Goerends or ATS
02-20-2011, 02:08 PM
#16
Registered User
I've had an ATS Stage IV in my '95 2500 since 2001. I've got 160,000 miles on the trans, 270,000 on the truck and it runs great. One thing about ATS, is they do their own engineering and their own manufacturing--they don't just buy parts from subcontractors and install them.
I love that I can shift locked if I need to. I can tow in overdrive. My exhaust brake works in conjunction with the ATS--no problem at all. And it DOES move the truck right along.
In 2003 or so I stopped by ATS for a visit--it was late in the afternoon and by the time I got through saying hi to everyone it was about quitting time. I was talking to Mike, and I happened to mention that my truck was doing something odd... it was sometimes taking too long to shift out of 2nd or 3rd. Not all the time, just sometimes. He listened to my description... I look up at the clock, by now it IS quitting time, but he asked for my keys anyway. He took my truck out for a drive, and was gone for about 15 minutes. He pulled back in, drove my truck right up on the lift, put it up in the air, drained the fluid, pulled the pan, pulled the valve body and took it upstairs to the clean-room where they rebuilt trannys. He and their rebuilder bent over the VB for awhile, then he brought it back downstairs and put it back in the trans, put the pan back on, lowered the truck, added fluid and came over to me and handed me the keys back. They didn't charge me a cent. Seems a spring in the VB had gone wonky and he diagnosed it from his test drive. THAT is good service. If anything ever happens to my truck, I'll definitely get another Dodge/Cummins and ATS will go through that trans too!
I love that I can shift locked if I need to. I can tow in overdrive. My exhaust brake works in conjunction with the ATS--no problem at all. And it DOES move the truck right along.
In 2003 or so I stopped by ATS for a visit--it was late in the afternoon and by the time I got through saying hi to everyone it was about quitting time. I was talking to Mike, and I happened to mention that my truck was doing something odd... it was sometimes taking too long to shift out of 2nd or 3rd. Not all the time, just sometimes. He listened to my description... I look up at the clock, by now it IS quitting time, but he asked for my keys anyway. He took my truck out for a drive, and was gone for about 15 minutes. He pulled back in, drove my truck right up on the lift, put it up in the air, drained the fluid, pulled the pan, pulled the valve body and took it upstairs to the clean-room where they rebuilt trannys. He and their rebuilder bent over the VB for awhile, then he brought it back downstairs and put it back in the trans, put the pan back on, lowered the truck, added fluid and came over to me and handed me the keys back. They didn't charge me a cent. Seems a spring in the VB had gone wonky and he diagnosed it from his test drive. THAT is good service. If anything ever happens to my truck, I'll definitely get another Dodge/Cummins and ATS will go through that trans too!
02-20-2011, 04:44 PM
#17
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I can only add that I love my Goerend. I have had 0 problems with it and don't expect any. I have pulled an 18,000 lb fifth wheel with it with no problems.
My only experience with ATS or Suncoast was when transmission shopping. Both seemed to act almost annoyed that I was wasting their time by asking questions, as to where Dave seemed happy to answer my questions. I immediately decided to order with him. Believe me in that I have looked for complaints against Goerend, and I came up empty handed.
My only experience with ATS or Suncoast was when transmission shopping. Both seemed to act almost annoyed that I was wasting their time by asking questions, as to where Dave seemed happy to answer my questions. I immediately decided to order with him. Believe me in that I have looked for complaints against Goerend, and I came up empty handed.
02-24-2011, 06:38 PM
#18
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I did the same search a few years ago. I never found a negative comment about Goerend, but found many, on several boards regarding ATS. I have had my Goerend for a few years with no trouble at all. Daves customer service is awesome.
02-24-2011, 06:53 PM
#19
Registered User
ATS builds many times more transmissions than the smaller builders. They build many times more than Goerends, and the more a company builds, there is more chance for a bad one to slip through. I've never heard of ATS ignoring a legitimate problem.
Here are some posts I've found:
Here are some posts I've found:
This thread is NOT going to turn into an ATS bashing thread!!
