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Texas trip leads to dealer nightmare and Wonderfull DTT Experience

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bolt falls out in front gear case breaks camshaft

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As some of you know i left Thursday 2 weeks ago to do a job in Kingsville Tx. , Prior to leaving i did all the normal maintenance grease oil filter ect.



Thing were cool for the first 300 miles then all hell broke loose, 75 miles an hour cruising down 85 and bammmm! flex plate no. 3 lets go, did i mention i had to be at the job site Sat. morning.



Well i got on the cell phone calling every shop i could find explaining to them my situation and asked them if they could get fixed and on the road the same day (it's about 9:30 am) every body tells me know way except Keffer Dodge in charlotte NC. they said they would send a wrecker for me and have me fixed no problem, i asked the about the flex plate they said they had the part and they would be waiting.



Wrecker pics me up and i get to the dealer about 11:30am, after 2 hours my truck still was not in the shop, then they told me they were having trouble finding the flex plate after telling me on the phone that they had it in stock.



So i get on the cell phone and in 5 min i find a flex plate at cummins Atlantic in Charlotte 10 min down the road, but after picking the part up they tell my that now there's not enough time today to do the job.



At 2:00pm the next day (Fri. ) i get back on the road total dealer charger $1180. 00 for parts and labor, i did'nt argue just bent and took it.







That night i drove from charlotte to Mobile Alabama, i notice the trans temp was a little higher than normal but did'nt think much of it.



The next day left Mobile and got to Port Allen La. and notice Overdrive was slipping pulled in to an Advance auto and check the trans and fluid found that the fluid was 4-5 inches over full on the stick and the fluid looked like chocolate milk and smelt like

crap. The over filling and 1000 miles finally blew the main seals out of the front pumpand nothing was getting lubricated.



I dropped the pan in the parking lot and found it full of metal (Big Chunks) i tried



changing the filter twice and flushing 2 cased a fluid thru it, hit the road again and did'nt make it 5 miles and the truck just would not move in any gear but first.



Got on the phone and got hold of Bill Condolay At DTT, he got on the phone with Chris Strickland at Relentless Diesel Performance A DTT Builder and installer, in 15 Min i had a call back From Chris Telling me that he would be waiting at the shop for me and would fix My Trans. if it took all night.



Take Note for you guys that hav'nt decided what trans or converter to go with this is what you get with DTT, Bill and Chris both went way beyond the call of duty to get me back on the road, Bill and his crew up north and his dealers in the states especially



RELENTLESS DIESEL PERFORMANCE and Chris Strickland are the definition of customer service and satisfaction.





Back to the story.



After a 350 mile wrecker ride i arrive at Relentless Diesel performance at 7:30 pm in



Willis Tx. Chris is there waiting, we go get something to eat and put the truck on the lift Pull the trans and completely rebuild the thing from the case up, and completely redid the valve body, he actually had to beat the trans apart it was so bad, the main bearing in the overdrive section was no more completely destroyed. And all the clutches where fried



After working on the trans all night we put it back in and I was on the road by 6:30 am.

The moral of this story is



NEVER!! Let a dealer (especially Keffer Dodge in Charlotte NC. ) touch you truck... . EVER..... they will tell what ever they know you want to hear , and then not do for you what they promise. and then charge you up the ying-yang for the hosing.



And if your ever in the market for a trans Go DTT. Service is unmatched they will bend over backward to help in any way they can. .



Rick D
 
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Originally posted by RDusch

NEVER!! Let a dealer (especially Keffer Dodge in Charlotte NC. ) touch you truck



EVER they will lie to you and tell what ever they know you want to hear , and then not do for you what they promise. and then charge you up they @$$ for screwing they just gave you.






I know EXACTLY what you mean! AMEN brother!
 
Rick sorry you had to pay twice to have it done right. I would give the Dodge dealer a call and tell them off, yeah it wont do much if anything but it might make ya feel better. Hopefully this will help others with autos to stop waiting on the transmission to blow and upgrade to DTT. Bill
 
Rick it's good to hear your were taken care of right. Kudos to Chris and Bill.



Now what the heck do you do to have to drive to Texas?



Jay
 
I've already called the dealer and told them to expecting a bill for the towing and trans rebuild, so we'll see what happens.



As for driving to Texas, i do Digital control work, and do allot of work for the military transmitter and radar sites, i don't much like flying, and now adays trying to get your tools and equipment on a plane is a pane, and even then there is some thing you need you just don't have so most of us drive for the larger installation jobs.
 
Glad you got it fixed, even if it took a reaming from the dealer to get to it. Sounds about par for the course. I'd bet a Benjamin that the flunkie changing the fluid didnt read the dipstick and see to check it "idling hot, in neutral," just filled it up and checked it cold in park. I'd contact the BBB, and then maybe a worthless money pit (attorney) to see if you can get something out of them for your trouble. Be sure to throw in a few grand for pain and suffering (and to reimburse the W. M. P. ).



Moral of the story is, guys, that it pays to support the TDR advertisers. They may charge a little more than your local Mom and Pop shop, but they usually know their stuff- esp how it applies to these torque monsters- and service is second to none.



Daniel
 
Rick,glad your back on the road and running. Chris Strickland a top notch guy,and you couldnt find a better builder installer if you tried.
 
Snow Man,

I actually had met chris when i went up to DTT to have my trans done in Oct. 02. definitely a great guy, and watching him with this trans was amazing, i was lost after the first 5 min.



I still have'nt quit figured out how to put in to words the work and amount of effort he put in to getting me back on the road simply amazing ... ... ... ... ... ... . Rick
 
Part guys

I've been told too many times that the part is in stock. When in all reality it is not.

It seems to be a popular slogan to acquire your business.

Greenleaf
 
Hey Rick,



I just caught this thread and I really hate to hear stories that start like this one, and love it when the end like this one...

Bill, Shanti, Darrin, Vinnie, Krystal, Stefan and the whole crew are awesome, and that is why his dealers are the same way.



I recall meeting you on that same trip up in 02 as well. I had just gotten my transmission done.



Now the bad news..... I really gotta go and pull a couple of the comments you made. I have to keep reign on some things which usually come as a result of bad experiences and high emotions... I hope you understand.....



Pastor Bob.....
 
Rdusch -



Sorry about the bumb deal with the dealers - I'm a DCX employee and I don't even take my trucks to dealers - you just can't trust 'em.



Thanks for the great input about DTT - it's filed away and noted!!



One other point - I pay for all this kind of work with a credit card. Althouhg I've never had to go to this extreme, if something like this would have happened to me I'd just notify the credit company and contest the billing.



Good luck with the new transmission - I'm sure it's bulletproof now!!!
 
Man that is quite a journey!!! Kudos to DTT and moreover the installer, that is customer service to the max!! Glad to hear you made your job on time!!!
 
Originally posted by BushWakr

Hey Rick,





Now the bad news..... I really gotta go and pull a couple of the comments you made. I have to keep reign on some things which usually come as a result of bad experiences and high emotions... I hope you understand.....



Pastor Bob.....
Oh come on , leave his post alone ----------CAUSE the TRUTH HURTS ( the dealer ) when it slaps them up side the head :--) :--) :--) :--)
 
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