A855 - 5 Speed

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I'm all for the 'kick his *** and return the trans, rectally" train of thought. Like in the movies where you show up with Zeke from the loading docks, who owes you big favor, and Zeke smacks the guy over the head with a frying pan until he coughs up the dough.

Unfortunately, real life is a bit different. When the guy is 5 states away from you, it's hard to put your hands on him. It's also hard to get blood out of a turnip....chances are extremely good the money you gave him 2 years ago is long, long gone. It's not like you're gonna dip in to the trust fund his granny left him. You could report him to the authorities, but let's not lose sight of the fact that we now live in a couuntry where if you want a new TV, you can protest one from Target with no consequences. In fact, you can blatantly commit federal crimes and no one will bother pursuing you. So I doubt Sergeant Ludowski in gonna go chase down some guy over a 4th gear issue.

Most of all....few of us have the time on our hands to chase some retard around the country. We have jobs, families, and lots of other stuff to do every day. I sure can't tell my company I'll be out for 7 days while I go to Seattle to plant a car bomb.

That's the beauty of forums like this one....word gets around and the single best way to hurt the guy is to make sure everyone knows.
 
gregcon said:
I'm all for the 'kick his *** and return the trans, rectally" train of thought. Like in the movies where you show up with Zeke from the loading docks, who owes you big favor, and Zeke smacks the guy over the head with a frying pan until he coughs up the dough.

Unfortunately, real life is a bit different. When the guy is 5 states away from you, it's hard to put your hands on him. It's also hard to get blood out of a turnip....chances are extremely good the money you gave him 2 years ago is long, long gone. It's not like you're gonna dip in to the trust fund his granny left him. You could report him to the authorities, but let's not lose sight of the fact that we now live in a couuntry where if you want a new TV, you can protest one from Target with no consequences. In fact, you can blatantly commit federal crimes and no one will bother pursuing you. So I doubt Sergeant Ludowski in gonna go chase down some guy over a 4th gear issue.

Most of all....few of us have the time on our hands to chase some retard around the country. We have jobs, families, and lots of other stuff to do every day. I sure can't tell my company I'll be out for 7 days while I go to Seattle to plant a car bomb.

That's the beauty of forums like this one....word gets around and the single best way to hurt the guy is to make sure everyone knows.
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Whilst I agree with your above post - I stand by what I said.

If people are allowed to get away with this kinda BS, then the next person that gets reamed could be your buddy. If i treated my Customers in this manner I'd have been gone a LONG time ago.

While there are 2 sides to every story, even if half of the OP's story is true - what has transpired is unacceptable.
Stuff happens, but its the way its handled that makes all the difference. Jamie's personal business dealings have nothing to do with the OP, it's what HE does (or does'nt do) to try to help HIS customer to resolve the problem.

Unfortunately this type of business practice is becoming all the more common.

Sad.
 
Everytime this thread comes to life again I dread it for half a second - once I read the new responses I am glad to know the word is still out there, and the best part - you guys are hilarious.
It's so good to get a laugh over all of this nonsense.

Just keep in mind, at any point GFI could have resolved this in an instant, and they manufacture the overdrive trans as well as a GM trans.

The all time trifecta of loser companies with no morals came together, Passon, GFI, Huff.
 
gregcon said:
I'm all for the 'kick his *** and return the trans, rectally" train of thought. Like in the movies where you show up with Zeke from the loading docks, who owes you big favor, and Zeke smacks the guy over the head with a frying pan until he coughs up the dough.

Unfortunately, real life is a bit different. When the guy is 5 states away from you, it's hard to put your hands on him. It's also hard to get blood out of a turnip....chances are extremely good the money you gave him 2 years ago is long, long gone. It's not like you're gonna dip in to the trust fund his granny left him. You could report him to the authorities, but let's not lose sight of the fact that we now live in a couuntry where if you want a new TV, you can protest one from Target with no consequences. In fact, you can blatantly commit federal crimes and no one will bother pursuing you. So I doubt Sergeant Ludowski in gonna go chase down some guy over a 4th gear issue.

Most of all....few of us have the time on our hands to chase some retard around the country. We have jobs, families, and lots of other stuff to do every day. I sure can't tell my company I'll be out for 7 days while I go to Seattle to plant a car bomb.

That's the beauty of forums like this one....word gets around and the single best way to hurt the guy is to make sure everyone knows.
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I totally agree.....it's fun to think about it though.
 
matthon said:
Yes, I seriously did consider the OD.
In fact, jtkaaa07 had one, or was it two, with the shifter, and they were both cast iron.

It had the bellhousing on it, but it was for a small block. He had a friend with a big block bell for it that wasn't ready to let it go, iirc the bb bells actually came in trucks. I'm not sure how readily available the bb bells are, but I couldn't find another one.

I found 2 trans locally, within 4 hrs drive, both with shifters, one cast, one aluminum, both with sb bells, $500 and $900.

