ATS Trans - Help me out please

[rblomquist]

I have a trans and TC heading to my mechanic that should be put in the truck by early next week (stock trans starting to go). What I'm looking for is any feedback you guys can give me about what to look for as far as improvement over stock and what kind of stuff should I walk away from the vendor with i. e. warranty card, troubleshooting tips etc etc.



I'm not looking forward to paying the bill but I hope it turns out to be much improved over what I was dealing with before. It was so frustrating to have little 4 cyl pickup trucks outrun me from stoplight to stoplight and even more frustrating trying to get the darn TC to lockup while towing my travel trailer; man that used to tick me off



Thanks in advance.

 

[rblomquist]

Anyone.....

 

[y-knot]

Your trany never had a chance, with 3:54 gears and towing it was destind to a short life. They should not even offer a choise with the automatic, just stick in 4:10 and ship it out. You never said what all you were buying? If it is a "stage 4"then you will be very pleased, the truck will feel much light and more nimble. The light to light performance will be much more fun, now when you step on it, it goes. I have not towed with mine yet, and it may be awhile befor I do, but I would imagin it too will be a welcome change. I hope you bought the Commander unit, it works nice.

 

[JSHAW]

I have the ATS stage IV and do tow alot with it. Sometimes I forget the trailer is even on the back of my truck. It is that much stronger than stock. You're going to love it.



Jim Shaw

 

[rrausch]

I agree, you'll love it. I got mine a year and a half ago, and I still am amazed with the performance. It is the best thing I ever did to my truck. I've got about 33,000 miles on it (140,000 on the truck) and I LOVE IT!



Instead of slogging off the line, roaring and going nowhere slowly, my truck now leaps off the line! Lockup is firm, and that TC won't slip, I don't care how much HP and Torque you are making.

 

[rblomquist]

Originally posted by y-knot

You never said what all you were buying?

I'm buying the trans and torque converter from ATS.



Figured I could go back and buy the commander after I recover from the sticker shock (if I need it). What do you guys think about the commander? I'm not sure I really need it as I don't have an EB and haven't really been in any situations where I felt I was burning up the service brakes and/or about to go into run-away mode.



If the setup it's all you guys are saying it is than I'll be VERY happy compared to stock.



Thanks!

 

[rrausch]

I did without the TripleLok Commander for about a year or so, but I am glad I have it now! I do have an exhaust brake, and it is nice to be able to use it a lot in certain situations.



You can definitely get by without it, if you don't have an EB. And like you say, if you decide you need it you can always add it later.

 

[JTBMC]

I've got the Stage 4 with the EMJAY commander and I love it, even with 3. 55 gears it remains impressive.

I had the ATS dial in commender first and up graded last Dec. and the EMJAY adds more options to the trans.

TJ

Oh Yea I have put 53 thousand truble free miles on my truck sense getting my ATS stage 4

 

[phoekema]

questions re: ATS

I have had the ATS converter and valve body for 2 yrs now and love it! Unlike y-knot, I think the 3. 54 is the better axle ratio. A diesel's strength is in torque. I did add the 275 injectors and the Edge Comp box. While it did ok without, the added power really is nice. I will admit if you don't plan to upgrade the transmission (auto), then maybe the 4. 10 is a good choice, as the lower numeric ratio tends to make the converter slip more easily. With a strong converter and valve body, the 3. 54 is great and the power upgrades more than make up for any loss you may have compared to the 4. 10. When you're rolling down the road, the lower engine speed with the 3. 54 is a big plus.

 

[jrandol]

You'll love the transmission, I sure do anyway. Ive got the valve body and TC in mine and it lays down some solid numbers with no problem. With my power level I sure cant make it slip. From stock transmission to what I have now I could not believe the difference in how it drove, its unreal. Let us know what you think when you get it back!



Oo.

 

[rblomquist]

Hey guys I got the truck back and have only driven it a few miles so far (50 miles or so mixed driving) but it is very diffrent than the old one. I'm pretty sure my old trans was never right from the time I bought it and that combined with how good these aftermarket ones are makes it a lot better than what I had before.



Here's what I've felt so far:



- It shifts! and when it does it's quick; boom, boom, boom and you're in 3rd--the old transmission revved to the moon then and only then would it change gears



- The lockup of the TC is almost un-noticable compared to the old stocker--with the stock trans and TC it was VERY noticable when it finally slipped into lockup because by then I was tired of not going anywhere and was eagerly anticipating the lockup; I attribute the seemless lockup on this new one with how good the thing is in fluid-mode compared to the stock setup



- I've noticed that when it shifts into 3rd it is very firm, you can really feel it through the truck; is this how yours act?



- It will actually drop into passing gear if you tromp down far enough on the go-pedal; I'm sure my old setup was way out of adjustment but it's really weird to actually have this truck shift--stock once it went into lockup it stayed there and was almost impossible to get it to shift down when needed



- I actually beat some cars stoplight to stoplight I couldn't beat a backhoe stoplight to stoplight before (not too far off from the truth)



The real test will be when I tow my trailer over Thanksgiving weekend, I'm really curious to feel the difference and note the performance changes. They filled it with ATF+3 and I had Amsoil in the old one so I'm curious about the temps while towing although I'm sure the old trans/TC ran hot because of some slippage. I'm still tick'd off about spending all that money for Amsoil back 3-4 months ago and having it go down the drain.



I'd like to get your opinon on one more thing and that's do I need to break the habit of hitting the OD button every time I hop in the truck or is there utility in continuing that practice?



Thanks for the feedback and hopefully we'll all have many days of trouble-free transmission operation.

 

[rrausch]

I leave OD locked out all the time in traffic. In freeway slow and go, I lock out OD and then put the Exhaust Brake on, and turn on the TripleLok Commander, then I use the EB to automatically decellerate whenever traffic slows.



I found my ATS runs a lot cooler than my stock trans did.

 

[JSHAW]

I always lockout OD until 55-60 MPH then turn on OD. It's much easier on the transmission. After awhile it just becomes a habit.





Jim Shaw