Update on Tranny Fiasco!!!

Unknown

For those of you that have called, e-mailed and helped me with parts and everyone else that wants to know the rest of the story-- it's finally time for an update on Doc:



When Vicki and I bought the car in Oct. of '05, we were furnished with receipts from a local shop in Elkins, WV, which showed work done on the Hydra-matic transmission in Doc. The receipts were for 4800.00 and change. It included removing said transmission and shipping to Fatsco's in northern NJ, being completely rebuilt and returned to the "home" shop to be re-installed. This work took place in February of 2005. The car when I bought it was probably functioning at 80% efficiency, noted through hindsight, of course. Doc had a total of about 600 miles since the re-build before she decided enough was enough and gave out on me whilst I was taking her to a different shop to have some wiring re-done, etc. (see previous post).



Seven weeks later, when it was time to pick her up, I called Fatsco's and the shop in WV and informed them of my problem, inquired about warranties and whether or not the warranties would apply to a 2nd owner (since I wasn't the one who had the work done in the first place). Of course, I was on my best southern behavior. But, as is often the case when more than one shop has their fingers in the pie, those same fingers are quick to put the blame of any malfunctioning on one another. In other words, I got nowhere. So, I managed to limp her about 5 miles to a known antique tranny specialist, due largely to the great engineering of the Hydra-matic, notably the fact that low gear is totally mechanical and will never leave you completely stranded.



Now the fun really begins. My tranny specialist, after having removed the transmission and inspected it had me come over to take a look at the fine mess I had. Apparently, shoddy workmanship was prevalent in many different facets. The rear band was bad, at least one valve was bad, the transmission was leaking due to the lack of a gasket between the tranny and the motor, and on and on. Now granted, when you have a leak in a automatic tranny, things heat up pretty quick and can fry much more than what was originally wrong. Final prognosis: about 2500.00 in parts, plus the labor for the "in-and-out", or find a good used unit and take my chances. I tell you what, though. Vicki, my wife and I make such a good team and can "good-cop, bad-cop" with the best of them. Vicki, upon hearing the bad news, immediately picked up the phone and got a hold of the service manager at Fatsco's. Within a few minutes of hearing her "bad cop" routine, they suggested that if we bring the tranny back to them, they would "take care of us". Probably Vicki's spiel about getting on the Hudson Forum and telling everyone that Fatsco's customer service was something less than desired just didn't sit too well with them.



So, off I go to NJ (about 300 miles from my house) with a trunk full of transmission parts. Upon arriving, the service manager says, "You know, I'm really surprised to see this transmission . . . I expected it about 6 months ago". To which my reply was, " Really? . . . why is that?" "We got a call from the shop in WV and they said that after installing the tranny, they found out a valve was stuck. All I could do was tell them to ship it back, we'll pay the shipping and fix it".



Apparently, the local shop had no interest in taking the transmission back out, incurring more time and money, so they informed Fatsco's to "Forget it." For the uninitiated, a stuck valve will allow the transmission to function somewhat for a while, but in short order, you'll end up with a very large paperweight if not properly repaired.



5 days later (Monday), Fatsco's calls me and tells me to come pick up my transmission and that it's ready to go. So, off I go back to NJ. Upon pulling out my checkbook and inquiring of the damages, I was promptly told to put it away. I owed them nothing . . . nada . . . not a thing. Go and be happy.



So, in the end, Fatsco's gets a big thumbs up for doing the right thing and standing behind their work. I would certainly do business with them again and recommend them to anyone interested. The local shop in WV gets a big raspberry for taking advantage of their customer and doing shoddy work in the first place. Fatsco's will get a letter of recommendation from Vicki and me. The transmission is still going to cost me some for the "in-and-out", and the cost of 1200 miles of travel, including gas and tolls. Fortunately, it's probably hundreds, instead of thousands and, in the end, it'll be better than it was. Nine weeks in two different shops. Finally, it will be time to bring her home this weekend. I guess we'll throw a party with the money we saved.



Hudsoning on the road, again- :cool:

Russell

[Deleted User]

I've dealt with Fatsco and think they are an upstanding organization. I'm glad to see that they did stand behind their work.



I hope you took the little lady out to dinner for her efforts

Ron

Unknown

The bad thing to me was that you had to drive up the RT 95 corridor. SHUDDER?SHUDDER.

Unknown

tombpa wrote:

The bad thing to me was that you had to drive up the RT 95 corridor. SHUDDER?SHUDDER.

Not only that, but how about the NJ Turnpike . . . more shuddering.



Russell

rambos_ride

Glad to hear the tranny is fixed and getting handled - that'll be about an 8k transmission by the time its back in Doc!



I had to chuckle outloud (COL)? a bit reading your post! I remember when people would stop by the body shop wanting a paint job and the first thing I was taught to ask was "How much do you want to spend?" Invariably the estimates were usually pretty close to that amount!



And just asking the shops if they would warranty a second owner repair - most would have said no - just because.



I've got a good tranny guy out here and will take my TH400 to him to freshen up real soon - he did the trans in my truck about 6 years ago. Last year the torque converter let go and he replaced it for FREE - how's that for a warranty!

harry54

Russell , enjoyed the story and would like to share my experience as well. I have a 54 hornet sedan that I've owned for 2 yrs and finally took it to Hudson Headquaters on Long Island. My Hudson Professional , who I trust completely advised me to send the hyromatic out to Fatsco. So on it went for a rebuild. After finishing the rebuild My Mechanic reinstalled it and all seemed to be well. About a week later I was driving it and noticed slipping in First and reverse. Oh No....... I called up my mechanic and He stood by me and said I'll call Fatsco. They took car of the problem and handled the situation professionally. I would also highly recomend both them and the Gaslite Garage on Long Island. THey stand by there work. Happy Hudsoning.