Fordomatic Oil

[Swank]

Did a search, but not finding it.

Whats the modern substitute for Fordomatic Type A trans oil?   Is there something that can be found at your general automotive stores?

[gasman826]

type F

[Swank]

Ok, thanks.   Thats what I would put in the '64 Fordomatic ,  ...wasnt sure about this one.

[rmk57]

  1957 shop car manual calls for type A. If the transmission has been rebuilt in the last 30 years it would probably use type A.

[gasman826]

The shop manual calls for type 'A'.  The shop manual also calls for brass friction plates.  Type 'A' was a GM designed fluid with a lower level of friction modifier additives.  If your Borg Warner is original and has brass friction plates, then use Type 'A' or upgrade to an easier to find Dexron since the original Type 'A' with whale oil has been banned for 50 years.   I would be skeptical that a 60+ year old transmission would still be working without new seals.  The friction plates would likely be updated with modern style friction plates with a common clutch-like material.  Once the Borg Warners (Cruis-O-Matic, Ford-O-Matic) were upgraded with clutch friction plates, Type 'F' would be used.

When I built transmissions in an AAMCO Transmission shop, only one fluid was used...Type 'F' went in everything.  AAMCO guaranteed every build.  More aggressive, quicker shifts reduce wear and heat for longer transmission life.  With Type 'F' the shifts might be a little firmer but no one ever brought one back to complain.  My last Ford-O-Matic was driven hard every summer for five years by me and I sold it to a guy who is still driving it four years later.

[Swank]

How many quarts am i looking at to get started?  Converter and everything is empty.

[gasman826]

more than 10 and less than 14.  Add 4 quarts, run for 10 seconds, jack up rear wheels off the ground, add a quart, start and leave in Drive...add until tires start to rotate.  Check level, add 1 qt., check/add, check/add...stop wheels, shift reverse, drive, low and then Park...check level...check for leaks.

[Swank]

Thankyavermuch.
  I knew it was going to be more than I was thinking.

[Tom S]

... When I built transmissions in an AAMCO Transmission shop ....

Gary, I don't want to put you on the spot but you sound like the guy that could give me a clue about what's suddenly started happening with the C6 in my Ranchero.
I've only driven this car for maybe 500 miles since I got it & the trans has worked fine. Then one day it started slipping in 3rd gear. Big time! It's like having a very bad clutch in a stick shift car.  I've never done much with automatics so I've never studied them much.  Most of my vehicles have a stick shift & that's what I prefer.
I can only think that the bands need adjusting or there is something sticking in the valve body causing something(?) else to not get enough hydraulic pressure.
1st & 2nd gear still work fine.
I hate someone else working on my machines but I really have no clue & will have to take the car to a trans shop. It would be nice if I had some idea if some trans shop is trying to sell me a bill of goods like they did with my ex GF's daughter when they told her she needed a new trans. I replaced the leaking pan gasket & filled the trans & all was good.

I thought the slipping had stopped after everything got up to temperature but after another test drive I'm not so sure of that.
I did read that an overfilled trans can cause some cavitation & the dipstick does show that it's overfilled by what I'm guessing is about a quart.  Nevertheless it has worked fine up until now.
Haven't  had a chance to get underneath to see what I can see but will in the next few days.
If I pull the pan is there anything I might be able to spot that could cause this problem?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

[gasman826]

C6 has one band and it is the intermediate band ie 2nd gear.  If it was smoked or broken, the 1-2 shift would flair and not complete the shift into 2nd gear. 

Not shifting or poor shifting is more common to in-car service like valve body issues.

After shifting into 3rd gear, chatter or slipage is likely a piston seal failure due to heat and age.  There is not enough pressure on the clutch pack and it will fail if not already.

C6 is a very good transmission and one of the easier to rebuild.  If you every considered rebuilding a transmission, a C6 is a good one to start with.  There are several books and of course, Google can be your friend.

Its a little too close to winter to come your way and help with your rebuild.

[Tom S]

... Its a little too close to winter to come your way and help with your rebuild.

Gee, I just can't understand your attitude. 
Gary, it sounds like you're saying that the trans needs to be rebuilt, right?.  That's not good new$!
I intended to replace this trans with a 4 speed but on top of not enough garage space to work in I haven't been able to get all the parts together to do that.
With the way someone put this car together it's gonna take a lot of fabrication to make the clutch linkage & 4 speed work so it would take a long time.
And I aint gonna give up my daily driver's garage space for another long winter. : (

[gasman826]

gotten a long ways from Fordomatic oil.  One last comment...I'm completely sold on hydraulic bearings.

[cokefirst]

back years ago I was the tech editor for the 1955 Thunderbird for CTCI.  I spoke to an oil engineer about fluid and this is what he told me.  Originally all Automatic transmission fluid was type A.  Then they changed in the late 50's early 60's to Type A suffix A.  In the mid to late 60's Ford changed the fluid used on their transmissions to Type F.  This fluid had friction modifiers to make it shift with less slip.  Cars that call for Type A or Type A suffix A should use Dextron or Dextron II as this is the closest to the Type A fluid. 

[djfordmanjack]

upon my research of ATFs on the internet, there was a source that said that you could mix F and DexronII  1 part each and get very similar characteristics to the original Ford A type. Indeed I have been using Dexron for topping off in C4s and the Fordomatic and I have not had any problems so far. the 2 obviously mix when put in a container. I plan for a cleaning and seal job in spring and want to try the 1:1 mix. will post my efforts then.

[hiball3985]

Auto trans are the furthest thing from my automotive knowledge, thats why I drive sticks 
But my friend who does auto trans explained to me the change from A to F fluids was done because of the change in the friction materials. So depending on the trans being original or having been rebuilt using newer materials dictates what fluid to use.