Stinktooth
Active Member
Hi all, I thought I would share a bad experience I had with you all and see if I could get some advice.
I recently decided to pull the motor and tranny out of my 64 sig (273 with 904 push button) for some needed rebuilding. I was recommended to a transmission shop a few towns away by my engine shop.The transmission still worked but had some leaks and it kinda banged into 2nd gear.The shop owner told me he was very familiar with push button 904s and he would warranty it for 2 years! How could I lose with a 2 year warranty? So I drop the tranny off. I offered to give him any literature I had (owners manual,info from internet(mainly FABO),which he promptly dismissed as he was a expert! A few days after dropping off the transmission I got a call asking me if I wanted to upgrade the planetary gear because the old one is aluminum and a new steel one would be alot stronger! He told me it would cost $100 to upgrade it and I figured I would be dumb not to take his advise .He charged me $850 for the rebuild and $100 for the new planet so $950 total. Now I had no idea what to expect but under $1000 was still within my budget. It took 2 more months to get my motor back before I could install the transmission and test it. The parking cable would not stay engaged because he installed the fork and spring that held it in place upside down It was clear in the owners manual instructions and was a quick fix once I figured what was wrong. I worked on cars before and I was not a complete novice at installing a transmission (engaging pump with torque converter and what not). I started the new engine and ran through heat cycle for cam the first day and waited for the next day to try the tranny. The car was on jack stands with all 4 wheels off the ground,I had the drive shaft in and knew it was in park. I slid the park leaver up and pressed the "d" om my gear selector and it sounded like the transmission had sand in it instead of fluid it was load and worse that nails on a chalk board! I quickly put the tranny into neutral ,it still made noise,then I put it in park and it still made noise. The wheels did turn in drive and stopped once I hit neutral but it didn't make a difference now the tranny groaned even in park. (idle was about 850 rpm). I called the the transmission guy lets call him Bob ,He immediately screamed at me over the phone and told my I must not have installed the torque converter properly and that I ate up the pump.(I wish he was right) I assured him I installed it correctly (I needed to pull it toward the flex plate 3/8 of a inch to get the bolts to reach) so I knew it was seated all the way in the tranny. He told me to take the transmission out of the car and bring it back to him. I told him I was bringing him the whole car and he could take it out and if was something I did I would pay him the fee to pull it,he agreed. The following day I rented a trailer and towed the car to his shop as soon as I got there he started yelling at me again How I screwed up the tranny and he was pissed! I let him work on the car the whole next day and showed up at his shop at 8 AM the following day. He informed me that the pump and torque converter were fine but I had the parking sprag out of adjustment and it was dragging on the shaft. He called later that day and changed his story he said the parking sprag must have engaged while I was running the car and it stripped the splines out of the new planet gear he had replaced! I told him the car was idling at 850 rpm and the wheels where spinning freely with the car in the air. I told him to do what he had to to get the car fixed and we will work it out. He called me the next day to tell me he reinstalled the original planet gear in the tranny and the shaft splines were stripped so I had to locate another tranny with a bolt on shaft out of a pushbutton car. Fortunately I met a guy out in Moriches auto wreckers on the east end of Long Island he had 4 old darts in the yard (if anyone needs parts) and for $400 dollars I got another transmission with a bolt on shaft out of a 64 dart GT. Bob took the shaft and planet gear out of this tranny installed it in my housing and told me it was fixed. So I get a friend to drive me there that day to get the car it was at his shop for 8 days. I go in his office to settle up . He charged me another $650 for the added work.I asked him if there was a chance that the steel planet had different sized splines and that's why the shaft got stripped he said no. I only had $400 on me which he said was enough to release the car but he's holding my parts tranny there until I return with $250 more. So here is the good part, I get in the car in front of his shop and the car is stuck in park!! remember how he had the fork and spring upside down the first time? well he did it again! he climbed under the car and got the park sprag to release told me the cable was stretched and I needed a new one and I drove the hell outa there.My 1st test run was a 40 mile drive in rush hour with no hood or grill and my directional s messed up.
