i just purchased an 88 cougar ls bostonian. i've looked for info ,but haven't found much. it sat for a year and when i started running it it had some major slippage problems and hard late shifts. i checked and added fluid and it reduced the slippage but it made the shift points later. it wouldn't shift out of 2nd until you hit 45-50 mph.(80 might get you 4th) with the proper amount of fluid it began to smoke something awful and i know im spitting tranny fluid at the front of it. I drove it anyway and yesterday i lost reverse. all other selections (prk.,neut,o.d.,drv) engage the drive. the slippage disappeared though! my linkages are screewed up awful.my park linkage is gone and my drive linkage does not travel all the way. the column shfter only goes as low as drv. no low. the in dash indicator is completely misaligned saying im in rev. when in o.d. and between prk. and rev. when in neut. it seems like alot but the engine is going strong with only 89k miles.1k are within the past month. if any one can offer advice it would be appreciated. thanks.
The first thing I would check would be the TV cable and linkage (from the throttle lever to the transmission), though since you have lost reverse it may be too late.
When these cars sit around the linkage on the side of the transmission tends to seize up. The first time you floor it the TV cable will stick in the wide-open throttle position and will give you hard, late shifts until the lever works its way back, but then the next time you floor it it'll stick "wide open" again. A little bit of WD-40 and working the lever back and forth with your hand will usually free it up.
Unfortunately, continued driving with this problem is very hard on the transmission, and it sounds as though you may have screwed it good. Try freeing up the lever on the side of the tranny (not the shift linkage, the one with the small cable going up to the throttle body which is right near the shift linkage). Top up the fluid, and if you still have no reverse it may be cooked.
welcome to the board and be sure you check http://www.coolcats.net...
You'll find lot of info about Cougar
that link really should be a banner at the top of the page
I got here through coolcats and it was helpfull,and thanks for the hello. last nite about the time you posted, thunder chicken, i got reverse back. When I put it in gear it wanted to run forward but i kept my left on the brake and revved w/ my right. it slid into reverse and my other gears are back where they're supposed to be. slippage is killing me though and i think its having trouble engaging first. once you get moving and into second its alright though.
update. after reading your post i cheked the tv cable and linkage and they are completely dissconnected. broken. my best bet is when we started it the first time and revved the motor to make the battery charge, it snapped. the lever it was connected to was siezed up.
tranny has a good chance of being DOA, but you just might be lucky. very small chance tho
this evening i manually adjusted the lever the tv cable is supposed to adjust. my shifts came much quicker, but this means flooring it is a bad idea untill i get tv cable replaced right? anyone know where to get one? i made an appointment with a local tranny shop and its going in monday. see what they say after driving it. i'd rather do as much of the work myself but this is out of my league.