Has anybody had experience with their trannies? They seem to be priced well and they are close enough that I could just pick one up myself, saving shipping costs. I think my tranny is showing signs of going out, (140k miles on it) and I want to be prepared. Their website is
http://www.goodfellastransmission.com/

As for the symptoms of my tranny, it seems to not really want to grab when just starting out in drive or reverse; slips and until more throttle is applied, then slowly gains friction enough to move the truck. After it has warmed up, it sometimes will feel like it is jolting in and out of first during initial takeoff from a stop, but seems ok through the other gears. The symptoms only present themselves in first gear, and all other gears seem to operate just fine. Fluid level is good, I just readjusted the rear adjustment inside the pan according to the manual, and replaced the very young Royal Purple fluid it had in it with Mopar ATF+4 from Wal Mart. This truck had the original 3.55 gears in it with 38" tires on it when I got it. This tranny had been abused before I got it, but I don't know for how long. It now has the 4.56 gears and 37" tires on it so the tranny isn't working near as hard as it used to, but I'm sure it is living on borrowed time.

I am debating on the Dr. Evil trannies, but if I can get the same quality, but for hundreds cheaper, I of coarse need to investigate further before making the investment. I also need to gather info as to what torque converter I really should be using with the "modifications" I have made to this truck so far. It is street driven, never at the track so front tire off-the-ground launches aren't necessary - but would be fun as hell, never rock crawling, and runs 2,200 rpm at 70mph on the highway.

Any and all input will be greatly appreciated!

 

APS is the way I went and would go again. I've heatrd good things about Dr. Evil too though. I'd stick with one of those two as they are known to be good.

 

your clutches/bands are starting to let go , did you see any sludge on the bottom of the pan ?? if you have the know how i would rebuild it , clutches/bands you can get different metals (heavy duty) i seen where they come in a honey comb shape . Of course get a shift kit (transgo) and a deep trans pan ,if you dont already have 1 (trans cooler) with my set up i stayed with the stock stall for the low end , so when i upgrade the cam ill be bumping the stall or damn near it.. (and i just forgot what the stock stall is...DAMN !)

 

I just got off the phone with them. They said they could rebuild mine with performance parts for $1,295.00 and be done with it in a full day. This price includes a stall converter anywhere from 1,600rpm to 2,000 rpm. If I wanted higher than that, it would add another $100 to the price. He said that the stock stall speed was 1,600 to 1,800 rpm. I don't believe after all I've read that I will want to go much, if any, higher than 2,000 rpm. This price doesn't seem as good as I thought it was going to be, so already I am leaning away from them. They do however offer a complete 1year, unlimited miles warranty on their work. Hmmmm.....

As for sludge, there wasn't hardly anything in there but fluid. There were a very few small metal flecks, but virtually nothing but fluid. I did change the fluid and filter only a few thousand miles ago, so I really didn't expect to find much this time.

I will be doing more research on rebuilding it myself. The only work I've done on a tranny other than fluid and filter changes, is installing a shift improver kit for an '91 S-10 I used to own. Of course that doesn't compare to rebuilding a complete unit, but it goes to show to what depth I've been before. I was just curious as to what experiences if any, that others have had with Goodfellas Transmission.

I FULLY agree with going with someone trusted by others on this forum!!! I REFUSE to be willingly subjected to the B******t that I've read some of the fellow members have had to go through on this forum. I am normally a nice, friendly, and calm guy, but if I got F****d over by a shop like I've read others have, I would probably end up in jail... I feel the pain that others have been through and I will honor their experiences by NOT going through the same. If I find that nobody on here has any personal experience with Goodfellas, I will avoid them if I decide to have someone else do a rebuild. If I decide to buy one, I will be getting one from Dr. Evil or APS. I have to find out a little more on what APS will cost me as compared to Dr. Evil for the same performance and durability. I don't mind spending a little extra if it nets me much better results, but I feel it has to be worth it before I do. The list of materials they advertise that they use seems to be very thorough.

I really appreciate the experiences others have shared on this forum and I am grateful to be able to avoid some of the same miseries that they have endured because they have taken the time to share. Thanks to all who continue to do so.

 

When I was pricing the APS ones it seemed like they were a little bit more costly than the Dr. Evil transmission but one of the plus sides to this is they start with brand new transmissions so it's not a rebuilt one. It's a brand new one that is then built from there. You can get a brand new stock one for a fairly resonable price but I got a pretty built one instead.

While to some having a brand new transmission vs a rebuilt one isn't a big deal I personally would much rather it. Wayne was great to work with the only problem I ran into was it took a little over a month to get my tranmsission to me. This isn't a huge deal just letting you know so you don't expect it the next day. They have to build it for you when you order it.

