QuestionI just bought a fairly clean 49 packard deluxe 8 with the 288 engine. I've been told the overdrive is not working, and have not even tried to use it. I have figured out it is an R-9 unit by the 6 terminal relay. What steps would you use to trouble shoot this?
Also how do you use the overdrive? When do you pull out the long knob under the dash and when do you not pull it out? I understand doing this wrong can cause damage.
What,if any, are the typical problem areas with these 49 packards?
Thanks for your invaluable help...!!
Bill M
AnswerWelcome to the world of truly high quality old cars! Even though the Deluxe 8 was not the top of the line for Packard, it was still a superb automobile, and you'll find that once you sort out all the ills it might have developed over the years of other people's care, it will be one of the most reliable and trouble free old cars you will ever own.
There are no weak spots in the design, so there isn't anything I would particularly caution you about.
The overdrive is an add-on to the rear of the transmission - it has a separate case and lubricant supply, so it has to be checked at the same time the other lubricants are topped up.
To operate the overdrive, you simply leave the knob pushed all the way in. If it is operating correctly, as you accelerate in high gear past the preset kick-in speed, you will hear a pronounced "click" from under the car, and a green light in the lower right part of the speedometer dial will come on. When you momentarily release the accelerator pedal, the overdrive will engage, reducing the engine RPM about 30%. If you want to downshift back to direct drive, you simply floor the accelerator pedal momentarily, the car will immediately downshift back to standard 3rd gear, and you'll take off with much faster acceleration - just like a modern automatic transmission. When you are done accelerating, release the gas pedal for an instant again, and you'll be back in overdrive. These cars often get upwards of 20 MPG on a trip, due to the overdrive.
The only time you might want to disable the overdrive is in mountain driving, because the engine braking is much less effective in overdrive, and descending a long hill can be quite exciting when the brakes get hot! Also, once the car speed drops below the overdrive cut-out speed (typically around 20 MPH), you'll have no engine braking at all, as the car is coasting.
There are two ways to turn off (disable) the overdrive.
The foolproof way to turn off the overdrive without any possiblilty of damage is to come to a complete stop, shift into reverse, and with the clutch pedal still on the floor, pull out the knob all the way. The reason for putting the car in reverse is that shifting to reverse always disables the overdrive - there is an internal push rod that runs inside the junction between the main transmission and the overdrive case that locks out the overrunning clutch so that you can back up - this happens whether the knob is in or out, but if you shift to reverse, it lessens the strain on the knob and cable (because the main mechanical task has already been accomplished by the gear shift lever - all pulling out the knob does is turn off the electrical circuits and lock the overrunning clutch in the direct drive position regardless of gearshift position.)
Once you get used to using the overdrive, you will feel comfortable turning it off and on "on the fly". The method for doing that is to kick the car down into direct drive (or do this before the overdrive is engaged), keep steady pressure on the gas pedal so that the engine is pulling in direct drive, and simultaneously pull out the knob all the way. Once it is all the way out, you can resume normal driving. You'll notice right away that the engine braking is much stronger, and of course the RPM is higher.
If the overdrive is operating normally, there is really no reason to ever turn it off unless you are in a situation where you will need extra engine braking.
NOW< to check your overdrive:
Most problems are electrical, but to verify that it is OK mechanically, with the knob all the way in, drive the car at a speed above 35 MPH, and release the accelerator pedal. If the engine slows to idle speed, the overdrive is not engaging, but is mechancially OK - the problem is electrical.
If the light came on, but it didn't engage, there is probably a wire off the solenoid - just inspect all the wire connections - you'll probably find the problem.
If the light didn't come on, check the fuse. It is a cartridge fuse - an SFE-30 - in the feed wire to the relay. Make sure you're getting 6 volts to the terminal on the relay that the fuse supplies. If you are, try grounding the wire that comes from the governor (the potmetal device that is threaded into the rear of the overdrive case - near the speedometer cable fitting). There are one or two wires on this device - one goes to ground nearby, probably on the device itself and may not even be visible, the other one is the one of interest. This is the wire that tells the relay to engage the overdrive. It is grounded when the road speed is above the cut-in speed (typically 25-30 MPH). When you ground it, even with the car not moving, the light should illuminate and the solenoid should click as it tries to engage.
If this happens, then your problem must be that the governor is not grounding the wire. Unscrew the governor from the overdrive case and take it apart for cleaning of the contacts - it ain't rocket science - you'll immediately see how it works - it's a "flying weight" type of governor - once it is spinning fast enough to overcome the retaining springs on the weights, the weights fly out, moving a sliding ring into contact with the wire.
I'll stop here and wait to hear further from you - I'm betting the fuse is blown or there is a wire off - that is 99% of the problems with the overdrive.
I need to mention that the overdrive controls have no knowledge of what gear you are in - theoretically, if you were crazy enough, you could use the overdrive in any forward gear - but please resist this temptation! 30 MPH in first gear is too high an RPM for the engine, and 30 MPH in second is marginally OK, but it does put a lot of extra torque through the overdrive planetary gearset, and will shorten it's life.
One further suggestion - you should obtain a factory shop manual for this car - it will pay for itself many times over, even if you don't do your own work, whoever works on the car will need it. The overdrive is a good example - as the complete wiring diagram is given, and a much better description of how it works.
Most of the literature dealers stock reproductions of these manuals - I recommend Ed Faxon of Riverside/Corona CA - but any one you prefer will have it too. There is also a parts book, which gives an exploded view of every mechanism - I advise getting one of those also, as ordering parts by part number is the only way to go - especially for a 49, as many things changed mid-year!
Please let me know what you find out.
Dick (still driving his 1947 Packard - with overdrive!)
