I am Headed up to Lead Hill,Arkansas tomorrow, And Wednesday to see Brian to get my Highly anticipated BTS Tranny. Been having power to ground issues since all the new PMS mods. Once this is done I will defiantly be in PSD Heaven. I will let y'all know how it comes out.

 

Cant wait for the report...........I'm getting jealous

 

I need to go get a lottery ticket.

 

Yeah me too.

Don, even though we already know it's going to turn out great, keep us updated

 

Oooh ooh i can't wait. "They" are calling for snow wednesday, pushing me even closer!

 

Congrats. You're going to have a great time down in Lead Hill. The hospitality BTS gives is awesome. You'll get a nice trans out of the deal too.

 

Lil-son-of-a-.....GRATZ MAN!!

Im still pondering the thought of having my truck converted to the BTS auto when i head oversea's...but dunno how much the conversion costs.

Hope u have a safe trip there and a smiling trip back.

 

I'm curious to know if the BTS tranny has the same or similar warranty restrictions as an ATS unit that I investigated several years ago, maybe you can find out while you're there and report back.

I was told that to maintain the ATS warranty, a complete ATF change must be documented every 15K, including a new in-pan filter. Also, that the warranty was void if any type of external filter was used. Reason given was that their heavy duty friction material on the clutch packs shed much fuzz that would clog external filters. They said that they route all ATF through the cooler line whereas OEM tranny bypasses some, and that clogged external filters have destroyed several of their transmissions before driver had time to react to overheated condition.

 

is it pretty easy to install a tranny by yourself or would it just be easier to have someone with the right tools do it?

 

BTS and warranty restriction are two things that don't go together at all. Brian has a 2 year "written" warranty, but he'll take care of you as long as you own the truck. If you break it, he'll fix it. He doesn't care what you're doing, whether it's towing a lot of weight, sled pulling, drag racing, tug-of-war, etc... I'll give you my personal story in a moment. Simply put, it's the last trans you'll ever have to buy.

I'm going to cover a few things here, so forgive me if this gets long.

First, Brian will not tell you that you have to change the fluid at any specified interval. He also won't tell you that you can't run an external filter. I had an external filter when he did my trans. He suggested I remove it because it might be a flow restriction since he modifies the pump to flow more volume of fluid. But by no means did he say I have to remove it.

Second, the issue of the bypass tube. It's on there for a reason. It's there for the exact reason that if the cooler get's clogged, the trans won't be starved for oil. It only opens at a specific pressure or temperature, I can't remember which. Brian actually installs a brand new bypass tube on all of his transmissions. Personally, I think someone is taking a chance by not running one. If you're worried about heat, have a 6.0 trans cooler installed. I will say this, since I had my BTS and 6.0 cooler put in, I rarely see much over 150 degrees; I'll see up around 170 on a hot day while towing a trailer. If there's any fluid not going through the cooler because of the bypass tube, it's definately not affecting my trans temps.

Now for my personal story regarding any warranty restrictions on a BTS trans. I'm from Missouri, but was in Colorado last summer at the Rocky Mountain Truck Fest. They held drag races at Bandimere Speedway on Sunday of that weekend. I had met up with the BTS crew in Kansas to make the rest of the long trip out there. So, Brian was in the stands watching me drag race my truck, with his trans in it. Well, my torque converter was apparently one of the small percentage that is bad from the start. On my second run, the stator blew out in the TC, locking it solid. Needless to say, my truck was pretty undriveable at that point, as I could not come ot a complete stop without killing the engine. Here's where it gets good. Brian actually hauled my truck and me all the way back to Lead Hill, AR to his shop from Colorado, on a rollback that was offered up to us from one of his previous customers out of pure generosity to Brian. We drove all night to get back to his shop, and as soon as we got there he dropped the trans. He told me to go get some rest in the shop's lounge, since I was headed back to Columbia later. About 4 hours after we got there, I was back on the road. He had gone through the whole trans to be sure nothing else was damaged, replaced the TC, installed a new pump, and flushed the cooler out. My total charge for all of that...not one penny. My whole trip was only delayed about 10 total hours from when I was scheduled to be home. I just don't think you'll find that kind of service anywhere else.

Keep in mind too, I don't have any special ties to BTS at all. Heck, I even won the trans as a door prize during their open house last year, so he didn't even make any money off me for the trans. Brian and the whole BTS crew are just top notch people who genuinely try hard to give their customers the best service possible.

 

He will need the lottery ticket once he sees some of the trucks they build! The mod bug really bit when I went there. Had to use 2 credit cards to get outta there.

 

I have an 01. Diode locked up and I had no 3rd gear. Trans was toasted in a couple miles from the smell of the fluid. I drove it back home. Total was about 100 miles. Well, before that, I had installed the BTS VB. So, this VB has been sitting in extra hot fluid. It registered 220 at the gauge but at some points it was hot enough to burn Amsoil synthetic fluid. There was debris in the pan. All floating around for 100 miles. What do you think that VB is worth? BTS gave me credit for it BEFORE he even got the trans. I would say it was suspect.

 

I've read many favorable comments about how BTS stands behind their products, and I guess I didn't ask my question correctly. What I'm really trying to find out is if the story I got from ATS concerning extra fuzz shed from heavy duty clutch packs is a common feature of all transmissions that are configured for extra heavy duty use. If that's the case, it would seem prudent to do whatever maintenance is appropriate for dealing with the extra fuzz. Maybe it's an initial break-in issue that abates over time as the clutch packs wear in? Maybe some heavy duty packs have friction material that doesn't shed as readily as others? In my situation, I'm less concerned with warranty and more with reliability, as all my failures have a way of occurring while towing in out of the way places.

I'm also curious about just how the OEM ATF bypass works, does it always bypass some fluid as I was told by ATS, and if so how much? I once read an explanation in PSR magazine that the OEM bypass is temperature sensitive and bypass all the fluid to aid rapid warm up then closes and sends most to the cooler? It would also need some pressure relief mode to protect against a clogged cooler?

 

I wish I could answer those questions, but they are getting beyond my technical expertise. I bet that if you called BTS, Brian would be more than willing to explain the function of the bypass tube as well as if there's any extra "fuzz" from the clutch packs.

I've heard several not so good things about ATS before. Never had personal expernece with them myself though. But, I have heard that ATS will give some false information to customers.

Give Brian a call when you get a chance. 870-422-3673

 

Return from BTS, Well gentleman the trip is complete. As expected the trip to Lead Hill was a long one, 750 miles to be exact one way. However when I arrived at Brians shop he was ready and started on my truck by 9:00 am. Transmission was out and apart by 10:30. The Clutches were definatly worn and blackend. No wonder I couldn't get power to the ground. After watching Brian work his magic on my transmission ( Which included all new parts with his secret potions. It was cleaned painted new VB, transgo tugger kit,torque converter and the 6.0 liter trans cooler installed. It was time to go for a ride.
I started the trip with two trans coolers and a external filter and Banks Transcommand. Brian suggested to remove it all and just use the 6.0 liter cooler and his transmission. Well of course that is what I did. 750 miles back home and the usual race back on IH 35. This thing never went over 150 degrees. Shifted solid and didnt even think of breathing hard. I have not had a chance to tow anything yet but it will be soon. After reading your posts on Brians warranty, I do not need to post any new information.I did ask him and it is as you have stated. All that is left is to tow my toys and keep on truckin, because I dont think I will have any more tranny probs.