 Custom 8 The car was fully restored in 1999 and was only driven 100 miles since then. It was kept in a garage and barely touched. I do not know if these leakes are because of that.

Any suggestions of information on these three elements and when it is best to fix them are highly appreciated.

Thank you,

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Hi there. A few years ago I put a new pinion seal in my old thing. They are available. The trick is to mark the nut before you remove it, and count the turns. Also mark the yoke to the shaft (so it goes back on the same spline). When you do it up, make sure your nut ends up back at its original starting position to get the preload right. To undo the nut you will need a 3/4 drive socket, and to hold the yoke the biggest shifter or pipe wrench you can find.
Gary

Good Morning...The leaks might well be from no use over this long period of time. The old girl should have a lube job and oil change for the engine and transmission, and a cooling system flush and reverse flush, at the minimum. Gaskets shrink when they dry out and that makes bolts like the one on the oil pan loose...while she is up on the rack...walk, wipe and examine her. Flush the break lines and master cylinder...drive her at low speeds, 40 and under for a couple of hundred miles over the next month and re-examine...change the oils again...Oh and most carefully examine the tires if they are as old as the restoration...These are great machines...you should have along and happy relationship! Ernie in Arizona

I'd second everything above.

If you still have those drips after a few hundred miles, you may want to address them.

I'm resisting the urge to say 'They all do that'.

If you are new to the hobby, welcome.

At risk of stating the obvious, driving our older cars is a different experience from our daily drivers, you will need to develop a sense of feel and even smell that the modern cars don't require. The fact you got under the car to get the pictures of your various seepages tells me you are on the way to the necessary sensitivity.

Enjoy.

Good afternoon...One final thought...The best and least expensive maintenance...is to simply drive the car...every week...to the hardware store...to have a haircut...to go to breakfast or lunch...just use her locally instead of your daily driver...in the nice months, there are weeks when my daily driver, a Jeep Patriot, simply does not get driven...The Packard and The Model A Ford do all the work...and they love it! Ernie in Arizona

Gary, that is exactly what I need to hear. The seal must be changed and I will follow your steps. Thank you!

Ernie, I appreciate those invaluable tips that you always provide. That is what I thought too since the car did not move in a very long time. The weather is getting very cold in here and I hope I will be able to drive it on a regular basis during the next few months as running the car in cold weather seems really hard.
It is a question that I will post soon to know what is the right or normal way to turn on the car (before and after running), and is it different when it is cold as it takes me some time to run. I always need to keep my foot on gas for a couple of minutes to prevent the car from turning off. If you have the answer for that, it would be great, or anybody else.

Jim, I got my car checked my an expert and we were able to address some of them (they are listed below). I found a restoration workshop near by and I will give them a visit soon. I hope I can stop the dripping. I will post anything new about the drips in this topic for everyone to benefit.


So the reason for the drips are:
- #1 freeze plug is a little bit rust and started leaking
- Oil filter can is leaking
- Transmission is leaking but not able to identify from where as it comes from multiple place
- Diff pinion seal is leaking
- Carburetor is leaking

I will take care of these issues and provide you of what is going to happen. If you have any advice or suggestion please do not hesitate to mention.