[maxgig]

First off let me begin by saying that I've been in the customer service business for over 25yrs now so I know what good service is. I ordered and bought an AOD trans and torque converter from TCI. I was told it would take 6 weeks to build; (4 for trans 2 for converter). FF 10 weeks and my mechanic finally receives the shipment. After everything was installed and my driveshaft sent out for shortening the car will not shift properly and the trans actually shudders as if the friction plates are bad.

My mechanic called TCI and they gave him the run around and didn't return his messages even though they said they would. This went on for 4 days so I decided to call as the customer thinking I could get things resolved since I spent the money. They tell me to have the shop crack open the trans and see if the linkage is working properly. I'm thinking won't this act viod my all inclusive 90 day warranty? Now, here I am on my second day of phone calls and I still have not spoken to anyone who can authorize a return or resolve the problem. I just keep getting forwarded to Brad's voicemail or better yet to Comp Cams; one of their specialty shops.

I'm going to call them every 45 mins today until I get someone who can make a decision and I'm going to ask for a refund. They actually want me to pay for shipping back to them. Be warned TCI was recommended to me by several people and this is the sorriest example of customer service I've every experienced especially after spending over $2500 dollars. They can keep their X-mas cards, remove me from their myspace page and UNFRIEND me on Facebook. Our relationship is done.

 

[Cedar Rapids Ia]

I am betting once they have your phone number memorized from caller ID....they will block your calls. I hope you get results, and get your money back....

 

[Jim69Cougar]

My winter project is an aod swap and I really can't decide what to do about the tranny. Buy a new one from TCI, Lentech and it should be good but what happens when there is a problem? I'll probably bite the bullet and have my local shop build one but they want similar money.

 

[1970fastcat]

I have never been a big fan of TCI, mostly because their converters are junk. Any time I have any sort of auto trans work done, I have it done locally by a guy that specializes in beefed up or racing transmissions. Manual trans is different though. Most autos can be beefed up to handle loads of power, sticks sometimes end up better just buying one outright already built.

 

[JB BATTERSHILL]

Looks like TCI is LOSING biz over this. I for one would not buy from them now. I'd really like to have an AOD in the vert, too.

Maybe send them a copy of this thread...maybe start other threads on other forums and send them links to all.

Maybe they'll get with the program once they see their rep going down the pipe.

 

[maxgig]

Looks like TCI is LOSING biz over this. I for one would not buy from them now. I'd really like to have an AOD in the vert, too.

Maybe send them a copy of this thread...maybe start other threads on other forums and send them links to all.

Maybe they'll get with the program once they see their rep going down the pipe.

Thats an excellent idea, I frequent numerous sites and will definitely get the word out. Consider it done.

 

[68XR-7Cat]

Thats an excellent idea, I frequent numerous sites and will definitely get the word out. Consider it done.

You might want to reconsider that. Customer Satisfaction issues are often a he said-she said affair but there's no doubt that you are consciously trying to hurt their business based on the last couple of posts. Based only on what's written in this thread, the situation went from not liking what they asked you to do to demanding a refund. Unless there's a lot more to the story, a judge might not find that a reasonable attempt on your part to solve the problem before deliberately setting out to defame them and cause economic harm.

I'm not saying you are wrong; I'm just saying that a cool head and a more dispassionate approach to the issue will likely serve you better.

 

[letsroll]

I can verify that this is not a one off with Maxgig's situation. My friend Joe has been doing the dance with them for several months and had to get a lawyer involved. Not BS. They dodged him, promised him the moon and never come through. At last conversation with Joe, the lawyer contact worked and resolution is supposed to be in the works.

 

[Bad69cat]

HUH? I am surprised. I have known TCI products for years, along with other guys I raced with....it would seem they are sliding downhill fast then. Keep us posted Max -

 

[droptopcat70]

I agree bout TCI (total crap inside) And i had a issue with 1 of thier convertors.I had a FMX rebuilt in my 70 and the rebuilder said they cant warranty the tranny w/o inspecting the convertor.The shop cut open the convertor and they(the shop) were totally disgusted what they seen.so they rebuilt the convertor and was totally satisified with the results.I will not ever buy from Total Crap Inside again..

thanks
pat

 

[kooade]

I try to call the tech deptments before I buy. I had problems getting through to Sct when I was looking for tuning software and when I did finally talk to them they didn't really try to think to answer a question about sensor values. The way I see it, is if can't get them on the phone before you buy they will really suck after you do. I have a couple friends of mine that work at Atsi in Lawrence I don't think they charge to take a look. I don't think they are cheap, but they stand behind their work. I have yet to hear one complaint besides price. Your problem might be something small. I take it you have checked the basics.

 

[FFR428]

I have heard both good and bad (mostly bad though) about TCI for years. Jay at Broader Performance has always been high on my list for anything Ford automatic. www.broaderperformance.com Years of good service and great reputation and don't think I ever heard a bad thing about them. I remember the old days when Fairbanks Transmisson had a shop in Stamford CT here. That was THE place here for automatics street, strip or full out race.

 

[Cougrrcj]

My buddies and I have had no problems with TCI torque converters in the past. That's what is in all of our drag cars. Well, my 393W/WR-AOD Crown Vic has a ACC Boss Hog 2400-2800 w/lockup, but even that car is being upgraded to a TCI 3000-3200 w/lockup over this coming Winter.

In our many drag cars, we never use anybody's trans except our own rebuilds. For the C-4 in Terry's Pinto wagon, many of the internal parts are from PA (six pinion planetary, valvebody, servo, etc) whereas our C-6s use mostly TCI and some ATI hard parts.

