Frustrations with my BTS E40D

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tbrown1986

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Buying a BTS might have been one of the biggest mistakes I've made. I drove the 160 miles to Lead Hill, AR and paid Brian $5300 for my transmission and new cooler. I'd like to describe my experience with BTS. Before buying this transmission I'd researched BTS and their transmissions and found only positive reviews. $5300 is a lot of money to spend on a truck that I bought for $6k. Please only people that who have had direct dealings with Brian and BTS comment. I don't need a keyboard warrior telling me about what he's read on some forum!

My truck is a 1997 F350 CCLB 4x4 E40D 7.3. I've got a 6637 air filter, 3'' dp and 4'' exhaust along with a TS6 position with Wildman tunes and full force injectors. The truck was totally stock when I bought it and I personally put on all the parts. I put 8K miles on the truck after all the modifications were made. The transmission started slipping so I started looking for a solution.

I got to Brians at 8am. I pulled my truck in and his associates immediately began pulling my old transmission. Hours later my rebuilt transmission was installed and we were taking a test drive. The shifts were firm, too firm.. so I said something to Brian and he agreed. He told me it was because of my Wildman tunes. He said that Wildman added line pressure in his tunes to try to help save stock transmission and that wasn't needed now. Since he is Brian I trusted him. He convinced me to let him burn his tunes onto my chip. After that was done we reinstalled the chip and took another ride. The exact same thing was still happening. Brian decided that the valve body needed adjusting. He pulled the pan, drilled a little more, then reinstalled everything. Another test drive was in order and this time the transmission shifted better but not great. It was 8pm at night by now and I was tired and ready to go home.

The next couple weeks the transmission shifted pretty good but the tunes Brian installed on my chip were not anything like Wildmans, ps.. I liked Wildmans way better..

One day I stopped at the bank and left my truck running. When I came back outside there was a puddle underneath it. I got on the ground and discovered it was transmission fluid. When I got home I wiped everything off and found out that one of the transmission cooler lines was leaking. I tightened it back up and decided to check the fluid level. I found it was almost 2 quarts low! When you buy a transmission from Brian he pushes Schaffers transmission fluid, which is very expensive. So now not only have I had to work on my $5300 transmission, I've also lost $20-30 worth of transmission fluid!

I went a few weeks with no problems then developed another one and am still having the problem as we speak. My transmission will sometimes not shift from 2nd to 3rd. Its like you've got the gear selector in 2nd gear and it will not go to 3rd. I've got to move the selector from D to N then back to D. Sometimes that works just doing it once and sometimes it doesn't and I've got to move it more than one time. I called Brian and he sent me a new MLP for it. I installed it and it didn't fix my problem. I called Brian again this morning and he wants me to either bring it down to him, 320 miles round trip or he said he'd send me a new shift pack for me to install..

I paid $5300 for this transmission! I've had nothing but trouble with it since it was installed! I will say that Brian is always accessible but should I really have to be working on my own transmission when its only a few months old? Is it fair for me to have to drive 320 miles to get my transmission fixed. Do you know how frustrating it is to have paid premium money for a transmission and have nothing but trouble? I won't bad talk Brian or his shop, I'm just very frustrated. Like most all I did was brag about what I'd read about Brian and his product. Most of my close friends thought I was stupid for driving that far and paying that much for a transmission but I wanted to prove them wrong.

Like I said earlier, I could only find positive information on Brian and his shop/ products. I just wanted to share my story of misfortune. What would you do in my situation?
 

Derek@Vision Diesel

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Sounds to me like you made a great decision in buying Brians parts, and just like with any mechanical pieces there have been a couple small issues.

As a business owner in this industry I have seen some crazy things happen, some our fault and some not. Do we always do our best to cover them, of course! Is the customer always happy, well that depends on his view point on the subject.

If this didn't break there would be no need for doctors or mechanics. Sounds to me like Brian is doing his best to help you out!
 

sootie

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i would take it back to him and let him get it right. also tell Wildman about the new trans and get some adjusted tunes.

i am in the equipment industry and our shop has a good rep which we strive to protect. these things happen and unfortunately, all we do is try and make it right. I'm sure Brian will do the same. just remember-hes not avoiding you-hes saying he will fix it if you bring it back-and i doubt he made it malfunction on purpose.
 

tbrown1986

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The problem is missing a day of work, 25 gallons of diesel fuel plus 320 miles of driving. I'm a believer in "you get what you pay for" and that's exactly why I didn't go to some "mom and pop shop" to get a transmission. I paid good, hard earned money and I've had nothing but disappointments. I'll end up driving down there but I guess I just wanted to vent and get it off my chest. I've already sent my chip back to Complete Performance in Jasper, TX to have Wildmans tunes reinstalled. I'm just really frustrated. I wish I'd gone a different route but hindsight is 20/20.
 

mattman347

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Brians customer service and knowledge is second to none. Take it back to him and he will take care of you.
 

tbrown1986

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He's been more than helpful. I'm going to call him back later and try to work something out. I'm not bashing him or his reputation and I'm positive he didn't do these things maliciously.
 

