cleaning a packard shutter

[Allen in Montreal]

I bought a Packard shutter on Flea Bay, it sticks every once and a while. Has anyone disassembled and cleaned one of these?

It must be pretty straightforward, but any tips before I take it apart would be greatly appreciated.

[resummerfield]

Its been a few years since I opened one, but it was pretty simple. I think there were 4 screws on the outside to remove, and then lift off the cover. The shutter blades are connected as one unit, and can be removed as a unit (I would not try to disconnect them).

Check this thread by Doug Kerr

[Allen in Montreal]

Thank you sir,
The clean up will be my project this evening.

[Brian Bullen]

A little graphite on the piston goes a long way. But just a little. Mine was sticking open every now and then but after cleaning and graphite it hasn't stuck since.

[Gary L. Quay]

I sent mine to Reno Farinelli at Packard Shutter, and he made my 50 year old shutter work like a dream for $65.00. No, he didn't pay me to say that. It was worth the money.

--Gary

[goamules]

I would not pay someone to do what you can do youself. Sorry, but I'm an old-school American...

Jim Galli has an article about them, the best part being, "...The smoother and slicker stuff is inside, the better it will run when re-assembled. Clean, wax and buff..."

http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/Ar..._Shutters.html

[Scott --]

Agreed. They're easy to work on. If you get stuck and need a picture of a working one, lemme know.

[Allen in Montreal]

Thank you Gents,

I cleaned the shutter up, it was a filthy mess in side, and it works like a charm if I help it along with my finger!
Otherwise, it is not better off after the cleaning than before, I can't help but wonder if I have looked at this too long and am no longer seeing the obvious?

[Tracy Storer]

How about:
leak in bulb
leak in hose
undersized hose or bulb
not squeezing hard / fast enough
I have found that they sometimes Packards that don't run well laying down are fine held vertically. (like you would probably use it)

I was advised years (yikes, maybe decades) ago that they run best "clean and dry". Happy to help more if I can.

[Scott --]

Allen, I don't know whether yours is a single- or dual-piston model. Mine's a dual. Here's the inside (ignore all that rust-colored stuff...):


When I got it, the shutter was essentially stuck open. Turns out the latch pin (in Doug's vernacular) was, well, disengaged. It fits into a groove in the shutter blade, but the blade has to slide between the link (again, Doug's word) and the lever. Here's what it looks like apart:


And here's what it should look like, properly seated:


Also, the psiton pin has to be fully seated through the piston or it'll bind. This is how it should not look:


Hope this is helpful. If you need pictures of anything else disassembled, lemme know.
Scott