They took my order on Christmas Eve. I mean thats some serious service there. Anyway he told me he didn't want to work on Christmas Eve but he would start on mine the day after that and was hoping he should be able to have it done and on a crate ready to go in a week. They were offically closed until after the new year but he said he would try to start on mine. Well, this ended up taking about a month. He said they were going to use some new parts or something that they were desinging and if I wanted to have it shipped out right then I could but that he'd recommend waiting for the new parts so I did. He even threw in a few extras for me since I had to wait so long. I'd say it took about a month until it shipped then about a week to get after it shipped but I'm on the other side of the country. I can't blame them as this isn't a long time when they are doing this at Christmas. Infact I think it's pretty impressive. I'm not sure how long they normally take if not at a holiday. I've heard others say it took them about the same time to get it give or take. I don't see this as a problem and imo is for sure worth the wait I am just throwing this in there to let you know incase you need one in a week.

Overall Wayne was awesome to deal with the 2 times I talked to him before I bought the transmission. He was helpful and just awesome to deal with. I couldn't have asked for more. He explained everything to me in the transmission and how it worked and just was super friendly. He seemed more like a friend than a guy trying to sell me a transmission. Something he told me which I fully agree with. If you are putting a transmisison in there to get ready to sell the truck or are going to sell the truck in 6 months it's no point in spending the money on one of these transmissions. If you want to keep the truck however it imo is the best way to go. I mean he just was telling me how to do stuff even if I didn't buy the transmission from him.

You know how shops like 01DodgeRam360's seemed helpful until they got his money? Well, guess what Wanye was not at all like that. Even after getting the transmission he was 100% helpful. I ended up ordering the APS pleneum kit from him too because of how great his service was. I mean everytime I call him up it's just like calling up a buddy. He even gives out his cell phone number so you can call him if you have a problem. How many shops do this?

I've talked to him several times after I got the transmission and each time he has just told me little tips and tricks on how to do stuff. He even told the shop to call him if they had any questions on adjusting the tv cable or anything like that and that all he asked was that if I put it in or ever did anything with it that if I didn't know how to do it to just call him and ask first.

I mean I just called him the other day to ask where I should put a drain plug in the pan. He went and got a pan to look at and told me exactly where to drill into it to put it. He told me some tips on how to check the bands and how to do adjustments to stuff and everything. I mean he just has answered every question I've ever asked him and keeps telling me to call back if I have anymore. I know I can get annoying with my dumb questions but he doesn't seem to mind. So far with the service I've received I just couldn't ask for a better service. I can't say enough good about him.

IMO it may cost more than some of the other companys but it's 100% worth it. I'd rather pay a little extra and get amazing customer service than save a little like 2001DodgeRam360 tried to do and basically have a transmission I'm not happy with and a shop that doesn't seem to want to help.

The transmission shifts amazing and just is amazing. The truck has never shifted this great before. Shifts and quick and firm but not at all hard. it's just a blast to drive now.

As for the torque converter I went with a 2400rpm stall which I think is the lowest Wanye offers. My buddy that used to work at the dealer said the stock was a 1800rpm stall. Overall though it does fine and I can't tell a huge difference it still goes fine before 2400rpms it's not like it just revs up to that before moving. I really am so far super impressed with this transmission and even more so with the service. I've put about 2k maybe a little more miles on it so far. I would highly recommend giving Wanye a call. If you want a transmission to last and to have great service imo he is the only way to go.

He offered me a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty that includes racing and towing and stuff like that as long as you tell him what you plan to be doing with it when he builds it. I asked him last time I talked to him about where someone on this site posted a link to a warranty thing on his site saying it was a 2 year 40k mile warranty and asked him what was up since he told me unlimited mileage. He told me they had changed this and that it was now unlimited mileage. I'm guessing they haven't updated their site in a few years as it still has the throttle bodies and stuff on it they no longer make but I'm not 100% sure I just know he told me it was now an unlimited mileage warranty. I hope I never have to use it though.

As for Dr. Evil I've heard good things about them too but I don't like the idea of a rebuilt transmission when I can get a new one from APS. APS also does rebuilds if you want to save a littel but I didn't want to get a rebuilt one. I also know the customer service is super amazing with APS so after having dealt with them I realized it's probably worth paying extra rather than getting service like people seem to from their local shops. I just can't say enough good things about APS give him a call. I always call his mobile number listed on the site and if I don't get him I call a few times later and always eventually get him. It's not often that I don't get him right away but for the few times I haven't I call later and get him. He however didn't respond to the message I left him so I don't do that I just call later. He seems to be really busy.