Regardless of what anyones opinion is here, I am going to say ATS is NOT JUNK!! I have been running their transmissions in my trucks since 2001 and have not had ANY serious problems with them since that time! My current race truck (1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve) currently puts down over 800 H.P. to the ground, runs a 11.52 second quarter mile and this past summer I have "launched" the truck over 75 times at many of the drag race events across this country. Like some of you, I can give you PLENTY of examples from ALL of the other diesel tranny builders where guys have had trouble or brole parts. Sometimes it just happens, but my experiences with ATS have been great, I have received excellent customer service and IMHO they build a very good tranny.
---------
John_P
Regardless of what anyones opinion is here, I am going to say ATS is NOT JUNK!! I have been running their transmissions in my trucks since 2001 and have not had ANY serious problems with them since that time! My current race truck (1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve) currently puts down over 800 H.P. to the ground, runs a 11.52 second quarter mile and this past summer I have "launched" the truck over 75 times at many of the drag race events across this country. Like some of you, I can give you PLENTY of examples from ALL of the other diesel tranny builders where guys have had trouble or brole parts. Sometimes it just happens, but my experiences with ATS have been great, I have received excellent customer service and IMHO they build a very good tranny.
---------
John_P
I purchased an ATS Transmission which was just installed by Bellflower Transmission. It was a pleasure dealing with Larry and Bob at Bellflower Transmissions.
Just got my truck back yesterday after Larry and Bob worked on my truck trying to diagnose a problem after they installed an Stage 4 ATS transmission (Billet Flywheel, 5-Star Torque Converter, Billet Input Shaft, High Perferformance Valvebody/Pump msic, Commander Lockup Controller and my own Mag Hytec trans. pan).
They really worked hard trying to solve a problem wherein the truck would start in 3rd gear after the new transmission was installed. They had to shut it off in neutral and then restart to get it to shift correctly but it didn't last. It went back to 3rd gear starts.
The PCM showed NO CODES whatsoever !!! Weird, very weird !!! They could'nt even induce a code. I used my Smarty, no codes. They used their Snap On tool and again, no codes. I then paid a shop to check it with the DRBIII scanner from Chrysler and still no codes but the transmission was still starting in 3rd gear !!!
I have an extra PCM that was installed to check to see if the problem was the PCM and we still got 3rd gear starts.
ATS transmission sent a new complete valve body via overnight air at no charge and after switching the electronics over that came on the new Stage 4 to the new ATS valve body the problem still existed.
They eventually dropped the pan a 3rd time and began testing the wiring and sensors, solenoid and grounds and found that the new GPS was bad from the first valvebody electronics. They updated the valvebody electronics to the one that came on the 2nd valvebody and now it is shifting perfectly! I thought that there might have been an exposed wire somewhere ... Glad that this was not the case !!!
I just don't understand why no codes were showing up on the PCM. Very hard to diagnose assuming a frayed wire shorting could have been the problem which are usually hard to find.
Many thanks to Rick at ATS for his help with the parts sent overnight as well as being available afterhours helping troubleshoot my problem with Larry & Bob.
Also, many thanks to Larry and Bob at Bellflower transmission for their tireless work. They are very knowlegeable and give excellent service.
I have heard a few bad things about ATS Transmission service on this website but I am very impressed with them for what they have done to assist me.
Driving the truck with my new transmission/torque converter that does not slip is exciting. I plan on testing it out this week and next week with normal driving and a few tests accelerating aggressively with and without my Smarty (no drag racing!). The purpose of my transmission was to assist with pulling my race car trailer and to be up to the task for occassional aggressive starts and movement on the street and getting on the freeway.
I want to give a big THANKS to the owners and members of this forum who, with there comments and experiences have helped me troubleshoot and solve many issues with my Dodge Ram!
Just got my truck back yesterday after Larry and Bob worked on my truck trying to diagnose a problem after they installed an Stage 4 ATS transmission (Billet Flywheel, 5-Star Torque Converter, Billet Input Shaft, High Perferformance Valvebody/Pump msic, Commander Lockup Controller and my own Mag Hytec trans. pan).
They really worked hard trying to solve a problem wherein the truck would start in 3rd gear after the new transmission was installed. They had to shut it off in neutral and then restart to get it to shift correctly but it didn't last. It went back to 3rd gear starts.
