Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Greetings,

Can you tell me which type of transmission oil would be best to use?

Thanks,
Gene

Which car and transmission?

I assume it's a '54 Pacific, so it has the Ultrmatic. Type F is the type most often recommended as a good replacement to the original type A that was specified. I use type F in my '54 Panama and it works great.

It's the Pacific. It's the transmission with the fill port that can only be accessed underneath the car.

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As mentioned Type F works well. As far as which brand, I have been using Pennzoil, primarily because it was readily available at NAPA and Walmart. I might change if I do some research and find a reason to.



I thought the filler had been relocated to under the hood in '54?? Maybe early models still had it underneath, like my '53??

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Not until very late in 1954 with the GearStart Ultramatic, which was something of a prototype for 1955’s Twin Ultramatic. Prior to that, it was the same Ultramatic (more or less) as originally introduced in the 23rd series with the under-car filler.

Thanks, is it a big job to change the transmission fluid?

No, but why are you doing it? If it's just a refresh of the fluid you can just drain what comes out and then fill it back up to operating level. This will change most of the fluid, but not all. Use the procedure in the service manual when checking your levels after filling.

If you're wanting to do a complete fluid change, then you'll want to drain the torque convertor as it holds a significant amount of the fluid. Again see the service manual.

If you want to be more thorough you may want to pull the pan, check for any foreign matter, clean it and the filter screen. Get a new gasket for the pan. Don't use RTV silicon! Mine was a mess and the last thing you want in your transmission is a piece of silicon!

If the pan is bent, straighten it, particularly the flange to ensure it seals well. Mine was just a little bent! LOL

You can fill your transmission from the top as well as from underneath.

In my opinion, there is no point in changing the fluid and not dropping the pan for inspection. As an aside, this is also what Packard recommended back in the day at the 25,000 mile intervals.

Drain the transmission fluid through the drain plug, then drop the pan, set it on the ground and take a photo of it. We can tell a lot about the transmission health by seeing how dark the fluid is. If the bottom layer of fluid is pitch black smells burnt or you see more than just a small amount of extremely fine glitter then you have problems.

Then only after we advised you on the condition... before you put it back obviously clean out the junk in there. Put a new gasket on and then fill it back up.