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What do you use now a days in the Packard Ultramatic Transmission for oil?

John

Many will cry fowl but i've been using Dexron-Mercon in my 56 Executive for over 15 years and 25K miles. NO PROBLEMS!

In fact, i buy the CHEAPEST Dex-merc i can findd usualy at a local d"dollar store" called Freds here in TN.

Almost all the Ultramatic folks in my area use Type F, though those with converter clutches that "moo" or groan have reported some improvement with B&M's "Trick Shift".

You'll probably see a variety of recommendations here. Some will say GM's Dexron, others will say Ford's Mercon. I've been using a fluid marked "Dexron III/Mercon" and it seems to work fine. Hopefully that's the best of both oils.

Everyone will say to stay away from anything marked Type "A" even though that was originally spec'd. for the Ultramatic. I've read that currently there are no standards for a Type "A" transmission fluid, so anything marked as such can contain anything the bottler wants to put in it.

Thanks all. Didn't know if the new stuff worked okay for these or not. I know some say the Hydramatics used in GM cars seem to slip more with the newer stuff.
Good thing to know about the Type A oil, I had thought of buying up some, I seen it available here. But maybe not.....

John

Type F is the closest to the original Type A which can be found easily today, Type FA follows closely. Though many folks have good results with Dexron/Mercon, Ultramatic was designed to use a fluid without "slip" additives.

I think there was a suggestion in one of the early threads on the subject that if the clutch linings are still the original cork type F or the trick shift might be the better choice as the friction modifiers lets the plates grab quickly. The high range and direct drive clutch plates in the Ultra are under a tremendous load and need to be tightly locked together with a minimal of slipping and heat buildup. If the Ultra has been rebuilt and modern linings are in use then a bit of slippage can be tolerated and the smoother engagement and slight slip permitted with the Dexron types work well.