Go for a nice drive this weekend, 50 mi or more...If it's gonna crap out,There's your Sign....
A trip to Seven Cedars Casino in Port Angeles would do nicely. If you gonna bet on a Transmission, spend it there...

 

AAA, you are going to need it.

 

I have put close to 20,000 miles on my HD4R100...and it has performed flawlessly...I must say how impressive it is to pull loads with too..It is just amazing how well it holds the weight going downhill as well..For me, it was money well spent,,a lot of it , but still I'm happy...I bought mine in January at Lithia Ford in Boise..and the parts guy Art was super helpful...I sure hope it all works out for you.. we'd hate to see you suffer through much more chebby trips

 

Thanks for the well wishes. I still haven't had a chance to really test out the second transmission they installed. I've been chasing this whooshing noise in the front end for six months (same dealer couldn't isolate it either, big surprise), and I've had the car laid up in my driveway for the last week to fix it.

If you don't mind the tangent, here's the long version of the story:

I really believed the noise was coming from the front left wheel, and went as far as changing out the driver side unit hub bearing (which ended up looking fine) to no avail. I thought maybe it was the Warn Premium lockers, so I attempted to swap them from side to side, only to discover that the passenger side hub was a rusty mess. So maybe the right side was the source and fooling me all along. So I've been swapping that out for the last few days, including the worn out axle stub shaft and U-joint. Project was delayed several days when the NAPA parts girl ordered me the driveshaft instead of the axle shaft. I even politely went over it several times with her before the order ("I need the FRONT RIGHT AXLE SHAFT for a DANA 50"), but she still screwed it up, and I had to wait 4 days to find out she got the wrong part. What's with these parts people?

I stood there at the counter, quietly staring at this useless driveshaft, and obviously despondent over my recent bad luck. She felt awful about it, and directed me to Drivelines NW in Seattle for immediate service. I made the trip immediately, to discover that it was a decent outfit, for a change. Those guys got me a Spicer stub shaft and U-Joint, installed on my axle shaft, in about 20 minutes. I even bought a spare stub shaft for the future.

Sad thing is, this same Ford dealership that I've been dealing with for the transmission had also replaced the knuckle joints a couple/few years ago. In my current tear-down, I see that the fiber thrust washer is located inside the hub, not between the hub and knuckle as it should be, and also that there are only two washers in the hub behind the circlip, not three. I also believe that what led to the failure of the hub was the fact that the vacuum nipple for the optional auto-locking hubs was left uncovered, allowing moisture to get in. I have manual hubs, so the nipple should have been capped, which it wasn't.

All this chassis work reminded me of how much I dislike laboring on this truck. Everything weighs a ton, and a lot of it is torqued down in the triple digits. It wears you down!

Tomorrow I'll have it all buttoned up, and I'll finally go for that real test drive before this next race out of town this weekend.

 

Sorry for your troubles. At least you know where not to take your truck in the future...

The hub unit bearings are what finally broke me...I went and bought a top of the line impact gun. Now I don't mind or cuss quite as much.

Are you still doing it manually?

Let us know if it is fixed.

 

yes, plenty of air tools, and plenty of air from my old Ingersoll-Rand compressor.

I'm currently on the road from Seattle towards Portland. About 20 miles into my trip. So far, so good. Keeping my fingers crossed. Transmission is behaving, and no odd noises out of the front end.

If I get stranded, you all will be the first to know (After roadside service).

 

Glad to here it's working for you.

 

So after over 600 miles on the HD transmission, more than half of it towing about 8K lbs., the only thing that might be an issue is a vibration from 52-58 mph. It's in OD, while under load, and mild in intensity. Both while towing and empty. Faster or slower than those speeds, and it's smooth. Not there while coasting or braking through that speed parameter. RPMs are 1500. Switch off OD, and it's gone. Can't replicate it in any other gears at 1500 RPM.

I can live with this vibration if it's within spec. But this transmission is new and under warranty. Would it be poor form to seek out a different dealership to warranty it, if needed? I'd rather not return to that dealership I've been using.

 

I would have a driveline shop check your entire driveline and driveshaft balance.

 

I just did a full vibration analysis on my truck and I was amazed at what I found by putting the truck on jack stands (grounded wheels chocked). I have a HS camera and a GoPro, and everything was looked at while I ran the engine up the speedo. I was going to drop the rear driveline and put it in 4X4 to test the front on the jack stands, but I never got that far - I found my woes. I had bent rims. I never thought to look at that, and I never would have figured it out without the cameras and the jack stands. I had a HS camera looking at the driveline, and it checked out.

When doing this, shine the brightest portable light you own under there - the camera needs it. Oh... and remember to brake before putting it in park. The lack of the sensation of movement will trick your muscle memory, and that locking pawl makes a terrible noise without the brake on.

 

Rich,

Jack stands and a posi...I recall that is OK, but I recall jack stands and an open diff is problematic.

 

Having one wheel off the ground is possible with an open diff. It's not safe, but it MIGHT work. It will cause the truck to crash onto the ground with a posi.

Having both wheels (or all four) off the ground and on jack stands is not a problem no matter what diff you have.

 

No, I do not think that it would be poor form at all to take it to a different dealer for the warranty work. I think that when a person takes their vehicle to a dealership and gets exposed to the high labor rates associated with taking a vehicle to a dealership, that customer should be able to expect a certain level of competency or else the dealership should state up front that they lack said level of competency so you can make an informed decision to stay or move on....or, give you a substantially reduced labor rate for your time and trouble. And you have had both a time and trouble investment.
You should not have to "live" with anything less than what you paid for.
At the end of the day, you are the customer...

 

And yet here you are doing that very thing.

I gotta say, for you guys speaking with a lack of education about JW or BTS...had Nader gone with one of them and had these problems, there wouldn't be a thread about bad customer service and customer insecurity about the new $3500 transmission. I guess the old adage "get what you pay for" isn't always highway robbery as has been stated in this thread.

Nader, if it were me, and there was a vibration of ANY sort, it would be back to that dealership or a different dealership that would actually pay attention. I hope it goes well from here for you.

 

$4000 sale? The BTS is not much more than that as of last week, not including shipping of course. I am sure the HD4R100 is a good transmission as well and $500 is still a savings.