2004R won't downshift into 1st at stop

[Blevins]

I hope so too! Id hate to see anyone go through multiple trannys like i did. Gets pricey just putting fluid and filters in em and cleaning everything out like lines and changing coolers etc...

 

[86 MCSS NA]

I really do hear ya man not to mention the time spent that really shouldn't exsist by either party.

 

[86 MCSS NA]

I was hoping to have the transmission corrected and back to me at this point so I could get my daily driver up and running again, but it seems it will be at least another 2 weeks before that will be possible. The shipping company (DHL) picked up the transmission on 6/14/2013 and after about 10 days I decided to call and see what CK had found out. They hadn't even recieved the transmission yet and it seemed to be MIA according to DHL. This was on Monday, 6/24 and I was informed by Chris that even if it wasn't found and although apparently nobody put any insurance on the transmission he would still build me another if it didn't turn up. On Thursday, 6/27 I was contacted and told the transmission was found and was going to be dropped off at CK by the end of that day. On Tuesday, 7/2 I decided to call CK and at least get a feel for when I ~may~ be getting the transmission back but due to the holiday (July 4th) Chris wasn't going to be in the shop all week. So now I am hoping that ALOT happens in the next coming buisness week and the transmission will be corrected and on its way back to me by July 12th. I knew/figured my car would be crippled for at least a month, but I guess now that it will be at least closer to 1 1/2 months.
The fact that the transmission was lost by the shipper for 2 weeks doesn't help along with the holiday that I didn't realize would add yet another 9 days lost/nothing being done to the transmission

I can only PRAY that once I get the transmission back it is 100% corrected/working as it should so I can finally enjoy driving my car in what is already a short driving season in NW Pa.

Wish me luck......

 

[Blevins]

Good luck! Hope it all works out for you... i know u haven't had the best of time with ur trans and i can relate.

 

[86 MCSS NA]

Still waiting for a transmission to be shipped to me from CK Performance.

 

[longball]

Dang! What did CK say the problem was?

 

[86 MCSS NA]

I couldn't even get Chris on the phone to ask him. He is just that busy right now, I guess. It seemed no problem at all to get him on the phone up until the transmission completely failed and I had to send it back. If they don't make ANY effort to get ahold of me today, I am going to HAVE to start the refund process. Summer is too damn short to waste 1/2 of it on a plenty expensive but completely faulty transmission and a company that seems great at avoiding it's customers when it doesn't want to talk to them.

 

[longball]

Damn, that stinks! Summer is too short up here in the North East, I hope you get it all fixed and get some cruisin' time in this summer!

As far as CK goes, you are singing the same song I've heard too many times on this site!

 

[Blevins]

As far as CK goes, you are singing the same song I've heard too many times on this site!

AMEN!

 

[86 MCSS NA]

I left a message at 7 am this morning about how I HAVE to talk to someone from CK Performance TODAY! and of course I never got a phone call so at lunch time I decided to call again. Got to talk to Chris this time finally and he said my trans is tested but still in the test vehicle. He is short on help this week I guess and it is too hot (weather) to get it out. I am done waiting. I have waited 34 days now since I shipped the transmission to them. It got lost in the shipping process somehow so it was MIA for about 13 days and didn't get to CK until 6/27/2013. Either way, they have had my transmission for 3 weeks while I sit and wait for what I was told would be a 2 to 3 day turn around. If my transmission doesn't ship tommorow, I want my money back. Considering he has money wrapped up in shipping the faulty trans back to his shop and would definitely lose money at this point if he has to refund my money, you'd think that would be enough motivation to get someone to take an hour of their time and remove the trans especially considering having a garage HAS to make the job ALOT easier no matter how hot it is. I know I would have no problem installing it if only I had it laying in my driveway like I always do.

