comments on ATS trannies

[Metalaram]

i just got my first auto about six weeks ago 05 had 01 and 03 6 speeds and for the most part i like it. but there are two things i want to change about it. 1. i do want to beef it up to handle the 100 hp of the juice better and between a better torque converter and more time in lock up get the best fuel economy i can. 2. i have never liked the way auto trannies shift. they are set up to get to top gear/overdrive as fast as they can ( except at full throttle) so that at 30 miles an hour you are in fourth and at idle speed are lugging with no power (for fuel economy i guess) and to accelerate it has to jump down 2 gears and up and down all day long. so why did i get an auto you ask? i know it does not have to be like that. i drove a KW T800 tractor at coors a while back and bobtail or over 80,000 it was always in the right gear at the right time. (5 speed allison full auto) it was always in its powerband never lugging or hunting. so i know an auto can be set up right. back to my original intent. i have seen most of the different companys that upgrade autos and im sure most can make one handle more power ect. but from what i know ATS is the only one with the electronics to change shifting behavior and beef it up at the same time. they are local and easy to get to. ALMOST DONE! i have not herd much bad about them on the TDR but have herd a few not so great things from people in denver. i have been to their new shop met the dogs the blond and most of the employes and clint who reminds me of the bad guy dad in kindergarten cop. and am still not sure if i trust clint/ATS. they have told me they can deliver what i want no problem. but before i drop several grand i would like to be sure. i don't want to start a trannie war or whatever just get opinions from people who have done business with them. thanks... . chris

 

[RAndrae]

no way

I did tons of research and concluded that ATS was the one. well b-4 I got my transmission I recomended Ats to two of my friends. Both purchased trannies from ATS . One had a 97 with no bombs and the other had a 96 with some bombs. Both pulled Alot which led to them wanting a bullet proof transmission. BOTH had problems almost immediatly. Both were NOT taken care of by ATS and IMO got ripped off. One of my friends got so disgusted that he sold the truck tore apart and vowed to never own a Dodge. Made me look like an idiot by recomending ATS. I will never have ANY thing ATS related for a transmission

 

[rrausch]

Did you play soccer with the dog? When I tried to play soccer with him he opened up a can of Whup-A__ on me! He dominated the game! He is the only soccer playing dog I have ever seen! :-laf



That said, I got my ATS in April of 2002. I believe I was about the second TDR guy to plunk down hard cash and buy one. When I went there I dealt with Don, who is no longer there, and I didn't know Clint at all. Since then I've dealt with Clint several times. One of those times he could have easily lied to me--I had had a driveshaft problem, but didn't think that is what it was--since ATS had sent my driveshaft out to be balanced Clint took responsibility for it, even though technically it wasn't the work of his shop. He could have lied to me, and it would have saved him some time & money had he lied, and I wouldn't have known the difference. Instead he told the truth and made his guys fix the problem and didn't charge me anything at all.



In the years since then whenever I have had a question, he has gone out of his way to make sure things are right.



I don't think there is a better T. C. than the TripleLok. And I KNOW there isn't a better aftermarket trans that the ATS. I told a buddy of mine, here in Cal. about ATS, and he got a stage IV for his 2001 2500. Well from the very first that trans did something weird--it just made a onagain-offagain noise that I couldn't place, but which didn't seem normal. But it shifted normal, didn't overheat, ran great, etc. etc. So my buddy told Clint and Clint said to watch the trans--if the noise got worse tell him, and he'd pull it and take a look at it. So the noise didn't get worse UNTIL the warranty was up!! Clint still took care of it and gave the guy a new trans at no cost. To me Clint has proved many times he has Character with a capitol C. I trust the guy.



The problem with my buddy's trans turned out to be that the shop which did the installation (Which was a Cummins-affiliated diesel shop) hadn't flushed out the trans cooler very well, and evidently left some grit behind which circulated in the new trans and caused some damage. Clint still stood behind it.

 

[RichardAndrews]

I had my Transmission done by Clint at ATS a little over a year ago ( over 35000 miles on it) and no problems at all. Transmission works great, Clint is a great guy to do deal with. I would recomended ATS any time. PS did I say that I love the way it shifts. WILDMAN

 

[LHanus]

I have had my PacBrake, TST box, Fass and VP44 installed by them. No problems with them, in fact several months after the TST was installed the pyro burned out and they replaced it at no charge. I have been very pleased with their communication, they have been upfront and honest. When its time to replace the clutch I will probably have them do it, they have already given me suggestions based on my current power levels.

 

[EBung]

I really dig my stagev and triple-lok it just flat works and so far is indestructable.

 

[Bob4x4]

I would suggest you go to some diesel events,walk through the pits or show and shine and talk to people who have the different brands. Each shop has their own ideas on how a trans should work and may approach that in different ways. I prefer the DTT,I appreciate the way the convertor pulls before it locks up as well as after. Good luck in your decision it is an expensive one.



