Re: 55 newbie Questions
Posted by Leeedy On 2017/10/21 14:10:39
I rebuilt at least two Ultramatics that were "dying" back in the 1970s and as far as I know, they are still operating today. I learned how to do Ultramatics from an old guy at Earle C. Anthony and another old guy (named "Red") at Frost & French Packard... both in Los Angeles.... back in the 1970s.
As I said, the first step to doing it right is to tear it down properly. Most people just yank the thing apart and toss the bolts and parts in boxes or in soak. Some depend solely on the workshop manual, which does not tell all you need to know... and certainly was not written looking backward at these cars with a perspective of today.
It has been my experience over all these years that the mechanics who complain the most about Ultramatics usually never took the time and trouble to learn about these unusual transmissions. Ultramatics were not just another automatic and one could not use the standard techniques to work on them. But when it takes extra time and trouble to learn, for some, yes, it's a PIA... but this means???
I recall one guy who complained to me, 'These damned no good Packard Ultramatics can't be fixed! They vibrate so bad after being rebuilt... they're junk!" I asked the guy if he ever marked the torque converter before disassembling it. "Why would you do that?" he asked. Ahh. Well. I think we know where his mysterious vibrations were coming from, don't we? The Ultramatic was a very different automatic transmission for its day. Very advanced design ... with a lock-up converter. If it was as bad as people seem to think, why did Ford Motor Company get one in the 1970s and tear it down to copy it? Why do so many automatic transmissions today have lock-up converters and aluminum housings?
I have watched several people over the years tear these transmissions apart without any notations of where bolts were... and without even marking the torque converter. And with little or no effort in checking out the cooler. Then later on they are all shocked at how the Ultramatic didn't work... or how it grenaded after a while. And the blame got placed on the transmission instead of where it really belonged. RARELY have most people rebuilding an Ultramatic followed this important step. If you don't tear it down properly...and if you don't attend to the cooling circuit, no matter what is done after that is all a moot point
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