I know I am done waiting. I've already wasted 1/2 of the driving season due to this transmission

 

[Blevins]

I went through 3 trannys he couldn't get right when my car was on a stock bottom end making only 550WHP with his full billet roller build that is advertised to handle 800whp... The last one had 100 miles on it when my driveshaft broke and cracked the case so it had to come apart. It wasn't shifting correctly the entire time i had it and just wasn't right... did all kinds of funky things... even had the problem with it not dropping into 1st gear like your trans. He said he would switch it all to my BR trans i had here thats the original trans for the car. Needless to say after 3 trannys he couldn't seem to get right i wasn't going to give them anymore chances. So i took it to a long time friend of mine that built my 48RE in my truck that holds 1300WTQ like its its job and that was instructed by the man himself and that gave us help as we put it together "Vince Janice" and found smoked clutches in direct after only 100 miles of street driving and 1 dyno pull. Clearances were all over the place, parts that were listed on the site that were supposed to be in my trans wasn't!! I could go on and on..... Basically i got taken for 3500$ IMHO. Lesson learned.... Now i have a trans in my car that shifts on the dot every time and hasn't gave me any issues thus far. If you need help with yours i would be glad to help you. Just shoot me a PM! I feel your pain brother i have been there unfortunately...

 

[Steve V]

This sucks...

 

[fty_swede]

Did you get your transmission back? Does it work good?
My CK built 200-4r works ok, but I have only used it for 300 miles. A few things I don't like is the very hard 1-2 shift at light load and very sloppy 2-3 shift. It also shifts at 3900rpm WOT even though Chris promised me WOT shifts at 6500 rpm...

I wont deal with CK again either.

 

[Blevins]

WOT shift at 3900RPM!? Are u serious?? WOW Another great trans from CK!!

On a serious note, im sorry to hear that you are going through what too many people have gone through and are going through.

 

[86 MCSS NA]

After my last post in this thread (7/18/2013) I did get confirmation from Chris that a transmission was being shipped and it did on 7/19/2013. It arrived at my work on 7/25/2013 but it had been destroyed by DHL during the shipping process A HUGE chunk of the bellhousing was missing and the transmission was cracked completely through the case just behind the bellhousing area. I immediately called Chris to make sure I made the proper steps in refusing the transmission while the delivery guy was standing there. At that time, Chris said he would build yet another transmission starting on monday since he was getting ready to leave town for a couple days. This was on Thursday, and Chris did make good on getting another transmission quickly built starting on Monday 7/29/2013 and shipped on Friday 8/2/2013. I received the transmission on Wednesday 8/7/2013 and got it installed after work that same night. I wanted to get Chris on the phone to explain to me EXACTLY how he wanted me to set up the TV cable even though this is something I confidently can say I know how to do at this point. I wasn't able to get in contact with Chris Thursday or Friday after a few phone attempts, so Friday after work I decided I didn't want to wait any longer and set the TV cable correctly confirmed by taking pressure readings and calmly driving the car to ensure everything checked out. Shifts were right as they should be and pressures were right where they should be although I immediately noticed the same 2-3 shift scenerio as the last trans. Under light throttle which would show pressure to be about 175 psi at shift transitions, I noticed the 1-2 shift was very firm just as the last transmission, but the 2-3 shift doesn't seem to be quite as firm as the 1-2 or even the 3-4 shift. Also, the transmission (to me) seems as if it doesn't fully 'engage' into 3rd until a few seconds after the shift takes place. This is notice by both a drop in engine speed by about 300-400 RPMs by watching the tach and also noticed by listening to the engine. This really concerns me so I left a message at CK for Chris to give me a call ASAP. He called this morning and after I explained to him the pressures I am seeing and at what times and he felt that they were right where they should be and the TV cable seems to be set correctly. As far as the weird (to me) 2-3 shift scenerio, I was told that it sounded normal operation for a transmission build such as this although both of the stock 2004Rs I have driven in the past didn't operate like this.
I will take Chris's word that what I am noticing isn't going to cause premature clutch wear/failure since I am obviously not a transmission specialist.
At this point in time I plan to continue driving the car as much as I can with what little driving season that I have left and am very hopeful that the transmission continues to work as it should before I have to park the car for the year due to winter. By the time I get the car out next year, my 1 year transmission warranty will be expired so I anticipate the next 3 months/~2400 miles~ will prove to be uneventful and I can finally rest my mind and enjoy driving my summer daily driver

