Question1955 Packard How to adjust the front wheel bearings? The proper amount of free play in the brake pedal this car has power brakes
Thank you Ira
AnswerNow you have hit on a car that I know intimately (I still drive two of them frequently!).
Jack up each wheel, then with it spinning, tighten the adjusting nut to 20 ft pounds, then immediately back it off so it is loose again, then retighten it to 4 foot pounds, then again back it off one "hex" from that point, and then further until you can just put the cotter pin through the hole in the spindle and the castellations on the nut.
If you don't have a torque wrench that reads that low, substitute "snug" for 20 foot pounds (this is to be sure the races are thoroughly seated against the retaining ridges), and substitute "just finger tight" for 4 foot pounds.
When this is done, there should be noticeable free play in the wheel when rocked in/out grasping the top/bottom of the wheel. If there is no play, it is set too tight!
The brake pedal should go down about 3/8 inch (plus or minus about 1/8 inch) before the power brake unit actuates the brakes.
Dick (driving Packards almost exclusively since 1967)