Another thing I had happen was I had no torque converter when I got my tranmission and the shop wanted to put it in that day so wanted to go get one from a local shop. I told them not to and called Wayne. He told me he had shipped it seperately with UPS and to let him look into it. Well, he called me back an hour or so later and said he had been on the phone with UPS and they couldn't tell him where it was and it seemed to be lost. I think they were telling him the weather had delayed it or something but then they couldn't tell him where it was. I told him I needed one right now as I was in a bind and I needed one overnighted and that I'd pay for the overnight shipping. Well, he said the guy that built them had the day off but that he would call him to come in and build me one and that he would overnight it to me and that he would agree to pay half the shipping if that was okay with me. So even though I'd offered to pay the whole shipping he didn't let me do that and paid half of it for me. It cost me $60 to ship it so basically cost $120 to overnight it. I guess he has a contract or whatever as UPS site said if I had shipped it that it would have been $160 or something. So basically he called the guy in paid him overtime and paid half to ship me another torque converter because UPS lost it? You can't ask for much more than this.


I know this thread is long but I just can't say enough good stuff about APS. They have been amazing to work with the whole time. I tried to tell 01DodgeRam360 all this and that he should check into them more but he inisted on the local shop and I think after he got it back he was wishing he had listened to me and gone with a APS.

 

Thank you both for the input. I am wondering though, HTM, how much did it cost you for the APS tranny and TC? Also in reference to what you said, I am not sure what actual difference it would make to have a rebuilt vs new tranny housing. If everything gets replaced the same way, and the only difference is the housing, what differences would there be between the new and rebuilt tranny?

As I proofread this before posting it, I realize this question sounds like I'm trying to be argumentative. I'm not being argumentative at all...this is an honest question. Is there a performance / durability / physical difference between the new and rebuilt housings?

 

Honestly I don't know that there is I just really wanted to start with a completely new transmission. It's just something I wanted to do. I'm not sure that there is a huge advantage to it. Wanye told me that I would only save a few hundred if I got a rebuilt one since he replaced everything other than the housing. He offered to get me a quote but I told him it wasn't needed since I didn't want one that was rebuilt if I could get a new one. Like he said though a lot of the guys that rebuild them cheaper don't replace all the parts. If you go to a local transmission shop some of them will charge more if they get into it and realize hard parts are damaged. He also said he replaces all of the sensors which some places don't do as like he said they aren't the most reliable when new and you definately shouldn't trust them to reuse them. This drives the cost up.

As for what I paid I paid $3580 something for the performance model transmission. He gives you a list of everything thats in them if you call him and get him to email you the thing. I paid another $60 on top of that for the overnighting the torque converter but hopefully you wouldn't have to do that.

Like I said it was the performance model he had one that was around $3k-3100 that was a stock plus. It didn't have as many things in it but still looked like a nice transmission. Then there were a few others that were built way more but I don't need one that will handle 1200hp/1200ft lbs of torque so I don't remember exactly what those cost. Mine should be more than I ever need as it's got quite a few things done to it. I've got a long list.


Give him a call and he will email you some quotes with a parts list and what every part costs to make it that price. Unlike the guy that built 01DodgeRam360's transmission he actually wants you to know whats in them instead of just telling you the parts are premium. This is why I think he probably doesn't have such a well built transmission. Seems like most guys want you to know whats in them if they are proud of it if actually built it with good parts.

 

I would tend to agree with you on that. I actually already sent him an email with specifics and he responded by telling me that he will work up quotes on a few different scenarios for me and will let me know when he's done. I found something interesting on his website. In the first paragraph on the products page, you will read the following:

 

I dont know about new or rebuilt , rebuild with new parts ?? is new .. , good 1 hearter with all the sensors that should be new , the only thing i had to replace was the overdrive gear on mine , plus to be safe i got a new TQ converter , my bands and clutches where like new , plus i got a shift kit , new seals , in all i got an easy 700 into it already .. this trans was rebuilt in 06 i bought the truck in 07 , the bushing in my overdrive gear slip out of position or who ever rebuild before did not put the bushing in right , hense the burnt gear , it wont happen this time ... and i put all new sensors in my trans to.. unless your family owns a shop or you got a trusted friend in the bussiness i would go with what heater is saying ... Then you know what you got , cause im still waiting on the build sheet from neon to post..

 

I have neither and I'm starting to lean in that direction. I still have a little more investigating to do before I decide. I just don't like paying others to do the work I can, and by buying an already built tranny, I'm doing just that. I also don't like biting off more than I can chew, and I have a feeling with the time constraints I have, obtaining all of the necessary kits and materials, then rebuilding it myself doesn't seem too wise for me right now. I more than likely will be getting a built tranny, and install it myself.