 

[86 MCSS NA]

Just wanted to add one last post to this thread to serve as my conclusion. After less than 100 miles were put on the transmission, I started noticing a weird sound right before/during shift transitions which reminded me of a 'bullet ricochet' sound. I know that sounds pretty generic, but that is the best way to describe it. It sounded like extreme pressure being amplified by passing through a small orfice every time the transmission would shift through any gear, with the 1-2 shift being the loudest. I talked to Chris and he didn't think this was anything to worry about although once again this is a sound that I have never heard a transmission make before(?). I continued to drive the car for a couple more weeks, and about another 400-500 miles and the sound slowly became less apparent. During those 400-500 miles I finally made it to the drag strip, which was a goal that I started to wonder would ever be possible with all the mishaps this driving season presented. I got to run 4 times that day, and after my first pass I was stopped by the track official on my way back to the pits who informed me that the official at the start line noticed a few drops of transmission fluid on the track. He told me to see what I could do about fixing it or I wouldn't be allowed to run again. I jacked the car up, and once again (just like the first transmission) I noticed the servo was leaking fluid. Also, the shift lever/shaft appeard to also be leaking. I cleaned everything up as good as I could and got to run 3 more times without anyone noticing fluid leaking. I ran a best time of 13.30 @ 103.36 MPH on my street tires that I drove to the track on. The transmission was shifting into 3rd too early at about 5000 RPMs which is about 500 RPMs lower than the 1-2 shift. I believe I could have manually shifted the car and got a slightly better ET by allowing the motor to rev a little higher before the 2-3 shift, but I was winning rounds in the trophy class so I didn't want to change anything from my previous runs to stay consistant. I did end up winning the trophy class that night which was a great feeling considering all the heartache that I had to endure this year because of my transmission issues. That was on Saturday, 8/24/2013. Two days later on my way to work at 6:50 AM an 84 year old man pulled directly out in front of me at an intersection which resulted in my car being totaled
Unfortunately, I will never get the chance to see if this transmission would have lasted during the warranty period which will expire in Feburary of 2014.
After a month went by since the last transmission was shipped, I was contacted by CK Performance asking if the container that the transmission was shipped in could be returned although at no point in time during several phone conversations did anyone from CK Performance ever mention that they would need the container back (an old Ford AOD black plastic crate/container), so after a couple weeks of it sitting on my porch I threw it in the dumpster at work. Also, I was asked to provide the pictures I took of the 2nd transmission that arrived damaged. This is something I already provided via email almost 2 months earlier, but I'm not really surprised considering I have never managed to get CK Performance to respond to any email I have sent in the past.
At some point after I decide what route I will take in obtaining another vehicle to put my motor out of my 86 MCSS in, I will then try to have someone in my area go through the transmission I got from CK Performance and determine if it is worthy of installing in another vehicle or wheter it would be best to just try and salvage whatever performance oriented parts (like the billet forward drum I believe should be installed, the CK Performance valvebody, and CK Performance servo, etc) and have them used in the present 2004R after having all the leaks corrected and clutches examined for any premature wear/etc or just to go with my initial plan of installing a manual transmission which will probably prove to cause alot less headaches in the future.

 

[olds403]

Man...that is one of the most gut wrenching stories...wow. Just stunned. Glad you are ok. Sorry about the car.
On another note, spmething must be wrong with CK's email as I tried to email three tomes this week on three different email addresses and all came back. My dad had aol and he finally canceled them as he used them for our old work address.

Might try to build the trans yourself. Video and the book is what i used. The hard part is finding all the parts. Takes time to get them all.

 

[Blevins]

I've got a guy that will build that trans ONCE and it will be done for a very long time.... Especially at the power your throwing at it! Just get with me he doesn't over charge and has A LOT of experience with these. Builds a GREAT trans!!