Needless to say I am convinced this was all his fault and I want to get my money back! If any of you tranny experts know if there was a shaft diameter difference back in 64 I would appreciate all the ammo I can get when I drag this guy to court.Also why don't cars strip the splines out of there transmissions every time you put your car in gear with your food on the brake if what he says is true? So I have a $1950 tranny in my car, and oh yeah Bob said the kickdown bracket it doesn't have enough throw in it that's why it wont kick down when I mash my foot on the gas, I guess Bob would have done it better if he was a engineer at Plymouth! Next time I'll tell you about my engine builder :banghead: I feel better I got that out
I recently decided to pull the motor and tranny out of my 64 sig (273 with 904 push button) for some needed rebuilding. I was recommended to a transmission shop a few towns away by my engine shop.The transmission still worked but had some leaks and it kinda banged into 2nd gear.The shop owner told me he was very familiar with push button 904s and he would warranty it for 2 years! How could I lose with a 2 year warranty? So I drop the tranny off. I offered to give him any literature I had (owners manual,info from internet(mainly FABO),which he promptly dismissed as he was a expert! A few days after dropping off the transmission I got a call asking me if I wanted to upgrade the planetary gear because the old one is aluminum and a new steel one would be alot stronger! He told me it would cost $100 to upgrade it and I figured I would be dumb not to take his advise .He charged me $850 for the rebuild and $100 for the new planet so $950 total. Now I had no idea what to expect but under $1000 was still within my budget. It took 2 more months to get my motor back before I could install the transmission and test it. The parking cable would not stay engaged because he installed the fork and spring that held it in place upside down It was clear in the owners manual instructions and was a quick fix once I figured what was wrong. I worked on cars before and I was not a complete novice at installing a transmission (engaging pump with torque converter and what not). I started the new engine and ran through heat cycle for cam the first day and waited for the next day to try the tranny. The car was on jack stands with all 4 wheels off the ground,I had the drive shaft in and knew it was in park. I slid the park leaver up and pressed the "d" om my gear selector and it sounded like the transmission had sand in it instead of fluid it was load and worse that nails on a chalk board! I quickly put the tranny into neutral ,it still made noise,then I put it in park and it still made noise. The wheels did turn in drive and stopped once I hit neutral but it didn't make a difference now the tranny groaned even in park. (idle was about 850 rpm). I called the the transmission guy lets call him Bob ,He immediately screamed at me over the phone and told my I must not have installed the torque converter properly and that I ate up the pump.(I wish he was right) I assured him I installed it correctly (I needed to pull it toward the flex plate 3/8 of a inch to get the bolts to reach) so I knew it was seated all the way in the tranny. He told me to take the transmission out of the car and bring it back to him. I told him I was bringing him the whole car and he could take it out and if was something I did I would pay him the fee to pull it,he agreed. The following day I rented a trailer and towed the car to his shop as soon as I got there he started yelling at me again How I screwed up the tranny and he was pissed! I let him work on the car the whole next day and showed up at his shop at 8 AM the following day. He informed me that the pump and torque converter were fine but I had the parking sprag out of adjustment and it was dragging on the shaft. He called later that day and changed his story he said the parking sprag must have engaged while I was running the car and it stripped the splines out of the new planet gear he had replaced! I told him the car was idling at 850 rpm and the wheels where spinning freely with the car in the air. I told him to do what he had to to get the car fixed and we will work it out. He called me the next day to tell me he reinstalled the original planet gear in the tranny and the shaft splines were stripped so I had to locate another tranny with a bolt on shaft out of a pushbutton car. Fortunately I met a guy out in Moriches auto wreckers on the east end of Long Island he had 4 old darts in the yard (if anyone needs parts) and for $400 dollars I got another transmission with a bolt on shaft out of a 64 dart GT. Bob took the shaft and planet gear out of this tranny installed it in my housing and told me it was fixed. So I get a friend to drive me there that day to get the car it was at his shop for 8 days. I go in his office to settle up . He charged me another $650 for the added work.I asked him if there was a chance that the steel planet had different sized splines and that's why the shaft got stripped he said no. I only had $400 on me which he said was enough to release the car but he's holding my parts tranny there until I return with $250 more. So here is the good part, I get in the car in front of his shop and the car is stuck in park!! remember how he had the fork and spring upside down the first time? well he did it again! he climbed under the car and got the park sprag to release told me the cable was stretched and I needed a new one and I drove the hell outa there.My 1st test run was a 40 mile drive in rush hour with no hood or grill and my directional s messed up.
Needless to say I am convinced this was all his fault and I want to get my money back! If any of you tranny experts know if there was a shaft diameter difference back in 64 I would appreciate all the ammo I can get when I drag this guy to court.Also why don't cars strip the splines out of there transmissions every time you put your car in gear with your food on the brake if what he says is true? So I have a $1950 tranny in my car, and oh yeah Bob said the kickdown bracket it doesn't have enough throw in it that's why it wont kick down when I mash my foot on the gas, I guess Bob would have done it better if he was a engineer at Plymouth! Next time I'll tell you about my engine builder :banghead: I feel better I got that out
