QuestionI am working on a 1949 Packard station wagon all origional The car is stored more than it is driven. The problem is with the clutch.It goes into gear but nothing happens.Someone has told me it is a wet clutch Is this true if so how do you fill it,where do you fill and what do you fill it with
AnswerYou've been given some bad advice. The Packard used a very conventional clutch - your friend must be thinking of a Hudson.
If the car won't move, you need to make sure that the clutch is moving forward when you release the pedal - you can view the clutch disk from under the car by looking into the hole where the clutch fork passes through the bell housing. There is a leather dust cover over this opening, which you have to pry out. It is retained by a sewn in wire clip which fits through the fork hole and expands to hold the leather boot in place. Reach through the hole and compress the wire retainer,then slide the boot back. Then you can watch the clutch action.
Some of these cars have an access plate at the bottom of the bell housing - if this one does, you're in luck because you can really get a good look at what's going on in there, you can even see the clutch disk in contact with the flywheel. If it is stuck back, there will be a small gap between them. You can also tap on the pressure plate, and by rotating the engine, you can get at all the springs with a tiny bit of WD 40 or the like. Just don't get carried away with the lube or you'l cause the clutch to slip later.
If nothing is wrong from the transmission back, either the clutch pressure plate is stuck in the released position (did someone store the car with the pedal held down to the floor?), or else the clutch disk is somehow not turning the input shaft of the transmission. Stripped splines are very rare, so I suspect a stuck pressure plate. If the springs are OK, perhaps a shot of some penetrant will free them up. You can't get lubricant on the clutch face, though, so this is going to be pretty tough. Maybe you can just pry and tap around in there with the pedal all the way up, and perhaps the rust or whatever is holding it from engaging will let go. Be VERY careful - this is a super powerful spring setup!
If that doesn't work, you are going to have to take the transmission out, then remove the bell housing and clutch, and perhaps flywheel, and take it all to a clutch rebuilder for service.
I drive a similar car frequently - and have worked on them for over 40 years - and the only time I've run into this is when the owner stored the car with the clutch pedal held to the floor because he heard it would prevent the clutch disk from sticking to the flywheel. That's right, but it also makes this sort of problem more likely.
Good luck.
Dick.
