So choose a different builder if you are nervous. There's a bunch of feedback out there.
CK Performance Full Billet 2004r
- Thread starter Michael Bradley
- Start date
Matthew Jones
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2013
It's not that easy, as I have a bunch of CK-sourced parts from building my own trans that has the same issue that many are posting on this board. Using another builder would mean I have a pile of parts I can't use.
86 MCSS NA
Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2013
Just a little update since I finally got the chance to drive my car after spending a bunch of time on trying to fix the leaks. I'm sure it's just a matter of time and my 3rd(drive) will prove to be a failure. Right now I notice the shift isn't quite as firm as 1,2, and OD and I notice the trans seems to slip slightly right after the shift into 3rd. I hope the trans allows me to drive my car throughout the summer and I plan to bite the bullet and remove the trans and pay $261 for shipping one way back to CK and have them correct it (if they even can). I really have no choice. As much as I wish I would have went with another builder, I am already 'stuck' with CK.
I am not trying to beat a dead horse here. I just think it would be nice that others who get convinced by random internet forum members that CK Performance is the go to place for 2004R transmissions get to read the fact that not everyone gets what they paid for and they should check their options a little better before spending all their money on something that they may be disappointed in. Maybe CK does offer good parts for someone who wants to build their own transmission. I'm not convinced that they can rebuild a transmission correctly though.
I am not trying to beat a dead horse here. I just think it would be nice that others who get convinced by random internet forum members that CK Performance is the go to place for 2004R transmissions get to read the fact that not everyone gets what they paid for and they should check their options a little better before spending all their money on something that they may be disappointed in. Maybe CK does offer good parts for someone who wants to build their own transmission. I'm not convinced that they can rebuild a transmission correctly though.
On my behalf I will add that I sent you 2 transmissions and both were in car tested.After installation in your car both failed and were returned to me with all of the bushings in the transmissioon spun out. I paid shipping both ways back and forth and gave you a free cooler and the problem was solved,until your stock driveshaft blew out on the dyno so I am guessing you feel that is my fault as well. It seems it has proven unfortunate for the both of us.
I have not sold any 200 3 speed servos in quite some time, if you enjoy the Sonnax servo I am happy you have found something that works.
Our company installed a defective pan on your transmission or it was damaged during shipping.Pans in good condition are a rarity now and to avoid this in the future I will add the cost of a new pan to the transmisions we sell so thanks for the criticism. I did send you gaskets and offered to have the pan replaced by a local transmission shop at my expense . This was my only means of rectifying the problem and you have not contacted me about having it done.
If your servo leaks and you installed it did you ever think you could have ripped the seal putting it in?
No the drive shaft failing im not blaming you for.... Why would i!?
The trans i took out that got the bell housing broke off ALSO had bushings worn pretty bad that were on their way out... The clearances were loose in the direct drum AND the direct clutches were already about smoked and were black and the list of issues goes on and on. I i can get you pictures etc if you need them just LMK.... I documented this. The trans that was in the car wouldn't have lasted ONE track session if it wouldn't have got the bell housing blown off by my drive shaft breaking on my dyno and i had made it to the track to run some 8th mile passes. AND to top it all off it never shifted right... none of them did. All of them tried to shift at 6-6100 rpm on 1-2 and about 5800 on 2-3 shift when shift points were supposed to be 5400 area. And heck that depended on if it was the first time it shifted that day or if the trans had done a WOT shift a couple times.... Shift points were all over the place and after seeing the governor that came out of the trans i can see why..... I have your manual btw and either its off or who ever built it was off...You tell me on that one....
Yes you did send me 2 trannys after the initial one wasn't right and went out and honestly you should have as BOTH were NOT right and neither was the final one. I spent a total of about 3500$ on this ordeal and have nothing to show for it but an empty wallet. Had to build me a new trans and buy parts etc to do so as well as A LOT of research and very valuable information and help from a very highly respected trans builder especially in the Buick world and the 2004R platform... SO im out that $ too as i should have got a good tranny the first time around and i did not get that, plain and simple... nore the 2nd time around and the 3rd trans wasn't right either before the drive shaft did its thing..... Nothing on my car was causing this either as the original trans the car had lived a good life even being tracked etc and it wasn't all billet parts and built for an advertised 800HP...
Please answer a question for me honestly. Do YOU build these trannys or do you have guys working for you building trannys? As i would hope you would know how to build one of these pretty well by now. This was not the case with 3 i got from you though.... Maybe you are not to blame but a shop hand not doing what he should have is to blame? All i know is what ive been through, the money i spent and what i found inside the transmission i took apart.
86 MCSS NA
Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2013
In my case, I ended up having leaks in 3 different areas (the pan, the electrical plug, and the servo). Wouldn't one of these leaks show themselves during the in car test? My shift points are right where I want them to be and what I consider to be normal for a transmission that I have been running a stock version of for the past 7 years in two different vehicles. I admit, I am NOT a transmission guru which is why I spent $2479.35 to get a professionally built transmission. Looking past the leaks, there are still things that are alarming to my unprofessional eye(maybe I am wrong, IDK?) like:
(1)The amount of brass colored shavings in the trans fluid.(normal?)
