Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I keep promising to get a/c installed and then something happens... Right now the windshield trim is being recalcitrant. As Mike says, the first step in installing a windshield is to lock up all the hammers....but I digress...

Supposedly the transmission has a cooler that pumps oil somewhere up front for cooling.

It seems like it would probably be a good thing to replace any hoses involved since they are probably very old. Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received....

To install the aforementioned a/c stuff it appears that the radiator will be removed and that it will be a good idea to check over the radiator thoroughly and redo all the water hoses (again, vintage is dubious). In pulling the radiator, do oil lines have to be disconnected? Any tricks on this?

I can't seem to find this in the manuals.

Thank you for the guidance!!!!!!!!

If your car is stock, all the trans to cooler oil lines are steel. The trans cooler is the flat can affair at the front of engine between water pump and bottom radiator outlet. Did you see the "SOLD!!!" post. There was an item available you have been asking about.

Quote:
The Ultramatic transmission pumps fluid to an oil cooler up front.

Quote:
The lines to the stock trans cooler are 100% steel tubing; hence, no hoses to replace (no need for them). However, if somone has ADDED a cooler (typically, in front of the radiator), there will be hoses somewhere between the powertrain and cooler, to permit flexing under load.

Quote:
If you look under the hood of your car, at the back of radiator, you should see that there is no oil cooler in the radiator; hence, no lines to disconnect.

Quote:
Take another look at the service manual, specifically the section on "Radiator & Cooling". On page 3 of that section, Figure 6 shows a bit of the trans cooler - pointed out by lettered arrow, described in the text. The cooler can also be seen, in profile, in Plate 27 of the parts book illustrations.

That would be 3.639 on the plate?

Had n0 idea...was looking for a mini radiator.....

Thank you for spelling it out!

Quote:
Correct. Also, if you go to that Group in the application listings, you'll see that details on pipes and hardware follow. There is a method to their madness.

Yet, I don't understand why they bothered changing the cooler from 55 to 56 - only to use a common In/OUT adapter.

Quote:
There's a lot of difference in vehicle equipment between then and now. Automatic transmission technologies were still in their formative years, back then.

The owner's manual, service manual and parts book for your car are your first best references. No one is expected to memorize them, but spend some free time, whenever you can, just looking through the pages and pix to get a feel how things are organized. You'll be surprised at what you may recall later.

The online Service Index is the next place to check for updates and additions, but you may also find some interesting "Easter Eggs" in the site's archive.

After that, the forums pick up where the factory left off.

There is one thing to keep in mind if you change lower radiator hoses. The oil coolers used thin steel tubing for their hose connections instead of the brass tube the radiators used. Many have found the ends on those oil cooler pieces rusted severely -- to the point of disturbing them to remove the hose sometimes takes a good portion of the tube along with the hose. Just something to be aware of.

It's one of those catch-22 situations. If it is not causing a problem do you leave it and then have it fail next week or do you change the hose and then have to fix or find a new cooler in a hurry before the car can leave the shop.

If you do change the hoses and find an issue, several have had the tubing replaced at a radiator shop. I believe ordinary exhaust tubing was generally found to be similar to the original.

NOS units are getting scarce and guaranteed good used is dependent on the supplier as to how good. Some "good used" have been found to just have had the rust spots filled with bondo and painted. The tubing was paper thin underneath.