That sounds like a terrific price Mr Sambo!!...is that at a Dealer??... Darn...I know I'm getting close to all this...

Sheepishly, I must admit, other than synthetic motor oil and filter changes, at regular 3-4K intervals....I haven't spent much on maintenance....errrrr actually ZILCH @140,000+ real miles

NO..I do not burn or leak oil between changes....Pack the bearings??? Nope! , Change the upper and lower radiator hose??? Na!!!...How bout the transmission fluid?? Ahh yes the transmission...I'm glad I asked myself that question ;oor; ...well after all these miles For some reason, I started experiencing a "soft shift" in the gear changes. This is a very general symptom of a pending clutch pack failure in many GM trannys( in the latter part of the previous century), usually brought on by a low fluid level or "mucho" full throttle events during the gear changes.

I owned a Aamco Transmission Center in Huntington Park, Ca. between 1970-1975 so Im a little familiar with the ,"doom and gloom" of a pending transmission problem...anyways...so I thought I check the fluid level, being the, "expert" in the biz that I am???...Hummmm??? let me see here??? When was the last time I checked the fluid??? Opp's never!!....

If you have not guessed by now.... I come from the school of, "IF ITS NOT BROKE DON'T FIX IT SCHOOL"....Anyway, too embarassed to ask you folks where they put the transmission dipstick in the 32 years I've been out of the biz, I finally did what I swore I would never...ever...ever..do again....I actually crawled up underneath my car

Na...not that I was actually trying to find the dipstick....Hell!!! I was trying to find the transmission!!! Whew!! Its comforting to know they still try to "more or less" position these components down the middle of the under belly of the car....elsewised I might have been thrown off and looked endlessly in places like the glove box....anyhow I found it!!....Long story short...I added a quart of Dextron 3( after figuring out how to put it in without having to turn her upside down) and the problem of the soft shift went away (4 now)....no sign of any leaking....nothing...AND its only been 140K miles...Im suspicious

J