Many automatic transmissions back in the day had a device on them called a modulator. To be more precise it was called a vacuum modulator. Somehow over a period of time folks not in the business of working on transmissions began to call a vacuum modulator a modulator valve. Now all transmissions that had a vacuum modulator had a modulator valve also, but they were two different things.
This is a modulator:
And this is a modulator valve:
One time I told my boss, "Don, the next time someone comes in and wants to buy a modulator and calls it a modulator valve, I'm going to get an actual modulator valve just to see how they react!" Lol, he said go for it, but I never did, because I thought it would make the customer mad and be bad for business and waste a lot of time. Fast forward to the car dealership I worked for in 2008. I was called to the parts department over the PA and walked up there and asked Harold what he needed. He said, "Mike, this customer ordered a modulator valve for a 2005 Oldsmobile Delta 88, and the part came in and this is what they sent. This isn't what the customer says he wants."
This is a modulator valve for a 2003 Delta 88, and that's the part Harold had.
The parts guy was confused and the customer was a little upset and he told me that he ordered a modulator valve and this was what they sent him. What is it? Lol, I told him that was a modulator valve for his car and if that's what you told Harold you wanted, that's what you got. His face was turning red and then I told him what he probably wanted was a vacuum modulator instead. So, someone inadvertently did what I thought of doing way back when, and it was just a problematic and time wasting as I thought it would be. lol.
This is a modulator:
And this is a modulator valve:
One time I told my boss, "Don, the next time someone comes in and wants to buy a modulator and calls it a modulator valve, I'm going to get an actual modulator valve just to see how they react!" Lol, he said go for it, but I never did, because I thought it would make the customer mad and be bad for business and waste a lot of time. Fast forward to the car dealership I worked for in 2008. I was called to the parts department over the PA and walked up there and asked Harold what he needed. He said, "Mike, this customer ordered a modulator valve for a 2005 Oldsmobile Delta 88, and the part came in and this is what they sent. This isn't what the customer says he wants."
This is a modulator valve for a 2003 Delta 88, and that's the part Harold had.
The parts guy was confused and the customer was a little upset and he told me that he ordered a modulator valve and this was what they sent him. What is it? Lol, I told him that was a modulator valve for his car and if that's what you told Harold you wanted, that's what you got. His face was turning red and then I told him what he probably wanted was a vacuum modulator instead. So, someone inadvertently did what I thought of doing way back when, and it was just a problematic and time wasting as I thought it would be. lol.