(2)The filter was loosely fitting which I noticed the moment I intially dropped the pan and appeared to be installed with a scuffed up somehow (the ribs were worn out looking and couldn't hold the filter tube properly) new(?) or used orange colored seal on the filter tube which I immediately replaced with a brand new one and doing so fixed the filter from it's loose/floppy feel.
(3)The transmission seems great in 1 and 2 but when it shifts into drive it is clearly not as definite/firm feeling as 1,2 and even though the OD shift is firm/definite. The trans just seems 'lazy' to settle into 3rd(D). I can see the tach drop ~400 rpm~ a few seconds after the 2-3(D) shift everytime and I can feel what seems to me as being a 'slip'. Neither one of the 2 stock 2004r's I ran in 2 different cars ever did this(?)
(4)Under WOT the transmission violently slams back/forth between Drive and OD until I let out of the throttle. Again, I have never found this to be a problem in either of the 2 other 2004r's I have driven for thousands of miles so I am guessing that the transmission shouldn't be doing this(?)
As far as the leaks Chris, I'll admit that it definitely initially bummed me out. ~Maybe~ the pan somehow got slammed during shipment(?) (the plastic strapping to the crate was still tight and appeared to be quite secure when I received transmission) and ~maybe~ the electrical connection got bumped during shipping(?) BUT I really don't see how a servo could leak for a customer and not for someone who has tested the trans before shipment.
The leaks are now fixed and to be honest I did feel alot better after you did in fact offer to find someone "local" to me to fix the leaks. But unfortunately, I wanted to avoid having to drive XX amount of miles, miss a day of work/pay, and wonder if after driving somewhere I wouldn't be able to get the trans leaks immediately fixed and would have to leave the car/find a way home so I chose to just attempt to fix the leaks myself which ultimately I suceeded in.
As far as my "criticism" causing you to have to increase the price of your transmissions, I'm really not sure how to respond to that. I'm guessing that a customer will be much happier to receive a transmission that doesn't leak from various spots from the first day they install it though, so maybe that would be for the better? IMO, it wasn't so much the pan as it was the gaskets (which I replaced with [much better to me, anyways] black/rubber ones made by felpro and only $9.99 each (my "average person"/nondiscounted price) so maybe that would be a better alternative than a ~$260~ increase in price for an aftermarket pan(?)
In closing, believe me I would much rather NOT have any issue(s) to criticise you about after spending what >to me< is alot of money on an investment to my car that at this point I don't feel very secure in. It definitely has me wondering when/if the transmission I hoped would last me quite a while will fail. At this point, I now feel that I have wore out my welcome with CK Performance even though everything I have posted in this thread is exactly the way I experienced it and nothing that I feel is untruthful or a blatant lie.
I tend to question the same thing as Blevins and wonder exactly who is building the transmissions a customer receives. I thought my transmission was being built by a very knowledgeable guy named Chris at CK Performance(?)
I have also read different claims on various forums on the web of people not finding everything that was supposed to be included in their transmission. If this transmission does in fact end up needing opened up by a neutral/knowledgeable transmission shop in the future, I surely hope that doesn't prove to be the case. I guess I will cross that bridge when/if I have to.
(1)The amount of brass colored shavings in the trans fluid.(normal?)
(2)The filter was loosely fitting which I noticed the moment I intially dropped the pan and appeared to be installed with a scuffed up somehow (the ribs were worn out looking and couldn't hold the filter tube properly) new(?) or used orange colored seal on the filter tube which I immediately replaced with a brand new one and doing so fixed the filter from it's loose/floppy feel.
(3)The transmission seems great in 1 and 2 but when it shifts into drive it is clearly not as definite/firm feeling as 1,2 and even though the OD shift is firm/definite. The trans just seems 'lazy' to settle into 3rd(D). I can see the tach drop ~400 rpm~ a few seconds after the 2-3(D) shift everytime and I can feel what seems to me as being a 'slip'. Neither one of the 2 stock 2004r's I ran in 2 different cars ever did this(?)
(4)Under WOT the transmission violently slams back/forth between Drive and OD until I let out of the throttle. Again, I have never found this to be a problem in either of the 2 other 2004r's I have driven for thousands of miles so I am guessing that the transmission shouldn't be doing this(?)
As far as the leaks Chris, I'll admit that it definitely initially bummed me out. ~Maybe~ the pan somehow got slammed during shipment(?) (the plastic strapping to the crate was still tight and appeared to be quite secure when I received transmission) and ~maybe~ the electrical connection got bumped during shipping(?) BUT I really don't see how a servo could leak for a customer and not for someone who has tested the trans before shipment.
The leaks are now fixed and to be honest I did feel alot better after you did in fact offer to find someone "local" to me to fix the leaks. But unfortunately, I wanted to avoid having to drive XX amount of miles, miss a day of work/pay, and wonder if after driving somewhere I wouldn't be able to get the trans leaks immediately fixed and would have to leave the car/find a way home so I chose to just attempt to fix the leaks myself which ultimately I suceeded in.
