Attention: TDR Forum Junkies My 1995, 2500, 2-WD had 107,000 miles on the odom when I pulled into the ATS shop in Denver last Thursday. It was time for a re-build, and I wanted ATS to do it. My truck is making about 230 h. p. and a little over 600 Ft. Lbs. of torque. I've had to take it easy for the last 10,000 miles or so as my lockup-clutch was slipping when I'd give it 3/4 throttle. For the record I paid for this re-build myself.
I don't think I was prepared for what I found at ATS. They are a family owned and run business. Clint and his wife Rene run the day to day operations, along with Don Ramer and Clint's father-in-law Fred, who is a retired fluid-power engineer from Gates Rubber. They are good people. They're thoughful, hard-working people who keep their word. Their employees seem dedicated, thorough and smart. No bad attitudes! They have a modern 8-Bay shop with another 2 big areas, one for trans dis-assembly and TC building, and another 2nd floor "clean" operation for trans building. They also have their own machine shop, more on that later. Don was a Cat Diesel Mechanic for over 15 years and is an ASE certified Master Auto Tech. Clint was a trans re-builder for AAMCO many years ago, before he and Don started ATS. They know their stuff with it comes to diesels and automatics.
They've been building transmissions and T'C's for a long time, and got their feet wet with Dodge/Cummins back about 1992. A lot of guys around Denver haul horses or hay or steel pipe or back-hoes back and forth across the Rockies with the mighty Dodge/Cummins, and by the early 1990's it was becoming apparent that the Dodge Automatics needed some help. Guys started increasing h. p. & torque, and that started a whole new round of trans failures. By the mid 1990's Don and Clint had both fallen in love with the D/C's and each bought one. All through the 1990's ATS was the largest builder of Torque Converters in Colorado and the surrounding area. They also built, and still build, racing Torque Converters, and racing automatics for high-horsepower drag-racing applications Well, human nature being what it is, Don and Clint just had to have the meanest, toughest trucks around and so they started bombing their own trucks. This of course led to their own trans failures. Don Ramer estimates he blew out 20 automatics during the 1990's while owning 3 Dodge/Cummins. Clint says he blew out 25 automatics. (Clint also owns a Ford Powerstroke) Each time they blew one they would pull it, take it apart and strengthen what-ever broke. This led to a lot of experimenting, and to a lot of correcting what the factory ignored.
On the wall there at ATS are a couple of Mustang Dyno reports from March Dyno Days of this year. At that time Don was putting out 597. 2 H. P. with 1355 Ft. Lbs. of torque. In Lockup. This was BEFORE he installed Compound Turbos! He estimates he is now putting around 700 H. P. to the ground. He gave me a ride in that truck (I think it is a 2001) and I tell ya, it goes! This power is all going through an ATS automatic with the Triple Lok. He is running a non-cyroed input shaft, although if you go to them for a re-build you WILL get a cyroed forward clutch and input shaft.
I don't think I was prepared for what I found at ATS. They are a family owned and run business. Clint and his wife Rene run the day to day operations, along with Don Ramer and Clint's father-in-law Fred, who is a retired fluid-power engineer from Gates Rubber. They are good people. They're thoughful, hard-working people who keep their word. Their employees seem dedicated, thorough and smart. No bad attitudes! They have a modern 8-Bay shop with another 2 big areas, one for trans dis-assembly and TC building, and another 2nd floor "clean" operation for trans building. They also have their own machine shop, more on that later. Don was a Cat Diesel Mechanic for over 15 years and is an ASE certified Master Auto Tech. Clint was a trans re-builder for AAMCO many years ago, before he and Don started ATS. They know their stuff with it comes to diesels and automatics.
They've been building transmissions and T'C's for a long time, and got their feet wet with Dodge/Cummins back about 1992. A lot of guys around Denver haul horses or hay or steel pipe or back-hoes back and forth across the Rockies with the mighty Dodge/Cummins, and by the early 1990's it was becoming apparent that the Dodge Automatics needed some help. Guys started increasing h. p. & torque, and that started a whole new round of trans failures. By the mid 1990's Don and Clint had both fallen in love with the D/C's and each bought one. All through the 1990's ATS was the largest builder of Torque Converters in Colorado and the surrounding area. They also built, and still build, racing Torque Converters, and racing automatics for high-horsepower drag-racing applications Well, human nature being what it is, Don and Clint just had to have the meanest, toughest trucks around and so they started bombing their own trucks. This of course led to their own trans failures. Don Ramer estimates he blew out 20 automatics during the 1990's while owning 3 Dodge/Cummins. Clint says he blew out 25 automatics. (Clint also owns a Ford Powerstroke) Each time they blew one they would pull it, take it apart and strengthen what-ever broke. This led to a lot of experimenting, and to a lot of correcting what the factory ignored.
On the wall there at ATS are a couple of Mustang Dyno reports from March Dyno Days of this year. At that time Don was putting out 597. 2 H. P. with 1355 Ft. Lbs. of torque. In Lockup. This was BEFORE he installed Compound Turbos! He estimates he is now putting around 700 H. P. to the ground. He gave me a ride in that truck (I think it is a 2001) and I tell ya, it goes! This power is all going through an ATS automatic with the Triple Lok. He is running a non-cyroed input shaft, although if you go to them for a re-build you WILL get a cyroed forward clutch and input shaft.
