Phobos84

I am looking at getting a new tranny. I am looking at a Bowtie Overdrive stage 3. I know some one will tell me about a bad expierence they have had with them. Every tranny shop has a bad rep. It is just the nature of the beast. Anyone have any good stories about Bowtie? I like the concept of there warranty and they are giving me a great deal on a 2200 stall converter. They also say this thing will handle almost 600 lb ft of torque.

86VETTEMAN

How much they selling it for? A company called Raptor has one that handles over 600 lb. of torque and costs around $1500-$1600.

Phobos84

$1600 including the converter and install kit that includes perssure and heat gage. Oh and that also includes shipping to my door from So Cal. to PA

ex-gold87

You might want to ask them about the warranty. I talked to them about 2 weeks ago and I was told if they did not install it there was NO warranty.

Phobos84

They told me it was one year after the date of install. But I would have to get pressure and temp readings and phone them in. That way they can compare them to what it did in there shop car.

drive it

Well.....if you're only looking for good stories....it's your money.......
But next time I'll go with probuilt!!!

Phobos84

Why what happened with your Bowtie?

86Pacecar

Not saying the deal on the tranny is bad because the price sounds good. However if you have any warranty issues the cost of shipping and the length of time to get the work done might cause you more frustration than it is worth. Good luck.

Phobos84

Well the way I see it, I don't have any good tranny shops anyware near me. Any transmition I have ever seen built from any of the local redneck shops in my area only last about a year and only come with 6 month warranty. That and the cheapest factory spec rebuild I can find is $1800. That is just a rebuild not a whole tranny. So really my only option is to order one. I think most people will agree that TCI stuff is junk. I have never heard a good story about them. B&M make a good one but its strenth is close to a stock tranny. After looking, the ones from Raptor are too expensive and Art Carr seems to be having problems as of late. So I guess my only option is Bowtie. I guess I'll never know untill I try one.

drive it

Well....the short version....first rebld-and this is after I told them to do every upgrade, I'm more than willing to pay the extra; it lasted less than a year.
That was after several problems with the install (both reblds)-pulled apart the shift cable, pinched the wire to the egr switch, pulled apart the tc wires, etc. etc.-All of which I had to fix....
Then Steve the owner said he would rebuild it this once under warranty, but then no more warranty-because of my driving up and down the mtn where I live overheats it! I had them put a trans temp gauge on it-pan temp would hit 220 or so up the hill, then drop back to 160 to 170 at cruise. He became very argumentative and copped a "tude".
Now this is with a be cool radiator with the truck trans cooler in it and an additional b&m trans cooler also and dual 11 spal fans-and before the sc. He said something was wrong with the be cool rad!!!
I'd also asked for and paid for a higher stall convertor...didn't get it.
After the rebuild I had him add another temp sensor on the outgoing line just before the rad. Now pan temp hardly gets to 155 and outgoing line temp will hit 220 or so up the hill-so what was different with the first build that he swore was OK????
I do have to give this rebuild credit for still being alive-however all the crap I had to put up with from Steve to deal with the problems just isn't worth it.
I've since been talking to and buying a few parts from Pro Built-he's always helpfull and will explain things without getting the least bit defensive. Also I havn't heard anything but good about pro built over at third gen....so that's why I say the next tranny will be from them. Their # is 1-800-776-3288 if you want to talk to them.
And yes Steve at bowtie talks a great show at first...but after he has your money things change.....


[Modified by drive it, 11:39 PM 3/12/2003]

vader86

Yeah i talked to them once, sounded very reassuring.

But its a fair bet that there are only a few QUALITY tranny builders in the US, and they prolly aint one of them

Which is why i was looking at a TH400 with a Gear Vendors OD the hardest.

neverendingproject

i cant speak from my own personal experience, but i have heard only good about level 10. they advertise 650lb.ft of torque handling . they are a few hundred dollars higher , but if it lasts it would be worth it.