As far as my "criticism" causing you to have to increase the price of your transmissions, I'm really not sure how to respond to that. I'm guessing that a customer will be much happier to receive a transmission that doesn't leak from various spots from the first day they install it though, so maybe that would be for the better? IMO, it wasn't so much the pan as it was the gaskets (which I replaced with [much better to me, anyways] black/rubber ones made by felpro and only $9.99 each (my "average person"/nondiscounted price) so maybe that would be a better alternative than a ~$260~ increase in price for an aftermarket pan(?)
In closing, believe me I would much rather NOT have any issue(s) to criticise you about after spending what >to me< is alot of money on an investment to my car that at this point I don't feel very secure in. It definitely has me wondering when/if the transmission I hoped would last me quite a while will fail. At this point, I now feel that I have wore out my welcome with CK Performance even though everything I have posted in this thread is exactly the way I experienced it and nothing that I feel is untruthful or a blatant lie.
I tend to question the same thing as Blevins and wonder exactly who is building the transmissions a customer receives. I thought my transmission was being built by a very knowledgeable guy named Chris at CK Performance(?)
I have also read different claims on various forums on the web of people not finding everything that was supposed to be included in their transmission. If this transmission does in fact end up needing opened up by a neutral/knowledgeable transmission shop in the future, I surely hope that doesn't prove to be the case. I guess I will cross that bridge when/if I have to.
robzombie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2012
^^^^It sure is^^^^ and it will hurt you more if these allegations are true.
I'm still waiting for him to explain the lack of billet parts paid for but missing from the trans.. If others find the same issues with their units [not built as advertised] he may in fact end up with some law suits on his hands at worst, and he will lose all TB business at best.
This is a small community and word gets out fast. I almost went with him for a trans also, but thank god he didn't answer the phone and I did some research on the board before he actually returned my call which was over a week later.
I thank everyone on the board for speaking out and bringing to light their experiances with this and other vendors as well good and bad. I know these are tough times for all of us.
We want the best product for the money we spend and the suppliers have a challenge to meet that with a quality product and still be able to make money.
Things happen that are sometimes out of the builders control and they have to eat it [shipping and more new parts] making getting it right the first time more profitable for both parties involved.
If you have a 50% profit margin per unit and that unit needs to go back to be fixed more than once, you just lost all your profit and now it will cost you money to do business and the doors won't stay open long if that continues.
One thing that has me worried is that there is misrepresentation on the parts installed on certain build levels. If you pay for billet parts and don't receive them, that is outright theft and I hope that isn't the case.
I hope that he can get this behind him with either admitting his fault and moving forward or defending his actions to prove he has done no wrong. The 2004r builders out there are getting smaller all the time.
If he can't defend against these allegations his business will fail, and will show why capitalism still works.
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2008
I know where not to go to get tranny work done!!
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I gave CK many many chances to get my trans right and it never happened. Now im out A LOT of $.... I honestly feel as if i should be paid back at least some of my hard earned $ at the least.....
If mistakes are made then you must make them right especially being a business owner... If not then don't plan to be in business very long... I know first hand as i own my own business and i would never put a customer through what i have been put through or id be out of work!! Mistakes happen and making it right might cost you some $ but it will save you A LOT of $ in the long run when you are still in business and have people wanting to buy your product instead of steering far and clear from you.
If mistakes are made then you must make them right especially being a business owner... If not then don't plan to be in business very long... I know first hand as i own my own business and i would never put a customer through what i have been put through or id be out of work!! Mistakes happen and making it right might cost you some $ but it will save you A LOT of $ in the long run when you are still in business and have people wanting to buy your product instead of steering far and clear from you.
robzombie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2012
^^^^AHMEN!!!^^^^
I owned a business before moving south and being honest and taking it on the chin is what made me grow and also stay in business.
It just sucks to see someone in the TR community go down the toilet after dedicating so much time and hard work building a good reputation watch it evaporate this quickly..
RZ
Every 2004R unit is built by me.I have a crew that installs every unit on the dyno and in the test car and the pressure are never off when they leave,ever. The pan used for testing comes off as the unit is removed from the car as it has a cutout for acess to the governor so we can tune it in.We have very bad access to good pans as the trans cores can be 20 to 30 years old. I am certain we did not ship you 3 bad transmissions and if we did we would have replaced the third one. I am sure all of the billet parts were installed in your unit as well as some items that we do not list on the site.EDIT.COM our website editing company has gone under and we can not edit material but are having a new site built. As for changes in builds we do not offer new pumps or aluminum direct pistons as we no longer have access to them but can not edit content. We use only special frictions in the hi gear and the Alto wide band as advertised.Some are puzzled as to why we do not install the signal oil pipe anymore or the accumulator housing but that is part of the build,I am not going to get into the specifics of it or what else has been modified to allow the use or delete of these items.I am happy with how we do things here and and not going to change the procedure except will now use our new pans on every build and pay more attention to keeping things from leaking. If anyone has a complaint and wants it resolved they can either call me to discuss it or I can not be of any further assistance here.