The PCM showed NO CODES whatsoever !!! Weird, very weird !!! They could'nt even induce a code. I used my Smarty, no codes. They used their Snap On tool and again, no codes. I then paid a shop to check it with the DRBIII scanner from Chrysler and still no codes but the transmission was still starting in 3rd gear !!!
I have an extra PCM that was installed to check to see if the problem was the PCM and we still got 3rd gear starts.
ATS transmission sent a new complete valve body via overnight air at no charge and after switching the electronics over that came on the new Stage 4 to the new ATS valve body the problem still existed.
They eventually dropped the pan a 3rd time and began testing the wiring and sensors, solenoid and grounds and found that the new GPS was bad from the first valvebody electronics. They updated the valvebody electronics to the one that came on the 2nd valvebody and now it is shifting perfectly! I thought that there might have been an exposed wire somewhere ... Glad that this was not the case !!!
I just don't understand why no codes were showing up on the PCM. Very hard to diagnose assuming a frayed wire shorting could have been the problem which are usually hard to find.
Many thanks to Rick at ATS for his help with the parts sent overnight as well as being available afterhours helping troubleshoot my problem with Larry & Bob.
Also, many thanks to Larry and Bob at Bellflower transmission for their tireless work. They are very knowlegeable and give excellent service.
I have heard a few bad things about ATS Transmission service on this website but I am very impressed with them for what they have done to assist me.
Driving the truck with my new transmission/torque converter that does not slip is exciting. I plan on testing it out this week and next week with normal driving and a few tests accelerating aggressively with and without my Smarty (no drag racing!). The purpose of my transmission was to assist with pulling my race car trailer and to be up to the task for occassional aggressive starts and movement on the street and getting on the freeway.
I want to give a big THANKS to the owners and members of this forum who, with there comments and experiences have helped me troubleshoot and solve many issues with my Dodge Ram!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
'strokeThis_'07:
Interesting post. You say you weren't bashing ATS yet you called their product "junk" in your post?? That's not bashing huh?? One thing I find interesting is that YOU YOURSELF have not had the bad experience you speak of, but it is somebody else you probably heard from or read about so you then draw the conclusion "that all ATS trannies are bad!" I can tell you from experience and being a Moderator here for some time now, that is usually the exact case of what goes on when threads go awry like this one has! What is not usually revealed is "the other side of the story",........that being,.....what the diesel vendor (in this case ATS) has to say about why a warranty was not covered! So with that in mind, coming onto this website and thread and making a statement like; "ATS is junk" is "Childish Banter" IMHO whether you agree with it or not!
I can assure you that I could give you an earful about some of the criticism leveled at them NOT being the whole or true story! In fact I have seen Clint and Ranee Cannon (Owners of ATS) HONOR warranty claims on their transmissions in many cases when I personally would not have. They are both great people and have an excellent staff and a product but a line in all businesses has to drawn somewhere. In addition, I can assure you that many of ATS, Suncoast, Georend or DTT customers probably do NOT know what their warranty really is on their aftermarket transmissions and its components.
If there transmissions were "junk" as you say, I seriously doubt they would be powering the DHRA Pro-Street Dodge CTD Pickup Truck of Jimmy and Dale Smith which turns 9.87 in the 1/4 mile or Scott Bentz's DHRA/NHRDA Diesel Rail Dragster which runs the 1/4 mile in the high 7's!! Both of these drag race vehicles are putting down over 1,000 H.P.and probably close to 1800-2000 ft. lbs. of torque!
The bottom line and policy on this website is that this type of crticism will not be tolerated under any circumstances, so I guess my advice to you is don't do it!
--------
John_P
'strokeThis_'07:
Interesting post. You say you weren't bashing ATS yet you called their product "junk" in your post?? That's not bashing huh?? One thing I find interesting is that YOU YOURSELF have not had the bad experience you speak of, but it is somebody else you probably heard from or read about so you then draw the conclusion "that all ATS trannies are bad!" I can tell you from experience and being a Moderator here for some time now, that is usually the exact case of what goes on when threads go awry like this one has! What is not usually revealed is "the other side of the story",........that being,.....what the diesel vendor (in this case ATS) has to say about why a warranty was not covered! So with that in mind, coming onto this website and thread and making a statement like; "ATS is junk" is "Childish Banter" IMHO whether you agree with it or not!
