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

West, I thought about the kind of spiral springs you've mentioned (picture attached). One of them is inside the door lock in charge to keep the door latch under tension (red marked). To tighten or renew this spiral spring probably has an effect on the door handle too.

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Wasn't there also a thread recently of a similar handle problem. Mention of a groove possibly worn in the shaft needing to be filled and finished square again or wear of the hole in mechanism where shaft inserts were also possibilities to be checked.

I think the whole assembly gets sloppy. The white metal handle escutcheon spring holes wear and get oval, the square for the handle gets sloppy, the return springs in the picture wear and get sloppy, the door latch where the return spring rides wears, etc. etc..

It might be instructive to look at a period setup from the Cadillac. They never seem to wear out. By comparing which parts of the Cadillac assembly are similar to the Packard may help isolate the primary cause.

Usually the whole situation is so bad, I ended up very carefully building up and refitting the square or twisting the handle a few degrees.

One of the reasons I've use this method is that putting stronger springs and therefore increasing the load on these old parts will accelerate existing wear. Of course if the handle is drooping because the latch is not completely returned that is a separate issue, but usually I've found that the return spring force is still fine and so is the cause of the wear in the connecting parts.

There is also a really cheap flat piece of steel that likes to wear out as well.

Now, if the column shift linkage from the Cadillac could only fit on a Packard.

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I'm sure you're correct. All I did was replace the broken hook spring inside the assembly. I didn't even notice the spiral spring at the escutcheon. My car only has 50,000 miles on it, and I guess it isn't as worn out as other cars, so just replacing the spring you've highlighted in red fixed my problem.

Is there an easy source for those spiral springs at the escutcheon, such as a local hardware store?

Rob (robtroxel), due to the fact that my experiences originate from Soviet-made cars , I kindly ask you to add your findings after repairing your car.

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Tim, take a look at door handle 1 and 2 below (click to enlarge). I confirm the conjecture but even half-round squares from veteran Moscow taxicabs are well-functioning. The hulking cast-iron handles and their large opening angle ask for gross sensory motor skills and cover subtleties. New springs let even tired door handles go through a second adolescence.
Thanks for noting Cadillac's. Interesting fact.

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West, I don't know. What you see is handmade.



Now I remember the difference between handles for lockable and not lockable doors. Please take a look at handle number 4. The square is shorter. #4 comes from the left rear door. But I don't know if this is original or the result of a repair attempt (click to enlarge).

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Dear Gusha:

It depends on the symptoms. If the coil spring isn't strong enough to fully extend the latch that may also be caused by an alignment problem. If the latch fully extends when the door is open but sags when closed that is another problem. If the square collar that accommodates the handle is rounding out that will cause another type of sag.

Things have to be taken on a case by case basis, but I don't buy the assertion that worn out parts just need a spring. That's like saying all grandma needs to smoke in bed is a shot of cocaine.

I thought about the Cadillac system and it is like the Clipper. They didn't rely on the same spring that latches the door to retract the door handle. So slop is indpendent of door handle position. As the system wears the amount of handle travel increases, but handle retraction is not affected thereof.

On the 18th - 20th series (non-Clipper) cars the cheap pot metal collar is another cause of sag because it starts falling apart. The system was pretty darn cheap.

I've seen those coil springs in assortments so that problem is not new, but the wearing surfaces may also need to be serviced as well.

Today I was on the line to the manufacturer about a computer controlled engine that never ran right from the day it was new. It turned out that a couple of wires were being affected by their position in space. There are millions of those things running around, but for this one you could induce anomalous powertrain data by pressing lightly on two wires with your fingers. Somewhere in the plastic was a carbon path short. So I just moved them away from each other. And there is a mile of wire in this vehicle.

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Tim, the contradiction of a statement needs a statement to contradict. West were talking about his experience with a broken spring from a low mile car, I talked about my experiences with another springs which often suffer from mechanical fatigue and now the talk revolves around an "assertion that worn out parts just need a spring." That's a big jump.
It goes without saying that one has to check the system and its interaction when repairing a system. As a matter of course the complete mechanism needs a thorough clean-up, a removal of rust if necessary and for sure a lubrication. Look, the door handle axis is bent like a toy bow.



Instead of cocaine and smoking grandmas I would like to bring up keywords like positive-fit connection and spring pretension. There is a correlation between compensable gaps and the degree of wear.

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Howard, either your recollection has been too vague or more probably, we have too much similar threads - however, I don't believe to have found the thread, you are referring to. This one?

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David (Flackmaster) mentioned here the influence of the so-called "cloth spine spring" (below pink colored) for the self-aligning torque. I thought that this spring is in charge for vibration damping but step back into the ranks if David talked on the basis of his experience. E-mail sent.

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Thanks to all of you who have shared your expertise! I will update you what is found on the door handles when we begin the tear down.

All the best!