Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
This is a bit of a long story but I'll do my best to keep it short. I had what could have been a very bad experience turned into a good one by two top notch vendors and I wanted to share my story.
I ordered a Goerend Brother's Transmission to replace my 138,000 mile OEM unit just after Thanksgiving. I asked around a lot to try and find a reputable vendor to do the install which should be very straight forward, nonetheless I have had some bad deals in the past and wanted to find a vendor that made me feel confident that they would do my truck "right". I called around and was not comfortable with any of them until I was surfing the TDR one day and noticed a post by a member/vendor that said he was in my area
The Diesel Connection in Joppa was only 1/2 hour away and after talking to Tom and Steve I knew who I wanted to do the work.
Took my truck in with the Goerend transmission in the back and waited for the call to pick it up. Tom from The Diesel Connection called right on time but not with the news I wanted to hear. There was a vibration that he was not happy with.
So now I am thinkin great how much is this gonna cost me?!? Anyway Tom and Dave Goerend get together and discuss the problem. I get a call from Dave an hour later saying he is sending a new converter to Tom and will pay to have it installed even though he is confident that that the first one is good, he said it is the "right" thing to do as he wants to make sure the job is done right. Wow, already way better service than I expected, no finger pointing or side stepping the issue at all. Anyway, the new one did not "fix" the problem and both Tom and Dave were spending a lot of time on the phone trying to work it out. The Diesel Connection uses Suncoast Trannies and they were also consulted. Nice! Everyone working together to solve my problem. That is refreshing. Anyway, After some testing Tom found that the stock flexplate was . 070 out. This was thursday at 3:00, I told him I wanted an aftermarket flexplate ASAP. Tom was able to get a hold of Suncoast and get one in for Monday :--) . Remember this is New Years weekend.
I picked up my truck today and it drives like a dream. Obviously the transmission is awesome, world of difference from stock. Hard to believe I even drove it with the OEM thing in there for so long.
Vibration is gone, truck is smooth as a Cummins can be :-laf I am very happy with Both Goerend Brothers and The Diesel Connection and would highly reccomend thir services to anyone.
These guys went way above what you would expect to make sure I was happy, this project cost them both more money than it should have and they never once complained.
Summary
-replace the flexplate when you install a fancy new high end Transmission OEM is marginal at best.
-Choose vendors wisely, this easily could have cost me thousands of dollars and many hours. TDC kept working on my truck even though they were swamped. Tom even spotted a t-stat leak for me, and even pulled out the code reader after I asked a question about a code my software was seeing
-Dave Goerend goes to extremes to please a customer and make it right, even though his parts were perfect he sent new ones and offered to pay the labor
because he wanted to be sure.
Oh, and what happened to the OEM flexplate you ask... ... ... Dave Goerend wants it so he can play with it some more.
The end
I ordered a Goerend Brother's Transmission to replace my 138,000 mile OEM unit just after Thanksgiving. I asked around a lot to try and find a reputable vendor to do the install which should be very straight forward, nonetheless I have had some bad deals in the past and wanted to find a vendor that made me feel confident that they would do my truck "right". I called around and was not comfortable with any of them until I was surfing the TDR one day and noticed a post by a member/vendor that said he was in my area
The Diesel Connection in Joppa was only 1/2 hour away and after talking to Tom and Steve I knew who I wanted to do the work. Took my truck in with the Goerend transmission in the back and waited for the call to pick it up. Tom from The Diesel Connection called right on time but not with the news I wanted to hear. There was a vibration that he was not happy with.
So now I am thinkin great how much is this gonna cost me?!? Anyway Tom and Dave Goerend get together and discuss the problem. I get a call from Dave an hour later saying he is sending a new converter to Tom and will pay to have it installed even though he is confident that that the first one is good, he said it is the "right" thing to do as he wants to make sure the job is done right. Wow, already way better service than I expected, no finger pointing or side stepping the issue at all. Anyway, the new one did not "fix" the problem and both Tom and Dave were spending a lot of time on the phone trying to work it out. The Diesel Connection uses Suncoast Trannies and they were also consulted. Nice! Everyone working together to solve my problem. That is refreshing. Anyway, After some testing Tom found that the stock flexplate was . 070 out. This was thursday at 3:00, I told him I wanted an aftermarket flexplate ASAP. Tom was able to get a hold of Suncoast and get one in for Monday :--) . Remember this is New Years weekend. I picked up my truck today and it drives like a dream. Obviously the transmission is awesome, world of difference from stock. Hard to believe I even drove it with the OEM thing in there for so long.
Vibration is gone, truck is smooth as a Cummins can be :-laf I am very happy with Both Goerend Brothers and The Diesel Connection and would highly reccomend thir services to anyone.
These guys went way above what you would expect to make sure I was happy, this project cost them both more money than it should have and they never once complained.
Summary
-replace the flexplate when you install a fancy new high end Transmission OEM is marginal at best.
-Choose vendors wisely, this easily could have cost me thousands of dollars and many hours. TDC kept working on my truck even though they were swamped. Tom even spotted a t-stat leak for me, and even pulled out the code reader after I asked a question about a code my software was seeing
-Dave Goerend goes to extremes to please a customer and make it right, even though his parts were perfect he sent new ones and offered to pay the labor
because he wanted to be sure. Oh, and what happened to the OEM flexplate you ask... ... ... Dave Goerend wants it so he can play with it some more.
The end