My wide-ratio AOD was an home-grown experiment that has been working quite well for five years now, using the TCCOA writeup as a guide. Best of everything inside from the A++ o/d servo, to the '98-up mechanical diode one way clutch, 2" o/d band, clutch drums that hold the most, etc, etc, etc. All using a Baumann (becontrols.com) shift kit, and a Broader hardened inner input shaft. Over this winter I'll be switching to the more capable Silverfox (silverfoxtrans.com) SPT-R valvebody with 'stage 3' calibration. In fact, with this latest addition, my trans will be close to his AOD 700 trans capable of 700lb/ft torque, but still using the 2-piece hardened inner shaft that will limit it to 550 lb/ft. My buddies and I are in the process of building a few more of these wr/aods for our older high-performance street cars.

BTW, in case you were wondering, the WR gearing for an AOD is obtained by simply using the gearset from a 4R70W. So instead of the AOD's 2.40/1.47/1.0/.67 ratio the 4R70W has 2.84/1.55/1.00/.70. Big deal, right? Let me put it another way - by using the wide ratio gearset, 3.55 rear gears feel like 4.19s off the line, yet still retain the direct 1:1 gearing in Drive and only a 5% lower o/d ratio. Great for a high-performance street car!

 

[maxgig]

You might want to reconsider that. Customer Satisfaction issues are often a he said-she said affair but there's no doubt that you are consciously trying to hurt their business based on the last couple of posts. Based only on what's written in this thread, the situation went from not liking what they asked you to do to demanding a refund. Unless there's a lot more to the story, a judge might not find that a reasonable attempt on your part to solve the problem before deliberately setting out to defame them and cause economic harm.

I'm not saying you are wrong; I'm just saying that a cool head and a more dispassionate approach to the issue will likely serve you better.

You're right I was totally upset just hearing their name. Well, yesterday they called me and said they would call my mechanic and pay to ship the trans back. The problem is that they never contacted my shop to make arrangements and the FEDEX driver just showed up about 2 hrs after I got off the phone with TCI.

Now this morning I get another call and they want me to take it to Joplin, MO to one of their authorized repair facilities. After going over the pro's and con's of this new deal we decided this was a better route to go since I can get it there as fast or as slow as I decide to drive. Joplin, Mo is about a 3 hr drive, they were hit hard by a tornado about 2 months ago which destroyed the town, so I'm actually curious as to how they've rebuilt since then. If I get it there early enough they said they might be able to get it done in a couple of hrs depending on what they find.

We'll put it in my wife's Mazda3 and roll out bright and early on Tues. I'll keep you posted as to the outcome.

 

[ahunt191]

I can't speak for TCI torque converters, but I destroyed my B&M Holeshot 2400 in about a week. Piece of junk.

 

[WFOJOE]

Sales transactions are governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The consumer has the duty to make a demand, in most cases to allow the seller the opportunity to inspect and repair/rectify the problem, and to mitigate your damages. Typically you need to give the seller a "reasonable time" to remedy the issue, usually 30 days.

As for the "intent to defame" the seller, well, the truth is always an absolute defense to any defamation claim. If telling the truth hurts the seller's business, so be it. Just because you tell the truth, and it hurts the seller's business, does not mean the seller can stop you or get damages from you.

Anyway, I am glad to hear TCI is attempting to work out the situation with you.

 

[maxgig]

TCI update: After I finally got a TCI rep on the phone they opted to have me take the trans to one of their authorized repair guys close by to me here in KS. Close by turned out to be 340 miles away. I had my shop remove it again and put it in the back of my car and I left at 5am. Once there the guy took it completely apart, and found that the valves and thrust bearing were sticking badly. He said the friction plates looked like they had been driven for about 50k miles or more because they were scored real bad. There was brass shavings throughout because the shaft had scored the fitting. He did an air check and the teflon rings around the front end of the shaft would not hold pressure and fluid shot everywhere, being an authorized TCI service center he of course didn't have any spare rings so mine were cleaned and reused.

He sanded the brass part and installed new clutch plates and reassembled it. Six hrs later I was back on the road heading home. My shop put it back in and called me the next day saying that it still didn't work. Now it's going back to TCI and they promise to refund my money. We'll see how long it takes them to debit my account. After its all said and done I'll be out about $1300 in double labor charges and to have my driveshaft shortened.

In the meantime I'm going to try monster transmission out of FL. They had a AOD install featured in a magazine that I subscribe to. I called them up and they offer one for the Cougar for $1899.05, it has a 3 year unlimited mile warranty and will only take 2 wks to build. I've got some research to do so wish me luck.

 

[cougar87]

So what did you decide to do monster transmission?

 

[KJ67coyote]

I was ripped off by TCI years ago. Never do business with them. they misrepresent their products and dont stand behind them.
I bought an AOD transmission in the late 90s from them and the input output shaft broke in less than 2000 miles.
I told their people at the time of sale that I needed a transmission that would handle at least 400 HP from a 351C.
TCIs response was that their Tranny would handle anything that my cleveland would ever produce
My local transmission guy said that I needed the hardened steel shaft. I found out that they were one of the few places that carried them. They didnt even put the part in their own so called high performance transmission.
be sure to always tell everone to never buy TCI products

 

[maxgig]

So what did you decide to do monster transmission?

Actually, I didn't go with monster either. I decided to keep my business local, that way if anything went wrong I could go to a physical location and resolve it in person. A good friend at a shop I used in the past told me about certified transmission in Olathe, KS, (the shop they send their transmissions to). I visited their shop and talked to Jeff and explained exactly what I wanted my car to do. Once satisfied I had my car towed to his shop. They built me a new transmission and had it installed in about 8 days, and it only cost me $2100. They gave me a 1 year, 1200 mile warranty and I can get on it pretty hard without any worries.