I can assure you that I could give you an earful about some of the criticism leveled at them NOT being the whole or true story! In fact I have seen Clint and Ranee Cannon (Owners of ATS) HONOR warranty claims on their transmissions in many cases when I personally would not have. They are both great people and have an excellent staff and a product but a line in all businesses has to drawn somewhere. In addition, I can assure you that many of ATS, Suncoast, Georend or DTT customers probably do NOT know what their warranty really is on their aftermarket transmissions and its components.
If there transmissions were "junk" as you say, I seriously doubt they would be powering the DHRA Pro-Street Dodge CTD Pickup Truck of Jimmy and Dale Smith which turns 9.87 in the 1/4 mile or Scott Bentz's DHRA/NHRDA Diesel Rail Dragster which runs the 1/4 mile in the high 7's!! Both of these drag race vehicles are putting down over 1,000 H.P.and probably close to 1800-2000 ft. lbs. of torque!
The bottom line and policy on this website is that this type of crticism will not be tolerated under any circumstances, so I guess my advice to you is don't do it!
--------
John_P
02-24-2011, 06:59 PM
#20
Registered User
ATS took the Diesel Transmission world by storm right around 2000 or so, with the TripleLok TC. I was active on the TurboDieselRegister website then, and I think I was the 2nd or 3rd guy on the TDR to get an ATS. A lot of Trans builders jumped on the bandwagon and tried to build TripleLok-wanna be's. But Clint Cannon of ATS originated, tested and perfected the TripleLok, and then later the 5-start TC. My hat is off to him. He's a heck of a guy.
02-24-2011, 07:06 PM
#21
Registered User
I personally knew of a guy who had gotten ATS to sponsor his race truck. He got a free state-of-the-art ATS trans, and after ATS installed it, Clint said, "Now go break it!" So the guy races it for awhile, and then sells the truck to another guy. The second guy did break the trans, and tried to get ATS to honor the warranty. He told Clint that he'd paid full price for the trans, but couldn't quite remember the exact date, bla bla bla. After stringing Clint along for a week or more, he finally admitted he'd bought the truck from the racer. Clint did refuse to honor that warranty, saying since the guy had lied to him so blatantly he just didn't trust him. That guy has posted negative comments about ATS more than once.
I'm personally aware of at least two other cases where guys who had ATS transmissions tried to pull fast ones in regards to broken tranny's. In those two cases Clint did honor the warranty, even though he'd been lied to.
I'm personally aware of at least two other cases where guys who had ATS transmissions tried to pull fast ones in regards to broken tranny's. In those two cases Clint did honor the warranty, even though he'd been lied to.
02-26-2011, 03:45 PM
#22
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i would go with suncoast om3ga...check it out...i just had mine rebuilt for $3k wish i had spent extra money for om3ga...http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/d...ilt/index.html
03-09-2011, 05:07 PM
#23
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FWIW my 5 star converter has less than 10k miles and is shot. I don't tow more than my jeep around and an occasional stop light run. I filed a warranty for my previous stage IV trans and they replaced it with this one. I had a billet intermediate shaft installed on this one. Since install it has run hot like 220+ before you could get out of the drive thru line. I called several times they said it was normal temps. Now it bucks and lopes the motor, so I call and ask them about it again and they know exactly what is wrong but I am too far away from my original purchase so I need to pay them to fix the converter and will have minimal warranty on converter once I get it back.
03-09-2011, 05:41 PM
#25
Administrator
FWIW my 5 star converter has less than 10k miles and is shot. I don't tow more than my jeep around and an occasional stop light run. I filed a warranty for my previous stage IV trans and they replaced it with this one. I had a billet intermediate shaft installed on this one. Since install it has run hot like 220+ before you could get out of the drive thru line. I called several times they said it was normal temps. Now it bucks and lopes the motor, so I call and ask them about it again and they know exactly what is wrong but I am too far away from my original purchase so I need to pay them to fix the converter and will have minimal warranty on converter once I get it back.
kevins600:
My suggestion to you is to call and speak with Mike Meinecke at ATS!
He should be able to help you out Sir!
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John_P
03-10-2011, 10:46 PM
#26
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I've spent close to 8k on their transmissions, I will not spend another dime. Maybe others have better luck but this is just my story so I'm just gonna share it.
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