One is that I'm thicker than a grand medieval banquet table of the mightiest oak. (No, not in the good way. I'm.. I'm saying I'm stupid.)

The other is that my 4-speed automatic is not finding 4th. It finds 3rd at around 35-40mph, but does not shift again up past 65. I was just taking a very rare highway jaunt and realized that it sounded like it was running awful high (can't tell you how high as I have no tach), and despite getting surprisingly decent gas mileage in my daily around-town driving I swear I could see the needle moving towards "E" while on the highway.

The third, which is intimately intertwined with the first, is that my transmission fluid level is somewhere between "inadequate" and "NONE" as there is none visible on the dipstick when I check it according to the directions in the owner's manual. It's the first time I've checked the tranny fluid on this car since I bought it in September. I think it should have been checked when I had the oil changed a couple months ago, but those clowns couldn't even figure out how to put my hubcaps back on, so...

Well I'm certainly not going to drive it until I can bring the fluid level up (which is more easily said than done until friday). But can you tell me if low fluid can cause that kind of shifting problem, or if it's definitely something bigger than that?

Thanks.

 

What year of Olds do you have

 

1983 Custom Cruiser with the 307. I know nothing about the transmission, but I assume it's original.

 

yes put some fluid in and if u didnt burn it up it should shift normally modulator valve might need replaced good luck i always check the retards at those oil change places as soon as i get to my car

 

Transmission modulator, only $10.99 at AutoZone. Yeah, I reckon it's probably gonna work out alright. Thanks for your help!

 

......I think it should have been checked when I had the oil changed a couple months ago, but those clowns couldn't even figure out how to put my hubcaps back on, so...


You are funny!! I may not know a whole lot about cars, but I DO know that if they're taking off the hubcaps to change the oil, you need to go somewhere else!!! LOL!!!!

 

You know, that didn't even occur to me.

The air filter in the spare tire well and the ashtray full of wiper fluid did seem a bit odd, but hey.. I'm no mechanic.

Seriously, they (a Firestone shop) tried to rotate the tires, but the right-front locking wheel cover is totally stuck. It was stuck before I took it there, so I can't blame them. There's a special tool to take them off, and it's completely mangled from some previous attempt that probably involved a sledgehammer. If I never really need to get that tire off, I'll give it a hit with some WD40 and hope it loosens, or else I'll have to just break the wheel cover. Still, the three wheel covers Firestone DID manage to take off, they put the locking hub things back on wrong. I even handed them the installation/removal instructions from the glovebox when I handed them they keys.