Well, I discovered yet one more issue as a result of hiring a guy who, though had the best intentions, had little idea of what he was doing. To some, sadly, the term 'old school' means 'old crap'.
The last area that was left to replace/rework from the one year plus time that he had my truck was the tranny (all other areas have all been replaced, reworked and/or redone by professionals - at huge cost (yes, I paid for my truck overhaul MORE than twice as a result of my ignorance and allowing someone who was completely unqualified work on my truck).
Two weeks ago, that chicken came home to roost and the tranny let go. I called my friends at Fat Man Fabrications and they recommended a hot rod leaning tranny shop locally. The guys at AFFORDABLE TRANSMISSIONS in Charlotte, NC did a fantastic job and were very reasonable. Once they opened the unit up, nearly every part in it was found to be old, worn out and in general, crap. I paid for a new tranny and got a piece of junk. Some of the gears even had deep rust on them that could only have been collected by sitting out in a field somewhere for months on end in the weather! The technician said he had seen less wear on trannys that had 200K miles on them (my truck has 16650 miles since the build completion).
Once again, guys I can't say this often enough....seek out and pay for professionals. IF you want a vehicle that you can drive, depend on and enjoy, don't do what I did and put your trust in someone who is not certified and licensed!
After five years of nightmare, enormous cost and almost endless heartache, I now FINALLY have a vehicle I depend on and drive every day but it was PROFESSIONALS that made it that way, not some fly by night 'old school' guy who claimed (and actually believed) they knew what they are doing.
Nine times out of ten, they don't!
