On my 65 cruiso I pulled the vacuum hose from the modulator and a couple tablespoons of oil leaked out. So I am trying to pull the modulator but can't figure out how. it is in too tight to unscrew by hand. I can't get the angle on it for a wrench from over the crossmember. Is it bolted in?

Yours probably is a screw on...some are push on. It should screw out fairly easily. If you can't get a wrench on it, try a strap wrench on the body or channel locks...sounds like the diaphragm is shot so you cant hurt it with pliers.

Oh and be careful not to loose the pin inside the modulator when you get it out....

I have learned it screws in but I don't have a good tool for it. A plumber's basin wrench is the right idea. I tried it though and it is designed for something a little smaller.

Since I am planning on getting a new modulator, maybe there is some destructive way of getting it out.

If all else fails, you can support the transmission and remove the crossmember to give you more access.

Never seen anything but a screw on in any cruiso transmission out of the hundreds I have had.

yea..I had a brain fart...was thinking of the C6's.......

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3/4" crow foot wrench.

got one and was able to fit it to the nut but can't get the leverage to turn it. I tried a direct drive and also tried a 90* adapter and sneak s ratchet handle in berween the crossmember and oil case but no go.

I spent an hr with a basin wrench, believing the mod was turning, but it wasn't. The thing, defective as it probably is, is in there!

Looking for more ideas.

Although if I have to remove the crossmember I will be interested in knowing any problems typically encountereed.

A hammer and punch works good.

Place the punch on a flat and tap it with a hammer.

Righty tighty, lefty loosey.

Yay crow's foot, this time with a cheater bar and 10,000 lbs of force. Broke it free. Spun right out after that. No number on mine and actualy there is not even a little screw in the vacuum fitting.

I see Auto Zone has two modulators, I was planning of seeing which one looked like mine but maybe they both do. Maybe mine is not correct. AZ MV201 fits a 2-speed, a MX and an FX. MV200 fits the C4, do you recommend either of these for a 1965 cruisomatic?

The ford # is.

C1AZ-7A377B for the adjustable version.

See if your supplier can cross that number.
Ford probably won't have much of a listing anymore.

2 speed or FMX modulator will work in yours.

I got the modulator MV201 from AZ, has a blue stripe. OK. But instructions say to look for a small push rod and install it in the new one. Where does one look for something like that - and, failing to find one, what is the next step I should take?

The modulator can turn either way seven turns, so it is set up middling. But there is no small push rod that I could see, maybe this was the problem with the old one! With a nail I probed into the modulator and hit something 3/4 inch in. In the transmission I did the same thing; there is not really much there, maybe 2 inches in there is something of resistance. Subtracting for threads there might be room for a 2 1/2 inch (small?) rod of some kind, though there are no obvious end-points to plug it in.

What can you recommend?

There's gotta be a push rod.

Maybe drop the pan and have a look.

It may have fallen in one time or another.

Yes,it was in the pan. Probably when i was using the basin wrench - part of the modulator was turnig and maybe the rest fell into the drink.

Ok I am all set. I stuck the rod into the modulator. It sticks out two inches. So just put on the washer and screw that baby in?

Make sure it contacts the valve inside the transmission then screw it in.

Got a new modulator, installed. Changed out the transmission oil. put in maybe 4 counter clockwise turns (from a middle setting) on the modulator and it made a big difference. under low acceleration the COM shifts into third at about 23 MPH, looking good.

OK but when I hit the gas it won't shift at all until I decelerate. 30 Mph, 40... 5K rpm, 6K rpm.. no shift until I let off.

To make matters more confusing, sometimes with just moderate acceleration it also won't shift into third. Usually it does, but not always.

Finally, since my work, my idle has dropped to maybe 350 rpm, on the verge of dying. And at cruising speed (50 Mph - 2,000 rpm) the drive train seems constrained. Might be the glass packs, I know, but still, there is a kind of whining/constraining in there I didn't hear before, not sure if any of this is important in the analysis, Maybe the numbers is all I should be concerned about, what do you think?