Author	[Modern View]
El Toro 10-18-2012 19:17:51 108.3.143.30 Report to Moderator	I have a 1981 Mercury Cougar just started not upshifting. Is there a vacuum solenoid modulator used? It will up shift eventually and stays there until you slow down to a crawl or stop. It has that automatic overdrive, but I don't use that since it's too hilly and traffic is terrible. Hal PS: It only has 56k miles. It has the 302cid engine. [Reply]   [No Email]
brian brooks 10-19-2012 13:12:35 173.17.71.242 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-18-2012 19:17:51   Id bet its the modulater its on the passenger side right behind the tranny pan. It will take about 2 minutes to change it. [Reply]  [No Email]
El Toro 10-19-2012 08:18:36 108.3.143.30 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-18-2012 19:17:51   Thanks for all the replies. I had 2 other vehicles that had the same problem. It was always the modulator. The first was a 1959 Rambler Rebel wagon. Had to several shops and first said it needed the oil changed. It never helped. The Rambler shop said it was shifting normal and I told him it never took that long before. The owner of the Rambler had a son that taught auto shop at the local community college and I knew he was a first class mechanic. He also raced Nash cars back in the late 1940's and 1950's on dirt tracks. The Fords always out ran the Nash. I ask him about the late upshifting. He said it was the modulator. The same mechanic that told me it shifting normal replaced the modulator. That fixed the problem. The other vehicle was a 1979 Chevy P/U. I found the vacuum line needed replacing to the modulator. I was a lot younger back then, when you're approaching 80 I don't like crawling around on that creeper. Hal [Reply]  [No Email]
Allan In NE 10-19-2012 09:11:33 148.66.98.174 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-19-2012 08:18:36   Oh for sure. And 'sides that, you could be under there for days, weeks.......heck, even years trying to find that vacuum modulator. You have the AOD transmission if it's an overdrive. They use a throttle valve in leau of a modulator valve. See if that carb linkage is hooked up properly and we'll go from there. Allan [Reply]  [No Email]
El Toro 10-19-2012 16:54:12 108.3.143.30 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to Allan In NE, 10-19-2012 09:11:33   It has the AOD transmission. Hal [Reply]  [No Email]
Allan In NE 10-19-2012 04:17:57 148.66.98.174 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-18-2012 19:17:51   Hi Guy, At the carburetor throttle, see if that TV control rod, which goes down to the transmission, is still connected. Oftentimes, those flimsy little clips will come off. If it is still in place, go underneath the car to check the lower end, which connects to the 'inner' shaft of the manual shaft. Allan [Reply]  [No Email]
GVSII 10-19-2012 02:47:32 74.71.178.71 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-18-2012 19:17:51   Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see When I've run into that problem( not that often) it has nearly always been modulater related. [Reply]  [No Email]
teddy52food 10-18-2012 20:30:39 184.94.175.179 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-18-2012 19:17:51   If the hose is still on the modulator, pull it off & see if it has ATF in it. If so the mod is shot. [Reply]  [No Email]
onefarmer 10-18-2012 19:38:52 184.63.126.212 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to El Toro, 10-18-2012 19:17:51   81 Cougar w/302 I'd bet it has a C4 and yes it would have the vacuum mod. I'd crawl under and look and if it does trace the vacuum line back to the engine. Maybe the line rotted out or came disconnected. [Reply]  [No Email]
VernMI 10-19-2012 03:51:02 209.86.226.34 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to onefarmer, 10-18-2012 19:38:52   It could be the C5 which is a modified C4 with a centrifugal converter clutch. Modulator would be a first guess then the fluid. [Reply]  [No Email]
VernMI 10-19-2012 03:53:19 209.86.226.34 Report to Moderator	Re: Tranny not up shifting in reply to VernMI, 10-19-2012 03:51:02   It could also be a stuck govenor or worn seal rings on the output shaft. [Reply]  [No Email]