visited the tranny shop for the followup....

[tactransman]

Good Lord!!! These people are dramatic at this shop. It is alot simpler then they are making it out to be. They can get another converter,turn yours in for a warranty telling the converter company it is out of balance and either save it on the shelf or give to you to sell or do what you want with it. bottom line is ... they owe you $$ or a good converter.

He has done "hundreds" but it is the first one with a shift kit!!! 

Let this other guy look at it and see what he finds out before talking to the first shop.

The pressure adjustment has nothing to do with your bump,I still say you have a pressure leak some where.

[dodge freak 2]

Good thing you are finished with that first shop, I would never take another car there again..not even to check the fluid level, lol.

You are just going to have to take the loss and forget about getting any money back...or you going to have to play rough and mean with them.

If it was me I would wait until the second shop is all done and see what he has to say AND what he puts down on writing and then take it from there. If I felt I had a 50 / 50 chance of winning in court I would call my local tv news stations and see if they like to help me, plus I would file a case in smalls claims court and just let the court contact them that they are being sued.

Again, thank god you took the car someplace else...it be just fine. This first shop is just messing with you. Places like that should be sued and if enough people would they be shut down one day. (sure you aren't the first guy they screwed around with)

[shadango]

Thanks guys

I cant tell you how nervous I am at this point. Feel like I need prozac.  LOL

Not just as far as money, etc.....its the issue of hoping that the second shop does right by me.

I am the eternal cynic I guess.

[shadango]

I rode past the shop on my way home yesterday and the car was sitting outside one of their bays, door down, my hood up.   After the gym I road by again and same deal so I stopped.

He said he drove it.....thinks it shifts harder than he likes it....I asked if he experienced the main issue, the double bump...he said no, but that he thought I said it wasnt doing that since the second rebuild...I said no, it was still doing it from neutral to low manual......just not n-r-d....he said it seems like I have the throttle kickdown set pretty close and that the right levers are on the tranny.... he was still "collecting information"......and that we will know today...I guess after he rips her apart......

I drove past the shop this AM and stopped to look in....it's on the rack with a pan under it. So I guess he did that after I left yesterday....

<sigh>

I dunno....I am crossing my fingers.  This is really hanging my shoulders low man.

[tactransman]

 

[dodge freak 2]

Fingers cross he just need to drop the valve body will see the problem. Just maybe the trans doesn't need to be drop.

[mojavered]

Shad, I feel your pain and wish you the best.  My engine was in the shop for 6 mo and got it back with problems.  It has just been dropped off at another shop where I have to spend more money on something that should have been taken care of the first time.  Good luck and I hope that everything works out.  It is amazing how much drama comes from shops and mechanics that cannot seem to get things done right the first time or in a timely manner.  We need an area to post that has all states and (some cities) areas that we can rate depending on performance, quality, etc....so that we have a good place to start when needing work done.

[dodge freak 2]

True, there are so many shops out there but it seems only a few are honest and do the job right. I must have past 15 to 20 trans shops on my 40 min drive to the shop I trust. I went over an hour away to Muscle Motors to have my heads milled and valves looked at.

What can we do but live and learn while we roll the dice ha ha.

[shadango]

Yeah but what am I learning?

I went with someone recommendation and NOT by price.....ended up getting into this.....hopefully the second shop will get it right (no news yet).......

All I am learning is that some mechanics suck.

 I havent figured out how to avoid yet.

[quapman]

I'm still working on that Jackass/Liar/Incompetent Bufoon detector. So far, no luck.

It will sound cynical, but it's gotten to where I just assume the person who is doing work for me will lie and do something wrong, until proven otherwise.

When I can do it, I also hold back a portion of the total bill until I am 100% satisfied. This doesn't always work, since you usually find something wrong AFTER making the last payment, thinking everything was OK.

[dodge freak 2]

You learn that some people are sobs, while others are cool and honest. How do we know before hand, ha.

I did walk away from a trans shop this summer-at first I had a good feeling but then after speaking with him thought best not to chance it.

He was telling me the seals must be fine in my trans and likely the clutch and maybe the bands need replacing. He do it for $400 to $500 with the trans in the car (he pulls) Seem really cool and lots of nice old cars in his clean shop.

But I ask how much to redo the whole trans--did not answer, said it wasn't needed (first strike).

