just as an FYI, the trackbar has nothing to do with your alignment. the trackbar is what helps locate the axle underneath the vehicle and prevent it from moving from side to side. this is a necessity with a coil spring and link suspension, at least with the Rams front link style anyway. Your alignment has to do with your tie rod. its actually pretty easy to do an alignment at home in your driveway. take a couple of 2x4s and strap them to your front tires. take a tape measure across the front of the 2x4s in front of the tires, then measure again across the back. this number should be the same both on the front side of your front tires and the back side. if the numbers dont match, your out of alignment. adjust your tie rod until your numbers match.

As for tire choices, I suggest you take a look at the Pro Comp Xterrains. I run them on my Wrangler and love them. they are directional tread so they are pretty quiet on the road, but they still look and are nice and agressive. they do well in the snow (lived in RI when i first got them) and mine have lasted for a long *** time. I got my 35x12.50xR15s from Summit racing during Pro Comps semi annual buy 3 get one free sale for $620 shipped to my door.

 

Were you able to get this checked out yet? Any updates?

 

Alright, I dropped the truck off this morning at the shop. I left the list of things I wanted them to look at in the truck. About 5 hours later, the head desk man, Mark, called me back. He started right in with rushing everything. He said he didn't experience the "stutter/skip" into overdrive, and said it was probably an engine skip. Then he said the touchy gas pedal was probably due to a worn throttle linkage and said it didn't have anything to do with the transmission. And then he went on to say I should be happy with the transmission, and that if I wanted it to drive stock I should go buy a stock truck and leave it stock (yes, he actually said this). He said the tires on the truck are oversized and that the vehicle is not stock, so it's not going to drive like a stock vehicle. Of course this concerned me because my falling apart stock transmission didn't experience this overdrive stutter. He basically told me there isn't anything wrong with it and that I should be happy with it, all of this with a condescending and disrepectful tone. He brushed me off like I was unpaid customer just being ****. Of course he fumbled me like he probably planned to, and I ended the phone call like a coward. And then I got really mad after I was able to let everything sink in.

So I'm leaving the truck there and getting it in the morning. I'm going to spend the night planning on how I want to address him tomorrow. Essentially, I plan to go in there tomorrow and ask him to stop treating me like a child, and as an unpaid customer. I spent A LOT of money so the job would get done right, and I have this jerk brushing me off trying to intimidate me into not getting my truck perfect. Even if it is infact normal, he still should treat me with respect and as a peer, not like he's talking down to me. I don't know about you guys, but my truck is not very abnormal, it's 35" tires, and THATS IT. To boot, I paid them the big bucks BECAUSE of the big tires, so the tires should not even be apart of the equation. Furthermore, I am putting the 33" tires on that truck. The truck came stock with 275s. If that truck stutters into overdrive with 33s, then he will have nothing to say. Anyways, I'm just trying to keep cool and make sure I deal with this the right way. Either way, I am going in there tomorrow morning and making sure he knows I am not going to take his crap anymore. I have a 3 year/70,000 mile warranty with this company, so he better get used to dealing with me as a customer. I don't care what the truck is, there is no excuse for the truck to stutter into overdrive. I should not have to let off the gas for it to seamlessly shift into overdrive. I didn't have to do that with the stock transmsission, so I should definalty not have to do it with this $4,100 transmission. What are your guys thoughts? Help would be nice. I want to make sure I deal with these guys the right way. I have to execute this perfect tomorrow morning.

 

The way it sounds like it drives based on the way you have described it, it sounds like something IS wrong, somewhere. Did you go with them during the test drive? I think this would be best since you know at what times it acts up and showing the condition to somebody something in person is a lot of times better than just trying to describe the condition. They really don't seem to be dealing with you in a professional manner. If it were me, I would take a drive with them, and drive it the way I normally did when it acted up. I would start by approaching it as you don't think they really understand what you are telling them and you just want to show them exactly what you are describing so they know what you are trying to describe to them. Try being respectful, but firm, and assume they aren't trying to be jerks to you, but they just don't understand what you're trying to tell them. If they refuse to look into it any further, then you will just have to get more demanding, be persistent, and get them to listen to you. If by being a nice customer doesn't work, then you go to the next level.

