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Draining and changing all fluids tomorrow and dropping the pans, so I need to make sure I'm getting the right stuff. What viscosity oil, and does it matter if it's synthetic or not?

I know originally Packard wanted SAE 20. Am I good with a multi-viscosity 10W-30?

IMO unless your motor is very high mileage with clearances beginning to open up significantly, I'd think a recognized brand 10w-30 would be a good choice.

Thanks! Odometer shows 55K, so not terribly high. I'll pick up 7 quarts today.

One more question regarding the Ultramatic. I know I have to drain the torque converter too (two bolts...spin 180 degrees). But how do I refill it? Just fill the pan and then put the car in gear? Then fill some more?

-Kevin

Yes, with the motor turning, the Ultra front pump will fill the converter as fluid is available in the sump. I'd suggest taking a few minutes to read the shop manual for the particulars.

Well today was productive, but took much, much longer than I had anticipated.

Started off by finishing the new shock install. Somebody previous to me had broken the driver's shock in half. It looks like the lower bump stop is missing, which likely caused the shock to blow through the lower shock mount, hit the pavement, and shear off. It was a bit of work getting it out because the shocks had their own add-on coils. Weird.

Ross sent me a new lower shock mount (thanks Ross!) and I got it cleaned up, painted and installed. Suspension is done. Maybe. More on that later.

Next was tackling the oil pan and transmission pan. I removed the steering idler arm on the passenger frame rail, and that allowed the steering assembly to drop down a bit. I then spent the next hour cleaning grease off of everything. It was caked up to 1/2" in places, making it impossible to see bolts, grease zerks, or really anything.

Once I could see what I was doing I removed the torque converter cover so I could get to all the oil pan bolts. Removing all the bolts took the better part of two hours. Getting to those bolts up above the cross member is quite possibly the worst thing ever. I did find out though that a ratcheting box end wrench makes the job at least slightly less terrible.

Once the pan was out (I had to turn the engine to raise the front crankshaft counterweight), I took a good look at everything. The oil pump pickup screen wasn't too bad. I removed the cover over it and cleaned everything up the best I could.

The oil pan had a solid 1/2"-3/4" of sludge at the bottom of the pan. I scraped all that off, cleaned everything the best I could (quite the job), then cleaned all the caked on grime, grease, and old oil off the outside. I used a stripper disk and wire wheel.

Once clean, I degreased the whole pan, then primed it and painted it. I foolishly didn't order correct Packard engine gray paint, so I grabbed whatever engine paint looked close at NAPA. This is Ford engine gray. Better than black I guess.

Next I dropped the trans pan and took a look. The ATF that I drained was a great color, no burning. The pan had a very slight layer of sludge at the bottom. Not much at all. Internals on the trans looked nice and clean, and the pickup screen had nothing on it. I'm guessing those are all good things. Cleaned up the trans pan, didn't paint it. I think they are supposed to be left bare metal?

I drained the torque converter as directed in the manual. I replaced both drain plugs because the threads on both were damaged (soft brass). The new ones seemed to go in alright. Hopefully they don't leak.

I then put the gaskets on from Olson's Gaskets, using some gasket sealer on both sides for good measure. The oil pan went in well enough, all things considered. The transmission pan also went pretty straightforward. Got everything buttoned back up and then totally ran out of time. I have not put in new fluids yet. That will hopefully happen on Monday.

I hope to never have to remove that oil pan again. What a job.

-Kevin

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Looking good! Your pan wasn't nearly as bad as that in a 1965 Imperial 413 that's currently out for rebuild. I took it apart over a year ago and can still smell the stench permeating the shop.

On the pan gasket, it should really have gotten sealer on only the pan-side to make it easier to remove the next time. Glued to the block too can make it difficult.

Thanks Don. I was pleasantly surprised that the trans fluid was so clean. I had visions that I was going to pull that pan and find the mess that BigKev did when he did his. The engine oil was jet black though. I imagine my next few oil changes will be pretty dark, then it should look cleaner from there.

Good advice on the gasket sealer. I used a very small amount, just enough for a very thin layer on the inner edge of the gasket. Olson's Gaskets uses a nice, thick material, so I'm hoping that it seals well. Both the oil pan and the trans pan were leaking prior.

-Kevin

After I got the pans back on, I greased every fitting I could find (so many!), put the front wheels back on and dropped the car to the ground. I was expecting it to sit more level but it's not. The car still has a pronounced driver's side lean. Both front and rear on driver's side is 1" lower than the passenger side (measuring from ground to wheel well through the center of the wheel).

Any ideas on what could be causing this? Failing springs?

Flipping the shackles got the rear to sit down where it should be, but the lean is really baffling me.

-Kevin

It could be failing springs or, more likely considering other things you've found, someone replaced one or two from a different year or model. I suppose it could also be worn bushings but that seems less likely. One inch isn't much to worry about right now, though, as you can get the car running and driving before that needs attention. The lean does explain the coil-over shocks that it had.

Once you do get it running and have put a few hundred or so miles on it, be sure to have a new oil filter handy and change the oil again and do so at least once more later on. Personally I always use pure synthetic but there are those who swear against it as much as others do for it.

On the transmission, did you change the filter too or is it even changeable? I've never had an Ultramatic apart so don't know if it gets replaced or just thoroughly cleaned.

Don - I don't think the Ultramatic has a filter that can be changed, but I might be totally wrong on that. It was just a pickup screen. It might be a good idea to add a Magnefine filter on one of the transmission cooler lines up front. Not sure if anyone else has done that.

I plan on changing the oil again after the first couple hundred miles or so. Then likely sometime mid-season next year. After that I'll probably do it on a yearly basis.

-Kevin