Then I was looking at a old Cuda with mega bucks of parts on the motor, a customers car he tells me. Tells me the motor is all rebuilt and they just got it started earlier today. No coolant lines were hooked up. He fires the motor up and lets it idle, sounds great. I ask if it has a roller camshaft, no he says. Well I go how did you do the break in for the camshaft with no coolant?? He turns off the motor and goes, oh we do that later today, its only ran for 45 seconds. It be just fine. (yeah right, you just F up the guys camshaft I thought to myself)

Turns out my tranny was wasted, the guy told me I ran it right to the ground, lol. He did it all for $550 cause I am an old customer and knows how things are here in Michigan (they stink)

I would had gotten a call form that other shop after my tranny was out and he had my car lock in his shop saying it be $1,200 or something like that and right now I owe him $300 or more if I don't want him to do the job, plus I would need to tow the car out.

So you learn to ask questions and walk around the shop and then go with your gut feeling. Are you always right, nope but when in doubt best to do nothing. 

[shadango]

Ok, another update.

I called the new shop yesterday around 3 to see what was going on.  The guy there told me a bunch of stuff but then said he would rather show me and to stop by after work....so I did.

Here is what was found....

-- sun gear was trashed ......spalling and chewed up on one side of the teeth....he said this was something the other shop should have changed out.
-- pump gear is worn at the converter lugs...the lugs are "squished" to some degree if that makes sense...mis-shapen. He said that some guys will change them when they get like that, some not...he opted to change it since its a cheap part
-- (I may screw up the description of this one).....the diaphragm spring for the forward clutch was loose and over extending...would "bend way over when air measuring it".....he seems to think that this could have been contributing to the problem I was having with what we are calling the double bump....
-- we had a brief discussion about "the forward clutch having .050 on it" and that it was fine....he linked that to the diaphragm spring discussion but I cant recall how
-- he says he checked the ring grooves for wear and they are fine.
-- I do have kevlar bands in there like I was told by the first shop
-- he said he didnt like the "governor curve".....how things shift....so he is working that and the valve body today.
-- he said I had the kickdown setup right and adjusted pretty close....
-- he says the car tends to wind out a bit far (during his initial test drive) because of the short gears in the rear end....we discussed how I plan to go 3.55s and he said it would be a wise choice.....he said that the short gears are making my car "a toad".  He says he estimates my engine to be putting out 300-350 hp.....Hmmm.  I am kind of skeptical about that, but this guy has no reason to lie to me about that.......he used to race ...had a 68 Barracuda on the strip... (saw a picture of it)....seems to be able to talk the talk....so maybe?

Here's where it gets fun

-- the first shop claimed they put in a 4 pinion planetary (remember Terry, you said I didn't need that and a 3 pinion would be fine?)...well, all i have in there is 3 pinion.  Lie #1 from the first shop.
-- the billet rear servo I asked and paid for ......well, I dont have one.....this guy says its a stock one.  He said it does look like the shop filed it per the transgo instructions to keep it from cocking in the bore....he says it will be fine.  He says he knows that some guys prefer them, some dont.....he doesnt think its necessary and that the filing will be enough.   I guess we'll see on that.
-- he and the other mechanic there and I discussed the claim from the other shop that they "machined the governor support"......thats what I was told.  Well, they said that on these trannies the governor support bolts in...why would anyone machine it.....they thought maybe I misunderstood what the first shop said or that they were BSing me.....the first shop clearly told me "I machined the governor support".  This new guy is telling me that's BS.

This second shop seems very thorough.....he showed me a bunch of stuff on my tranny, spent almost an hour with me talking about it in his shop...something the first shop NEVER did.

Again, this guy came highly recommended from Transgo as having worked with them for years and having "high integrity".....overall, I have a good vibe.  The visit to the shop yesterday made me feel a lot better.

He says he should have it all back together and ready to go by end of day today.....if not, Monday, but probably today as planned...so we will see.

 

[6packCuda]

Sounds like you found a good place this time. Very thorough. I sure hope it works out for you this time.

[426HEMI]

   Sounds like you found a good place this time,  Hope it all works out and it performs like it should.   

[tactransman]

The first place definitely owes you some money back !!!!!    They are crooks to charge you for something that they did not give you. (the reverse servo)  I hope you go after them big time,everyone needs accountability,don't let them get away with it.