Bob

 

[MWilcox]

I installled an ATS trans in a friends '99 cummins truck. I am a dealer tech and build transmissions on a regular basis but they said theirs would be no comparisson with unlimited horsepower. We bought the $5200 trans and installed it for the purpose of truck pulling competition. The trans made it 2000 miles on the street with no trailer, just an empty 3/4 ton 4x4 before breaking the main shaft! When I tore the trans down I found that the internals where MOPAR factory parts! I wrestled with ATS from last december until this past march before getting a trans with billit internals like I was told originally. I had their trans apart to repair it more then my own dually 4x4 with 250,000 hard working miles.

I have never had any trans problems with my '99 dually, but I build my own trans when it was new. I installed a shift kit that allows a firmer shift into lock-up to minimize tcc slippage and installed a mean green triple lock torque converter. I am running a bully dog bully box and haul a full size 4wd john deere backhoe on a regular basis for the past 200,000 miles. My opinion is that ATS is way overcharging for a trans painted purple and months of aggrevation. I hope this helps you with your decision.

 

[Coolslice]

Coolslice has retracted his statement... He is NOT an ATS owner... . :-laf

 

[Parks]

**************THIS IS JUST A REMINDER*************

Quote:From Steve St. Laurent Lead Moderator



The only solution I can come up with to stop this is to institute a rule that when it comes to automatic transmissions if a post is started about ATS trannies ONLY those with ATS trannies or stock can post to it. If a post is started about DTT trannies then ONLY those with DTT trannies or stock can post to it. Likewise with BD, Suncoast, Goerend, or others. I find it sad that it has to come to this but I don't see any other workable option based on the track record. These battles have been hashed out over and over again and nothing has come out of them other than people being ****** off and driving users away from the site. From here on out we will be deleting posts based on this policy. If you see a post that falls under this policy DO NOT fire back at that person - simply report the post and it will be taken care of.



If a post is asking a general transmission question you can post how your transmission modification works - but DON'T discuss the other side AT ALL. Posts WILL be deleted with no notice that do not meet this standard.



I'm sorry it has to come to this.



-Steve St. Laurent

Webmaster & Lead Moderator



Thanks everyone.

Brandon

 

[chuckwilson]

I can say I am a yery happy with my ATS trans. I have also put one in a friends truck and its been great too. I have 107,450 on mine and it feals as good as it did when it was new!!!!!

 

[bigrhett]

You have an '05?... you might want to be careful. I bought a complete ATS transmission with a billet input, triple-loc and co-pilot about 6 weeks ago. I had the purple beast installed and we've never gotten it to work right yet...



Adjustments in pressure, lockup pressures, new solenoid, and even a completely new valve body have not fixed the problems... It won't shift down into first unless the truck is completely stopped and even then it's a crap shoot. I've kicked it down into third from fourth and it's over-revved to 4,100 rpms (yes, you read that right) :--) and it doesn't shift back to fourth until you let off the throttle.



On the bright side, every time we pull the pan, there's not a single fleck of dirt or clutch material in the bottom, so it appears the internals are holding up well. When the torque converter does lock up, HOLY COW it does take off... if it would only shift into fourth from third at full-throttle without over-revving (see above).



Our guess is that they've not got the '05 figured out yet and I sure did pay a whole lot of money to be an alpha tester (and I hope I haven't ruined my engine in the process... )



Long story short, if it's not working absolutely perfectly in very short order, I'll be adding my name to the list of very dissatisfied owners...



Rhett

 

[zstroken]

I really wonder about the downshift from 4th to 3rd. That is truck computer controlled via a solenoid, now if it dropped into second, then it could be valvebody related. The new trucks have a stepper motor on the TV so theoretically it may not be able to follow your foot like the old mechanical one did.

 

[Metalaram]

thanks to all who replied here and PMs. this is going to be a tough one. so far it is about 50-50 on people who are happy/not happy with ATS original sure there are a lot more of you out there lets hear about it! there will always be some problems or failures with any product but if the percentage is to high that scares me. also how the company handels the problem is very important. after my original post i spoke with mike at ATS (he had seen my post) he offered for me to go down there and take a ride in a truck to see how the shift controller works. also he said that with my current situation (truck is new,no heavy towing,big power mods or racing ect) i can add their controller to the stock trans to change the shifting and lock up the TC a little lower till i get a HD TC and be good for a while. FYI you can hook it up to a laptop and adjust upshifts downshifts so it will not shift till a certain preset speed and also set TC lock up. if it works the way they say at least in my case it would rival the ever popular SLICED BREAD! it will cost about 2k ish. installed though not cheap it is better than 5-6k for a full tilt trans to see how their products work. without getting in trouble with the big Ms the other trans company also 3 letters that has been recommended to me im sure is very very good. the only problem i have going that route is they are not local (in case of problems) and though they do have a lock up controller i do not think it can change the shifts like i want. if i am wrong PM me and let me know. well what do you guys think? thanks... chris

 

[BIG BOB]

Cgarling,



Just a suggestion, why don't you post the same type of thread specifically on DTT or Suncoast?



That way your can get views from those owners also.

 

[pecandude1]

have you installed this controller yet? if so how do you like it?

 

[HAnderson]

Ats

Have had ats in my truck 3 years, run it on drag strip and towing still happy with it. Howard