BD valve body nightmare

[BSilveira]

I took my truck to get the BD valve body and Mag-hytech DD oil pan installed today. I bought the parts elseware and had this shop install it. I had problems with them before and decided to give them a second shot. They told me I had would have the truck back this afternoon. Around 3:45 I got a familiar bad feeling that something was wrong. So I called the shop and sure enough... problems. They told me they needed to adjust the valve body when it was cold in the morning. BS!!! I called another shop and they said it needed to be adjusted warm. . I went down there and they had been tweaking with the adjustments on the valve body. I was told by my diesel performance resource, it was preset and no adjustments were needed. I was told the truck won't shift into OD without letting off the pedal. I drove it around the block and it shifted super smooth. Isn't it supposed to shift hard? Supposedly they called BD and one guy said I needed the lil' resistor and someone else later said no resistor, and BD didn't know what color wire to connect it to. I saw the truck at 1:00 and everything was bolted up. They obviously didn't spend too much time on it. I'm getting the runaround, and think it cause my age. I'm 24 but not an idiot. Not the first time, sure not the last.

 

[BSilveira]

are BD valve bodies and TC combo supposed to shift harder? Are there adjustments to be made to the valve body when installing it?

 

[AK RAM]

There shouldn't be any adjustment needed. They come ready to bolt on. They should check the pressures just to make sure nothing is out of whack, but if within specs, they shouldn't mess with it.



It should shift much firmer. If they messed with adjustments, they may have turned the pressure down (thinking it was too high), which will make it shift more like stock.

 

[BSilveira]

is it possible to get it back to they way it's "supposed" to be... or am I screwed and have to get another Valve body?

 

[AK RAM]

Sure it is possible. First, your transmission shop needs to get a hold of someone at BD that knows what they are talking about, which can be a chore (they are not all transmission experts). That person can then tell your transmission shop what readings to take, and based off those readings and the shift characteristics, can tell your transmission shop what to adjust to get it back to where it should be. Your transmission shop will have to admit to themselves that they screwed up (if they did) and then be willing to work with BD via the phone to get it straight. Good luck.

 

[BSilveira]

thank you sooo much. I just want things to go right the first time. I now learned it is better to drive a couple hours and have the job done right, than trust a regular transmission shop near by and have them screw up.

 

[GaryCarter]

I know it's too late to help you now, but this is why when my last one was done I drove 4 hours to the nearest BD trained installer.



When I do this truck I will do the same way again (although it will likely be a different trans source). I will go a long way to get an experienced tech.



Gary

 

[BSilveira]

It's way worth it to drive farther. I still haven't got the truck back and it's 3:14 now. I had them tap and install the boost and pyro sensors since it's there. I did the wiring myself, but didn't have the tools to do the sensors. They're acting like it takes all day to tap and install sensors. I'm supposed to get the truck back this evening. I can't wait to see how it feels. I'll post how it turned out.

 

[BSilveira]

new problems

I just got off the phone with the transmission shop and they want to change the bolts on the flange that connects the exhaust manifold and turbo, saying that they can only be used once. It's taking them 4 hours to install 2 sensors. They're also afraid to start the truck cause so many shaving fell into the turbo. This job is getting worse and worse by the hour.

 

[JRD]

Didnt they think of that before they started the drilling/tapping??? Seems like you need to get your truck out of there ASAP!.

 

[sardoghauler]

Get the Hook

Sorry to hear all this is happening to you. Get the truck so it rolls and get it the heck out of there! Sounds like these guys have a knack for creating problems where problems don't need to be or they are doing their best to trap your truck and dig deep into your wallet. If they didn't pull the turbo and tape it off or at least grease the bit and tap and use a magnet there are more shavings down there than you would like.



