Joffroi

I recently purchased a 68 Cutlass with the original 2 speed automatic transmission in it. It was apparently rebuilt about 16000 miles ago.... which was also about 20 years ago.

It runs pretty strong, but every once in a while it has trouble shifting from 1st to 2nd. I checked the level and color of the fluid. The color was a very clear pink and the level looked low. I added about a half a pint of fluid and the next time I drove it the results were great. Unfortunately today it seemed to occasion sputter and have inconsistent RPMs. Any suggests on what to check aside from the fluid again?

joe_padavano

Check the vacuum modulator and the hose going to it. This can delay upshifts to wide-open-throttle and high RPMs.

Joffroi

Excuse my ignorance, where is the vacuum modulator and what do I really need to check for? This is my first time dealing with the transmission .

Joffroi

Ok, so it seems that is is getting a little worse. Still having the issue of having trouble shifting sometimes. Took a co-worker for a spin to show him (he has had 12+ Cutlass in his day) and of course it ran great. On my way back to my house it, it jumped a little more and sometimes sounded like it was going to die after being in idle for a while (possible other issue?). Then in my driveway I had it in park (still running to move trashcans in my garage) and it was a little more difficult to shift into drive. So what would you do to troubleshoot this?

1) Check vacuum modulator - Where is it?
2) Flush transmission fluid and change filter - Can has been driven 2000 miles in the past 12 years. Is it difficult to change all this?
3) Rebuild Transmission
a) What is average cost of this?
b) Should I just buy a different transmission or keep it original

Thanks