Re: Ultramatic Fluid Change

Posted by BH On 2011/10/29 9:45:28

Not sure that unusual metallic noises will be corrected, but fluid change certainly can't hurt.

A lift or mechanic is not absolutely necessary for fluid change. If the transmission was properly installed, there's no need to line up drain plugs in the converter with holes in the flywheel. All you should have to do is remove the lower flywheel housing cover and rotate the converter and flyhweel, together, to find the drain plugs. However, you will need to put the car up on four heavy-duty jack stands and over a concrete floor to do the job. A forum post in another thread, "Checking transmission fluid", reveals how our webmaster went about that.

An article on "Servicing the Ultramatic", in SC Vol. 23, No. 9, p. 46, provides some additional perspectives on the under-car aspect of a drain and refill.

However, you may also want to clean the transmission filter. Though periodic service, initially, called only for checking and changing fluid, an article on "Ultramatic Oil Screen", in SC Vol. 25, No. 12, p. 48, recommended this additional service. This requires removal of pan and replacment of the pan gasket, but the filter is reusable. Screen and pan installation are covered in the last page of "Unit Assembly" in the Ultramatic Drive section of the shop manual.

WRT filling the transmission, another post in the "Checking transmission fluid" thread offers an image attachment showing the floor access cover in a 23rd Series car. This should be similar to your car, EXCEPT that the larger floor transmission cover (intended for access to the old top-loaded, manual gearboxes) was not used in later years. However, the small cover only provides access to a second filler hole, located in the upper rear of the transmission, NOT the dipstick. You'll still have to go under-car for access to dipstick to check fluid level.

BTW, you might want to edit the "Location" field in your member profile to reflect your new bay area location. This might help put you in touch with other members in your area; some may even be able to lend a physical hand.