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Does anyone know if the passenger side is the drive wheel (the one that turns when you don't have a locking differential)? Since the weather has been nice, I was going to pull my car out of it's mud pit and start working on it. I thought I couldn't get it out because of the 4 inches of mud it was in, but after pulling it 2 feet, I noticed all of the wheels turned except the passenger rear. My fear is that the brake drum is frozen on that wheel, thus explaining why the car wouldn't move (or kick up dirt).

On a side note, any hints/tips on how to free the wheel? Because of where the car is, jacking up is going to be difficult and dangerous, but I don't have enough room to pull it out further. I'm hoping to reach back and loosen the adjusting star, but is there anything else I can try? Thanks!

With a standard differential the rear drive wheel can be either depending on conditions, it's always the one with the least load or resistance to turning.

EDIT - yes, I should have added and thanks to Bob1951 for clarifying, if the load on each rear wheel is equal, they both drive.

Hmmm...If that is the case, maybe I have bigger problems? The drivers side turns freely when I pulled the car, but did not spin when I was revving it in gear, forward or reverse. I don't think the mud would keep it from spinning.

The answer is simple. With both wheels on the ground they are both drive wheels. With the car off the ground (assuming both rear wheels are off the ground ) they are still both drive wheels however when driven this way the wheel that turns will be the one with the least resistance or you could say friction. Look up what a differential does. All your questions will be answered.

Will the car pull it self. i.e. is it DRIVEABLE???? If not then possibly the key in one of the drum/hubs is sheared.

Under emergency conditions u can tighten the hub nut real tite and then drive VERY EASY just to get the car to friendlier surroundings for repair.

see link in FIRST post of the following thread:
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3328&forum=4&post_id=34898#forumpost34898

The car "ran when parked" LOL, about 5 years ago. Somewhere I lost low gear so I only have high and reverse. I can "feel" the car try to move when in gear, but that's about all that it does. I've revved the engine pretty hard (I don't think the rpms go as high as they should, probably need to rebuild the carb) trying to free it, but I don't want to wreck whatever transmission I have left.

What a great video PackardV8! I'm at work so I had to watch it with the sound off, but it makes it all seem so simple. Thank you for that.
Since the other wheel should be free to spin, now I'm wondering if the poor engine performace is really my problem. The "free" wheel should be spinning like crazy in the mud, even in reverse, right?

Your car has Ultramtic right and it has lost low gear? You say you can "feel" the car try to move when in gear. Could be a trans problem of some kind because the free rear wheel should turn when power is applied. Doesn't appear that power is getting to the rear wheels. Other thoughts?

Would it be possible (and safe) to look under the car when it is in gear to check to see if the driveshaft is rotating?
Or -if the speedometer is showing that its traveling-you may have an axle issue.