For instance, is there a news station somewhere local that does stories on everyday people that get jerked around by companies? If so, you may be in luck. Whenever a story about a company goes on TV during an investigation by the news channel, this is bad publicity for the company involved. Everyone in the community will be alerted to your dealings with that company. It would loose them their reputation and future business, and they of course really don't want that. If they don't want to work with you on figuring out this issue and they keep pushing you off, you might want to drop the hint that you will see what News Channel _____ has to say about anybody else being given the run around. If they think you are contemplating this course of action, they may be a little more forthcoming. If they aren't, you would be surprised what things can be accomplished when going on a local public broadcast. They won't like the bad publicity at all, and they will want to come out looking like they aren't really the bad guys after all by making sure you are a satisfied customer. Don't feel that because you are young you don't have just as much a voice as anybody else. Your money that you paid them spends no differently than the money paid to them by anyone else. You have purchased a product with a warranty and by law, that warranty HAS to be honored. You could emphasize the fact that you feel like they aren't listening to you because they think you're "just a kid", but they sure had no problems taking your money. You can play for sympathy from the news station and the public, and this will in turn put pressure on the business to make good on their sale to you.

I would only go to these extremes if they refused to correct the problem, or if they keep saying "it isn't the tranny" without providing proof that it isn't. If you get other people involved, make sure you tell it just like it has happened without exaggeration. You will want to be factual, and expressive on how you feel you have been treated.

 

Did you tell them to get that list of parts used ready? You really need to get that no ifs ands or buts about it.


As for them not being able to find the problem this is something that is often said or even more often said so they don't have to fix it. I'd go for a ride with them and show them exactly what it's doing then see what they say.

 

+1.

 

I'd also probably mention how you told them you had big tires and wanted the transmission built for them and they assured it would be.


As for the news thing that might would be a last resort for me as that would just kind of tick me off if one of my customers came to me saying they were going to go get the news. I probably would tell them to go get them and not do as much to help them. Of course I'd have helped way more if I could in the first place or if it was something normal atleast explained to you what it was and why it did it.

These guys just make me glad I went with APS. Everytime I call him with a question even if it's stupid he is super nice and helpful it's just like talking to my buddy everytime I call him up.

 

Good feedback. I've thought about what I would like to do. Tomorrow morning I am showing up again. I'm going inside and asking Mark if I can have a moment to speak with him outside. When we get outside, I am nicely going to dig into him, and make HIM feel like the kid. I am going to tell him that I feel very disrespected with the way he treats me. I am going to tell him that I can tell he thinks of me as a kid. I also will mention the fact about how nice he was to me before I bought the transmission, and ever since I picked it up with the misfire, he's been a complete jerk and condescending to me. I may be young, but I am a very nice and intelligent young man, and I don't deserve to be treated like the annoying kid who hasn't paid up yet. I am paying for this loan, the least I want is somebody willing to help me out. The way he talked to me on the phone was very demeaning and nasty, and I didn't like it at all. I also am going to point out that my truck is not modified at all. It is a half ton truck with 35" tires, this truck came stock with 33" tires. I am basing all of my observations on this transmission to the STOCK transmission. The stock transmission didn't stutter into overdrive, so this new "heavy duty" transmission should defiantly not being stuttering into overdrive whatsoever. I could have had a dodge replacement put in for $2500, but instead I paid the extra big bucks so the truck could handle the bigger tires and extra horsepower. Furthermore, I am going ahead anyways and lowering the truck down a couple of inches and putting 33" tires on the truck, which is essentially came factory with the truck. I am going to let him know that if the problem persists after the new 33" tires, then the truck will be right back to the shop and it will be further investigated. If I have 33" tires on the truck and 4.10 gearing, there should be no excuses to say that the tires are doing it (even though that shouldn't be a valid excuse anyways). And an engine skip? Please. The truck is running perfectly. It's the shift into overdrive that is the only problem I wanted them to address, and he went and made a big deal about how the transmission is fine. I think it is fine, but something simple about it is not fine, and as a high paying customer, I deserve the right to have it assessed, and repaired. It's 2 months old, there shouldn't be any skipping, period. I am going to make him look like a little school boy tomorrow morning when I calmly ask him to come outside so I can talk to this guy, and I will make him feel stupid.

 

So are you getting the list of the parts used or are you going to forget about it? Maybe write it down so you don't forget. Thats something I'd get for sure as to diagnose the problem a little more we all need to know what is in it as different parts will make it do different things.

 

Yeah, it will be something I am going to demand to have after I complete ringing this ******* out. I'm a really nice guy, and I give people many chances, but if you **** with me too much, I am not very pleasant. I don't like people taking advantage of me niceness and because I'm young.