Lincoln Twin range Cruise o Matic Care and cleaning DIY004
Rev A 05/17/2020

R and R Pan fluid change and band adjustment

The fluid used in this service is Dextron III. If your transmission has been rebuilt check with the shop for the right stuff!
The original fluid was Type A. Eventually the people at FoMoCo migrated to the Dextron type for this application.

Note: Valvoline DEX/MERC Automatic Transmission Fluid. Recommended for use in the following applications: MERCON, DEXRON-III, Ford M2C138-CJ and M2C166-H, Allison C-4 and TES-389 and Caterpillar TO-2

This is a straight forward service and very messy.
Remove the down tube retaining nut and let the fluid drain.
Remove all the bolts except for two opposite the down tube fitting . Position the drain pan below and slowly remove the last two tipping the pan down. You need a 6 quart drain pan.
You can also use an old trash can lid with a hole in the middle place it over a small drain pan.
This is the Valve body assembly ..Looks like a little coolant in here as well...

The next step is to drain the torque converter...Remove the inspection cover and rotate the engine so that one of the drain plugs is visible and at the bottom. You can now drain the converter.
No picture available...
Bottom view showing the filter.
This is a large case unit 10 7/8"

This is the ID tag found on the driver side ...It reads Model PBB This is the large case unit.
Now you can strighten up the pan and paint it ...I cleaned and reused the filter and made my own gasket.
You can make a 1/4 inch spacer to fit between the servo and the adjustment screw shown here. Back off the lock nut back off adjustment screw. Insert the spacer between the piston stem and the adjusting screw. Tighten the screw snug, not tight! Then back off the screw 1 full turn. Then hold the adjusting screw stationary and tighten the lock nut. Remove the gauge block. The front band is now set.
Rear band: Fold back the passenger front carpet to expose the access hole.
Remove any dirt from around the adjusting screw and oil the threads. Loosen the lock nut back off about one turn and retighten to about 10 ft lbs. Then back off 1 1/2 turns. Tighten the lock nut aprox 35-40 ft lbs.
The rear band is set.
Replace the torque converter drain plug , Re-install the pan and down tube. Refill with fluid, about 12 quarts.
Pour in about 8 quarts and start the engine. Place the transmission in drive and then reverse momentarily. Add two more quarts. place the transmission in drive once again. Top off as needed ...Place the transmission in drive and then reverse.
Bring the vehicle up to temperature and check the fluid again.

Thats it.. check for leaks.....

Am I correct in thinking that this is the same tranny that the 1958 Edsel had, just renamed? Same as Mercury, too, right?

classicrocker12 wrote:
Am I correct in thinking that this is the same tranny that the 1958 Edsel had, just renamed? Same as Mercury, too, right?

The 1958 EDSEL used either the FORD-O-MATIC (Single Range) or the mid-case MERC-O-MATIC (Single Range). EDSEL did not use a Dual Range until 1959.

ahh, ok, thanks. is adjusting the bands on the edsel ford/merc-o-matic the same as adjusting the dual range?

classicrocker12 wrote:
... is adjusting the bands on the edsel ford/merc-o-matic the same as adjusting the dual range?

I would find the specific instructions for the Single Range trans to be safe.

Usually, the AT is in a separate publication from the Shop Manual.

-FAXON AUTO LITERATURE-

yeah, i'm sure you're right. i've just had sort of a hard time getting my hands on one and i didn't want to have to spend the money to buy one. thanks!

I would hate to say to adjust to 58 FORD FORDOMATIC specs and that turns out to be false. It is best to go with factory literature unless modified.

Great post on the fluid/filter change proceedure. The trans with the rust in the pan looks like it is still in the car. Is this a transmission that was running o-k? With the moisture intrusion, it is likely that the valves in the valve body can get stuck from rust build up. Also, the clutch and band material tends to degrade and flake apart when the trans is run with water in it----unless it has brass clutches. I'm curious on how well this trans performs despite the water intrusion.

Hey, one thing I like to do is throw a couple small magnets in the pan to hold down any fine metal debris that would otherwise be circulating around with the fluid. Most modern transmissions have magnets in the pan from the factory.

Actually as nasty as the fluid was, the transmission is working just fine .........As you can see I have several in stock.
I'm not ready to do the trans as yet .... Ill do the engine and trans all at once ....

Hi 59lincolnrag I have a 1958 continental conv, 64 thousand miles on it, that was a 30 year shop find. the car is in great shape, car was built march of 58, motor was built feb 6th of 58 is the trany guage for the front band the same as in your artical, also should i use type f oil in it the numbers on the tag is pbb-7000 than 208-20691 and it is a twin range turbo drive thanks alvin