1988 Shifting Characteristics

[BobM]

I just bought a 1988 Thunderbird 3.8 and it seems to me that it isn't shifting correctly. It won't shift from first gear until around 30 mph (shifts hard) and then it won't shift until about 47mph. I talked to a neighbor and he said his mom had a 91 that shifted hard. Being new to Thunderbirds, what is the correct shifting ranges and if I have a problem, how do I correct it.
I will be grateful for any information that anyone has.
Thanks.

[HighWayMan]

That motor is a bit more sluggish than you would expect. So you may just be gassing it a bit hard. However I found improvement in a similar performance by removing the transmission pan and replacing the filter. It's quite an easy job.

[BobM]

I bought a transmission filter and haven't gotten around to putting it in yet. I will try the filter and see if it makes any improvement.

[HighWayMan]

I bought a transmission filter and haven't gotten around to putting it in yet. I will try the filter and see if it makes any improvement.

Take care to not overfill it when you have replaced it. They do not like that :)