Good luck

 

[nick05]

i tapped my pyro an yes shavings fell in. i most of them out with a magnet and sent the rest the the exhaust. didn't take off the manifold. no problems here. also install the boost. took me all of 10 minutes for both. maybe a little longer just because i didn't want to break the drill bit or tap off in the manifold.



best of luck to ya and hope your truck turns out ok.

nick

 

[BSilveira]

Just got back from the transmission shop. The manifold was off and they couldn't locate gaskets for it. I told them to reuse the metal gaskets. I'm gonna order new ones tomarrow and replace them at home. The shavings are supposedly out of the turbo. It took them 4 hours to drill and tap the manifold. I'm gonna pick up the truck tomarrow... . hopefully.

 

[JCleary]

Just got back from the transmission shop. The manifold was off and they couldn't locate gaskets for it. I told them to reuse the metal gaskets. I'm gonna order new ones tomarrow and replace them at home. The shavings are supposedly out of the turbo. It took them 4 hours to drill and tap the manifold. I'm gonna pick up the truck tomarrow... . hopefully.

Next time give a call to Adam at Winspeed in Concord, or to Ken at Imler Diesel in Sacramento. I'm sure if you still have trans problems, Ken can help you out.



With a $40k truck, it's not worth taking it to someone who does not know what they're doing. Also, buy most of the parts from the guy doing the work. They'll have a more vested interest in making you happy. They'll want you to come back for more work and recommend them to friends.

 

[BSilveira]

I bought all my performance parts from Ken. He's been great to me. Always answers my questions and very smart. The reason I had this transmission shop do the work, is cause it's right by work and we use them for our company vehicles. Ken is only open on weekdays so it hard to go up there during the week and leave it. My girlfriend just got a place up there, so now I have a place to stay if I need to get work done on my truck. I'm planning on going up there within the next couple weeks to have him tune and make sure everything is shifting and working ok. When I told him they messed with adjustments on the valve body, he gave me a big "OOOH NOOO!!!". I got really concerned. I hope nothing gets messed up until I take it up there. I can't wait to hit the dyno, and see what she's got. Oo.

 

[JCleary]

I hope you have an appointment! I called mid-November, and my appt. with him is the second week of January. A shop that does that much work must do good work!



I am anxiously awaiting my new clutch, FASS, short-shift, etc.

 

[BSilveira]

ripped off!

I got the truck back today. The transmission shop tried to charge me $800. 00 for installing the valve body and installing the pyro and boost sensors. I went nuts. :-{} They said it took 2 1/2 hours for the valve body (which is ok, I think), but said they put alot of time in adjusting it. I told them if they hadn't messed with the adjustments, they wouldn't need to take so much time. Then they told me they spent 8 hours installing the 2 sensors. I told them they wouldn't need to spend so much time if they read and listened to the instructions I gave them. Why should I pay for they're screw up when the dropped a bunch of shavings in the turbo?! They only charged me for 5 hours, but it's still too long to install 2 sensors.



Then they got really ****** when I said they're ripping me off. It was funny seeing them try to kiss butt, when they realized I was going to take our company vehicles elsewhere.



When I drove off I realized the transmission sensor was not hooked up. They told me to bring the truck back to adjust it to my liking. I thought to myself, " YA RIGHT, SURE!!! " When I brought the truck in, I asked them to fill out the pressure test chart for the valve body warranty, they didn't. They pulled this same garbage with the TC a few months ago.



I set up an appointment at Ken Imler Diesel to have Ken drive it and fine tune it. I just hope everything last till then. The transmission shifts bounce from 2nd to 3rd back to 2nd when cruising at 33 mph. Not fun.

 

[Fishin Guide]

That sucks. If you paid with a credit card, dispute the charges.



Even a newbie could do that work in a metter of a few hours.



Good luck.



Dave

 

[Morse]

That sucks bad. . My trans shop is charging me $350 to install a torque converter and a shift kit. .

 

[KevinO]

mine was jumping back and forth 2nd to 3rd. the transmission shop adjusted the tv cable on the side and it seems to have gone away. i only have about 40 miles on it but in traffic driving was much better so far.