Re: Repairing Ultramatic

Posted by Tim Cole On 2009/9/28 18:13:05

Getting the right fluid level can be a pain. I serviced one recently and I thought I got it right. Five minutes later I was taking fluid back out. The owner thought the car had a leak and was low, but almost everything I put in ended up being taken back out. So the leak was probably due to overfilling. The car has been sitting for months now with no puddles.

Filling ultramatic can be a total pain better done on a lift using a pump bottle calibrated in half pints. That is when there is no access plate on floor like is shown in the manual - oh brother.

If you replace the pan gasket, remove any dimples by the bolt holes, use the proper torque (10-12 ft lbs - that is snug using a little 1/4 drive ratchet), use a sealer sparingly and let the unit sit at least twenty four hours finger tight squish prior to torqeing.

I have had cars come in on the back of a wrecker because they wouldn't move. The transmissions were overfilled as a result of a special at xxxxxx xxxxxx or whatever.

The risk with ultramatic is that too low a level and the fluid gets hot and that is a whole new problem.

Packard had a lot of faith in the oil tightness of the unit and I do remember some original owner cars that did not leak at all.