Derek@Vision Diesel

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He's been more than helpful. I'm going to call him back later and try to work something out. I'm not bashing him or his reputation and I'm positive he didn't do these things maliciously.

Unfortunately when you start a thread with

"buying a BTS might be one of the biggest mistakes I've made".... I would consider that to be bashing him.

If you were my customer and I just built you this transmission and helped you till 8 at night, then multiple times on the phone and you suddenly called me out online.... I would probably come unglued.


Go to brian and let him fix this.
 

sootie

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The problem is missing a day of work, 25 gallons of diesel fuel plus 320 miles of driving. I'm a believer in "you get what you pay for" and that's exactly why I didn't go to some "mom and pop shop" to get a transmission. I paid good, hard earned money and I've had nothing but disappointments. I'll end up driving down there but I guess I just wanted to vent and get it off my chest. I've already sent my chip back to Complete Performance in Jasper, TX to have Wildmans tunes reinstalled. I'm just really frustrated. I wish I'd gone a different route but hindsight is 20/20.

ya exactly-had you gone to a mom and pop shop and had this issue, likely they would tell you to pound sand not offer to fix the issue.

as has been said multiple times-this isn't a perfect world, things happen. all you can ask is that it gets fixed. Its not Brian's fault you live 320 miles away. same thing could have happened if you lived next door to him but you wouldnt complain because it was next door. Therefore your problem is not brian or his service that is the problem, it is the distance. That is different than your thread title states.
 

tbrown1986

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Have you ever spent $5300 on something that doesn't work right and hinders your ability to get to places you need to be. If you have then you know my frustration, if not then you obviously don't. I guess the words above can be interpreted how every you'd like to. I just want everyone to be aware of the problems of potential problems that can happen. Like I said originally, I had trouble finding anyone or any information where people have had trouble. I understand mechanics and electronics enough to know that everything will fail eventually but having this many problems this early is borderline ridiculous.
 

sootie

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Have you ever spent $5300 on something that doesn't work right and hinders your ability to get to places you need to be. If you have then you know my frustration, if not then you obviously don't. I guess the words above can be interpreted how every you'd like to. I just want everyone to be aware of the problems of potential problems that can happen. Like I said originally, I had trouble finding anyone or any information where people have had trouble. I understand mechanics and electronics enough to know that everything will fail eventually but having this many problems this early is borderline ridiculous.

Yup-and can happen with any part from any vendor.

maybe the reason you had trouble finding anything negative is because it is a stand up, reputable shop you are dealing with that has an extremely good track record??!

And yes-i've had my fair share of stuff break.
 

tbrown1986

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I have faith that Brian will fix it, it's just the unexpected cost and time lost. I guess I was just hoping that maybe someone would have some sympathy and understand where I'm coming from. I'm just frustrated. I apologize.
 

sootie

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i can sympathize. my 6.4 block cracked after head stud install. i have no one to blame, i just swallow the cost of a motor. this is on the truck i make my living with.


the point is: Dont bash a company that has offered to take care of you. i hope im not being harsh.
 

tbrown1986

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At any point did I say that Brian was not willing to help? At any point did I say that Brian didn't make a good product. I simply said that I might have made a mistake by purchasing this transmission. That's just my opinion. Hopefully my opinion will be changed. Hopefully with another $500 of fuel and time I will have a transmission that works. As of right now my transmission performs under par. These are the facts.
 

04stroker

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I have bought BTS's and had great results every time. In my opinion Brian has done everything in his power to help you out. Sucks you have to drive so far but that's life. Good shops are not always easy to find good shops close to home. That is why as a Diesel shop us and I am sure several other sponsors get customers from way out of town all the time. I would leave the truck there do not go to wait on it let him get it sorted out then go pick it up. That is your best option in my opinion.
 

tbrown1986

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I have bought BTS's and had great results every time. In my opinion Brian has done everything in his power to help you out. Sucks you have to drive so far but that's life. Good shops are not always easy to find good shops close to home. That is why as a Diesel shop us and I am sure several other sponsors get customers from way out of town all the time. I would leave the truck there do not go to wait on it let him get it sorted out then go pick it up. That is your best option in my opinion.

The plan is to take it down there Friday afternoon. Brian was more than helpful and said that he'd even help me on Saturday. I just hope he can get it fixed or replace it with a different one. Thanks for all the input.
 

04stroker

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The plan is to take it down there Friday afternoon. Brian was more than helpful and said that he'd even help me on Saturday. I just hope he can get it fixed or replace it with a different one. Thanks for all the input.

Sounds like you got it worked out. He will take care of you. I have had customers show up from 100+ miles away to pick uo their vehucle and something happen to make that not possible. I gave them the keys to one of my vehicles sent them home and took care of the issue. Sometime sh!t happens thats just life.

Good luck man!
 
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