'72 Will No Longer Shift

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
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Aloha!

First time poster, long time “ghoster.” To be frank, I lacked the vocabulary to engage intelligently. It took some (years of) nudging from friends to get me to understand part of owning an older car is to learn to enjoy maintaining and repairing it. So here we are.

Long story short, our '72 COUGAR convertible, a member of the family since March 1972, decided she no longer wanted to engage or stay in gear last June. We pushed the old girl home and found transmission fluid leaking into our car port.

I reattacked last weekend, degunking the underside, and inspecting all lines. We verified that all the mechanical linkages were sound other than the knock down rod which had come disconnected up near the carburetor. Reconnecting it did not lead to a round-island cruise. :frowning:

I am blessed to have a knowledgeable mechanic at our local shop who works with these older cars. Better, he enjoys sharing his knowledge with routine customers. He suggested I inspect the hoses to the vacuum modulator. I found these were sound, and, after doing some Google-ing, I pulled the vacuum line off the modulator to look for leak-by. Nope. Dry as a bone.

Today’s inspection did show some weeping and I am assuming since the oil is clean this is seeping past the seals and not left over from June’s transmission fluid blow-out. I should note we ran the engine for 20 minutes the other day and tried shifting without recreating the Fountain of Fluid.

I also snapped a picture of this metal “pipe to nowhere” aft of the transmission.

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I assumed that this was a high point vent, as there are no obvious places where a low pressure rubber hose would go from the end of this pipe. Would this have been the source of the Fountain of Fluid if the transmission had overheated, causing the oil to expand?

I next plan to take off the pan and inspect for metal shards the spell end-of-transmission, but I am out of time today. I appreciate the “vector check” on my approach to date and welcome all suggestions.

Thanks again for letting me join the ranks as a more active community participant.

Eric

P.S. I had a couple other photos. I can post those as I get site privileges.

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Just a few things here:

Yep, the “pipe to nowhere” is a vent.

The seals on these get brittle and don’t always do what they’re supposed to, causing leaks. The converter fills with fluid when the pump is running, but when the engine’s off, it can slowly drain back into the pan and overflow the normal fluid levels. When that happens, it frequently leaks out the o-rings, especially at the fill neck and shift select levers. Those are usually old, brittle, and in need of replacement. Then, once a bunch of fluid is out of the transmission, you start it up, and now the fluid in the transmission is too low for normal operation.

Is this an FMX in your 72? C4? C6? These basics are true for all of them. I prefer Type F fluid because it helps achieve firmer shifts and less friction wear. It also foams a lot less. Foamy transmission fluid doesn’t do the job nearly as well as non-foamy fluid.

Hope this helps!

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Looking forward to see more photos of your entire car!

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Grim,

Thanks for the help. This is, I believe, a C4 based on picture comparisons with what I found online and some feedback from friends. I am beginning to conclude this is more than I can do flat on my back a couple inches from the pan…

Eric

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I’ll scan out photo library and see if I can find a few!

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Eric, Your 1972 will have either a FMX or a C-6. The FMX has a cast iron main case that unbolts from the bellhousing. The C-6 is an all aluminum case and does not unbolt from the bell housing. A C-4 will unbolt from the bell house, but the transmission needs to be removed from the engine to excess the bolts, a FMX can be unbolted with it on the engine(maybe not while in the car).
Good luck with this.
Neal.

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FMX will have a painted case, because it’s cast iron. Easy to spot!

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Grim, I have 3 here. All do not have painted main cases. The only ones I have seen with painted cases are earlier MX or FX units or have been rebuilt by somebody who painted them. This does not mean they never came painted, just I have not seen that.

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Thanks for correcting me, Badcatt. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not an "FMX"pert. I have seen a few and all had paint, but I have seen far more C4’s, 5s, and 6’s.

Probably just people trying to make theirs look spiffy. I’ve only really seen three out of the car, and they were all blue. I am sure I’ve seen more IN the car, but never paid attention!

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Thanks, everyone. I will have an opportunity to peek under the car for a good look on Wednesday.

Eric

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I had just enough time to snap a picture.

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I am assuming from the fact that this is a.) 50 years old, and b.) still shiny that this is the aluminum bell housing and thus the “unboltable” C6 transmission. The lack of apparent bolts might point in that direction too, come to think of it…Should I proceed by taking off the pan and inspecting for evidence of burnt oil and ground up transmission, or should I go straight to the shop with this one?

Thanks agains!

Eric

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Eric, actually, it’s anything but a C6. You can make out some bolts holding the bellhousing to the body of the transmission in this picture. On a C6, the body and bellhousing are not bolted together; it’s one big heavy cast unit. But the shadows and grime make it hard to tell if that’s a C4 or FMX, at least to my eyes, without seeing a little more of the body. =)

(and nothing to be ashamed of down there - anything still in great shape on these cars is a miracle, given their age!)

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Looks like an FMX to me. Is the vacuum line hooked up?

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This may be the dumbest question ever, but is the fluid full on the dipstick? I bought a 69 Sport Special in 1986 and when I went to pick it up, the tranny wouldn’t engage. The nice lady knocked $500 off, and after I towed it home, I finally checked. It was out of fluid. Added type F, and it engaged and shifted perfectly. Side note, I called the lady to tell her, and she refused to take the $500 back. She was just happy some kid that loved the car had it.

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JIm351c,

On the advice of my local mechanic, I traced it hand over hand, wedged a flashlight such that I could find it when looking in from the hood, found the line, and traced it back to a “T” port on the engine block. I didn’t notice any damage to the vacuum line. There are areas that are hard to really see, so I suppose a tear is possible.

Eric

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Actually, I am not far from the day when I asked “There is a dipstick to check this?” so, no, this is not a dumb question! After my initial leak inspection, I did refill the system. It should be OK.

Eric

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Update:

Sorry, it took until today to get the COUGAR back up and take some pictures that I hope will at least answer the question, “What type of transmission is it?”

First, though, here is the car.

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My parents brought her home in March of 1972. The after wheel wells have some bad rust, and there is certainly surface rust and grime all over the undercarriage. She had been stored improperly, and, when I had the chance about 15 years ago, I let a hobbyist friend try to restore the body. I saved money at the time, perhaps, but I still wonder if a professional job would have save money (and perhaps the car) over the long term. Water under the bridge now, so here we are.

After getting underneath the car today, I worked back along the driver’s side:

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Uploading: DSCF8109.JPG…

I then did the same along the passenger’s side:

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I am not sure what, if any of this, is diagnostic. I left the car on the tripods, so please let me know where I should point the camera to nail down the transmission type.

Last question…Is it safe to keep our “cat” on the tripods? I have two, both currently placed well forward. It takes about 10-15 minutes to lift the car, so it is not a huge issue, but it is a deterrent against “let me get under there and look at something” type things.

Thanks, and Enjoy Your Weekends!

Aloha,
Eric

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Just guessing, because I still haven’t seen a shot of the BODY of the transmission. But that pan doesn’t look like any C4 pan I’ve seen. It’s not a C6, so my money’s on FMX - which would be the original as far as I know.

As for “is it safe to leave it on jackstands” - the places you put them will determine this. If they are on the body panels, it is not safe to leave it on them, even for two seconds; they crush and dent panels. The only safe place to put them is on jack points, places like the rear axle, and reinforced frame rails at the front.

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Grim,

Thanks. We will go with FMX and start from there, then. The transmission is the original. I’ll get another photo, all the same.

The jackstands are at the places you recommend!

Aloha,
Eric

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Just wondering how many miles are on it and if if ever had any service done on the trany - like fluid changes or band adjustments?