In my 67' I have the cruiseomatic automatic transmission. It has gotten where it shifts into second gear just fine right when it is supposed to but it won't shift into third until I have drove a little ways and the transmission is warmed up. After it gets warmed up good it shifts real smooth like is supposed to. I was wondering if maybe the fluid being dirty would cause it to do. Would the fluid being dirty cause the fluid to not got through the tranny correctly until it has warmed up and a little thinner because of the heat?

 

It wouldn't hurt to do a fluid and filter change and it might help a little, but you have the classic "morning sickness" syndrome. When the internal seals get old, the fluid pressure is deminished and you get slow (late) shifting until the transmission warms up (and the seals work better). You are looking at a rebuild in the near future.

 

Just FYI, Ford used the marketing term "Cruise-O-Matic" to describe ALL 3-speed automatic transmissions. The first 3-speed auto they made (i.e. the first Cruise-O-Matic) is now referred to as the FMX. It has a cast iron case and seperate bell housing. That is most likely what you have. AFAIK they did not use the C6, which superceded the FMX in truck applications, until 1968.

 

Ah, a stickler for details, I like that. The Ford cast iron cruise-o is an updated copy of the Borg-Warner auto from the ‘50’s. Ford had three versions of it, FX, MX and FMX. For ’67 the 352 had the MX, not that this helps you any.

Barry

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Barry, Will you spound a little on the MX, I don't know much about that one.
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

My 67 F100, 352ci, also has the cruise o matic mx trans. For 15 years it has similar shifting sluggishness from 2nd to 3rd on cold mornings. Usually just the first time it shifts then it's ok. A cold morning in Southern California is in the high 30s or low 40s. I compensate by shifting manually from 1-2-drive when starting from a stand still. My next stop isn't for two miles. By that time it's warmed enough to work correctly. This never started until I had the trans rebuilt. I always change the fluid since new every 10,000 miles. Trans has over 250,000 miles and works great except for the cold morning quirk.

 

I tried shifting it manually but when I shift into drive it doesn't go ahead and go into 3rd. I just drive it a while and let it do it on it's own.

 

One thing to watch out for: On the earlier FMX's (I must admit I never heard of the FX or MX, I call them all FMX) the D and 2 positions are reversed. Sort of. In the traditional position for D, you start out in 2nd gear and shift to D. If you want to start out in 1st, then go 2nd, then D, you have to use the "middle" position, where "2" ususally is. My '64 F100 was this way and for a long time I thought that it was not working properly until I read the service manual and looked at the fluid flow diagram. On my truck, it just had a white dot, a green dot, and then an L. But the manual referred to these positions as D1 and D2.

However, I think they were not doing this anymore on the '67s.

 

Hi John, hey where ya been? Glad to see you’re back! To be honest I’m not that up on the cruise-o’s sans the model #’s and applications. All I know is they are heavy and damn complicated inside compared to the C4/C6. That’s why you need a tranny guy who understands them or else they'll screw it up for sure. The MX is a heavier duty version used on the car FE’s and trucks. They all look the same on the outside. Like M. Fords could probably tell you what’s different inside if he sees this post. Hey Like M. what’s that CW version that came out in the ‘70’s, they look a bit different inside. Hey jas, the C4 from ‘64-’66 also had the green and white dots. A change in the valve body eliminated those confusing positions for the more conventional D, 2, 1.

Barry

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I check this board every day now. Just took me a while to get over the loss of the email digest. Now I am accustomed to this and like it just as good. Wish there was more traffic, I could talk Ford Trucks all day (on second thought, maybe the low traffic is a good thing for my career).

 

I know that there are a lot of different versions of the "FMX" type transmissions. I only distinguish between them when I am buying parts for a particular one. It is a good design, goes back about 40 years, millions of them installed. First one I remember seeing was in an International pick-up...'50 something. I had an "LTD" (1978 I think) that had a 351M and FMX transmission. I have rebuilt quite a few of them and still have some parts laying around. The delay that Sullyda1 is experienceing is because the rebuilder did not get one of the seals in right. It is not a characteristic of the transmission.

Anybody remember the Ford-A-Matic? '52, '53, '54 I think.

If they had updated the FMX type transmission with an aluminum case, it might still be around. Complicated design, but very tough and reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to put one in my "daily driver" pick-up.

 

Barry, I have been here every day. I am cutting back on my posting to let some of these newer guys post the same answers hundreds of times. With my count someone might mistake me for a bucket mouth.
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John

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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Oh, well it’s good to know you’re still around. Any idea when Stockman will be freed up? I miss seeing you guys here everyday, kind of like the same familiar faces at the coffee shop every morning.

Barry

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Barry, Shoot me a mail (below)
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John

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[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NCFTO] North Carolina Ford Truck Owners Group

In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.