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I need to add fluid to the transmission on my 51, 200. The book says Type A. Went to the Auto Parts store all kinds there,No Type A. Looked the X- Ref. No mention there. Any thoughts ?

I think you'll find a comprehensive answer in the FAQ section. I use type 'F'.

Thank you very much for you reply. I am headn ou the door as I type this. Thanks again.

Uh, oh..the Ultramatic fluid debate..

First, it's Type A that's spec'd by PMCC. Some say that it is still available, but I haven't found it.

So, anything other than "A" isn't going to duplicate "A". It would be interesting to hear from Howard which ATF comes closest to matching the slip/friction characteristics of "A".

All that said, my original '54 with properly adjusted and maintained Ultramatic works best with Dex III. It is smooth and quiet, shifting as spec'd, even when cold...I'd go so far as to say the shifts (esp. when warm) are seamless. Like many, I started with 'F', and found it produced noticeably jerky shifts and clunked loudly when downshifting when cold. When I drained and refilled (converter, too) with Dex III, this stopped. Since then, I have used only Dex III (about 20 years), with no problems. In the P/S unit, and P/W reservoir, too.

You can try either trans. fluid, there's no risk of damage to the unit..just make sure you drop the pan and get the converter, too..and while you're doing a trans. service, consider removing and cleaning the valve body, which is part of the unit, but easily detachable...the little passages in there are frequently the place where gunk and debris collect and create problems. Just fill properly, run it thru the gears a few times, and check the level when the car is in neutral. If a drive indicates that she's shifting rough, you can always try the other fluid.

As an FYI/FWIW, I've driven Hydramatics and Dynaflows from the same era and the Ultramatic is a superior automatic in terms of smoothness and quietness, when properly set up and maintained.

Quote:

I don't think I can add anything to the discussion. Brian pretty well covered the known information in his FAQ article. I do remember a recent post saying type A was really a form of hydraulic or other light oil with some added modifiers. That was surprising and don't remember hearing that before. I had always been under the impression A contained some whale oil and that was the main reason it went away.

Type F was the recommended replacement by many of the active Packard people in both clubs as far back as the 70's. It was supposed to be the closest to A according to those that made the recommendation and wrote the articles. I don't recall ever seeing any proof of that. In comparison to the GM product available at the time F was much firmer. The theory was that the quick grab of F was more beneficial to the original cork components since the longer slippage of the other would cause clutches to overheat and burn more readily.

Now that F seems to be heading to the same fate as A, various modern forms of Dexron will be the only thing easily available anyway. Your recommendation to try one and if not satisfied with the feel change to another makes as good a sense as anything else.

I've been running type "F" in my '51 200 Deluxe for a year and a half. While the upshift (lock-up) and downshift were quite noticeable in the beginning after about 1,500 miles the transmission does it's job without anything more noticeable than a change in exhaust note pitch.

I was so pleased with type "F" that during my 55's re-awakening after 25 years of slumber I told my mechanic to use type "F" when servicing the it's transmission - dropping the transmission pan and draining the torque converter, etc. I recently learned they couldn't get type "F" so used type "FA" instead. After 250 miles the 55's transmission isn't as smooth as my '51 but it's way better the way it was at the beginning and figure I can't say anything for sure until after 1,250 more miles - which I'm adding quickly.

However, I haven't heard anything about type "FA" so if anyone knows anything bad about it PLEASE let me know.

Type A is pretty much AW32/46 hydraulic dyed red. It can be found in dollar stores and grocery stores.

Dexron has friction modifiers and slightly lower viscosity than Type F. Supposedly Type FA means interchangible with Type F or Type A.

For 55-56 and gear start Packard specifically recommended friction modifiers - read Dexron.

For non-gear start units Type F may help increase line pressures, but for two speed units I would stick with Dexron unless only High range is used.

If you look around you can find type F. Valvoline lists Part #VV341 Type F. I have a box from Mobil that reads Type F. Supposedly Type FA means interchangible with Type F or Type A.

Chrysler started making up it's own additive packages to remedy transmission problems which is strange because it seems that engineering should be able to fix such problems.

Go figure.

Thanks Tim for the rundown on "FA" vs "F" & Dexron. If I read you correctly, my '55 would be happier (& smoother) with Dexron.

I too haven't really had all that much trouble finding Type "F" so I guess that the NAPA outlet where they got the fluid for my '55 may have just been out. So long as I don't have any trouble with either of them I think I'll stick with what's in there until it's time for the next service: Next year on the '51 and the following year on the '55. Fortunately, neither transmission leak so I'm not having to constantly top off like I do with my '60 Imperial.

Ok. So I finally got around to getting some fluid into the transmission. Didn't help. When I push the clutch in the bagging stops. When I let te clutch out and bring up the rpms its not as noticable. When I take it around the block its not as bad as it use to be till I put it in 2 gear then I have to get into 3rd fast to stop the banging. Thoughts?And does anyone know a good Transmission shop in Fl.

Dear IBUD:

Sounds like a gear problem. If you are lucky something is stuck between the teeth in the cluster which is why you don't hear it in direct. If you are not lucky a tooth is chipped.