An OD and the associated parts, probable rebuild or at a minimum refresh, was beginning to balloon in $ and time.

I've also found concerns about the amount of power, hp or torque, both were referred to, that an OD can take. I didn't take this part very far, so I'm not convinced either way, but it's a 383 that's up there and the plan is to go a little more.

There is a company that sells the gear set to convert an A833 to OD, or a complete OD, however it's sold by you know who and made by you know the other who. In addition, there was the fbbo member who just got one, questioned a 2nd gear noise, and was told nothing to see here. I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound correct.
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I have one of these OD transmissions and it sounds like an old truck. After three trips, including a smashed crate, to GFI and one to Passons and more money from me no one can fix it
 
ns1aar said:
After three trips, including a smashed crate, to GFI and one to Passons and more money from me no one can fix it
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Completely absolutely 100% believable.
Send a certified letter, itemize your out of pocket, state a timeframe for a response and a resolution.

The letter I sent was not via a lawyer, but if I had to do it over I would have asked the lawyer to review my letter, put it on their letterhead, and be ready to file the day after the deadline set forth in the letter, just to save additional time, bs, finger pointing, and crying on their part.
I believe I posted my letter here.

Iirc, Pennsylvania allows you to file a civil claim for up to $12k and it can include damages, but verify. Not all states allow that amount or damages.

If they had any decency or business acumen, they would immediately offer a refund at the slightest problem, and leave that option on the table throughout the warranty process, or stop production completely until there is a definitive resolution to the ongoing chronic issues.

Apparently you can stay in business as long as a percentage of customers are satisfied or fooled, and the rest are screwed and written off as the cost of business.
 
There is much more to the 855 story but it is not my place to explain it in here.
It's not the best situation for a product that really improvises the old car's driveability and bolts in directly without fuss. The other product is garbage and requires cutting.

I am unable to determine based on the posts who owes who, if the op is owed money it is not abundantly clear as to why.

If anyone out there has significant funds you can buy out the the project and fix it's woes. If you don't want an 855 try 3.23's or 2.94's with a 2.66 1st gear ratio 4 sp
 
SixPaksRule said:
There is much more to the 855 story but it is not my place to explain it in here.
It's not the best situation for a product that really improvises the old car's driveability and bolts in directly without fuss. The other product is garbage and requires cutting.

I am unable to determine based on the posts who owes who, if the op is owed money it is not abundantly clear as to why.

If anyone out there has significant funds you can buy out the the project and fix it's woes. If you don't want an 855 try 3.23's or 2.94's with a 2.66 1st gear ratio 4 sp
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The other product is garbage and requires cutting. More like the Tremic transmissions are awesome but they do require cutting.
 
Dartsun said:
The other product is garbage and requires cutting. More like the Tremic transmissions are awesome but they do require cutting.
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exactly.. i'd rather know going in (my decision if buying) that i'll be cutting to make it fit then dropping all that money on a bolt in and finding out after the fact that its a pile of **** with no support after purchase.
 
SixPaksRule said:
There is much more to the 855 story but it is not my place to explain it in here.
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Why not? If you have more knowledge, spill it!
I see you are brand-new to the forum... welcome.

It's not the best situation for a product that really improvises the old car's driveability and bolts in directly without fuss. The other product is garbage and requires cutting.
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What "other product"? Gear Vendors? hardly garbage, but not the best solution for everyone either.

I am unable to determine based on the posts who owes who, if the op is owed money it is not abundantly clear as to why.
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Read the whole thread, it's pretty clear to everyone else. He spent six grand, received a transmission that won't stay in 4th, and got the run around for a year.

If anyone out there has significant funds you can buy out the the project and fix it's woes
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.
Being a smartass is not going to help. Makes you sound like a shill for Passon.

If you don't want an 855 try 3.23's or 2.94's with a 2.66 1st gear ratio 4 sp
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I had 3.23's behind an A833 years ago (mild 383), and it worked fine.
Remember, the whole point of the 855 is to have an overdrive gear without cutting... :rolleyes:
 
"I am unable to determine based on the posts who owes who, if the op is owed money it is not abundantly clear as to why."

I don't know, I read all 13 pages and it's pretty clear to me that the OP is in the right and was owed a refund for the complete mess he had to deal with.
 
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Without fuss?

I can think of some fuss:
  • You need a bfh to clearance the floor Clarence for the speedo cable - minor fuss.
  • It's billed as a 5 speed, yet they couldn't produce one in a year that had a working 4th - major fuss.
  • Garrett-Fuss Inc. are a bunch of shady no good criminals who would not honor their own warranty, return emails or calls, or honor their commitments to make it right - colossal fuss.
 
Anyone got any info on these? Thinking of getting one.
 
wow, I can't believe I just read this sad, pathetic, ginormous thread.
I know it's too late at this point, and I'm not a super-experienced manual transmission mechanic, but I'd like to offer a suggestion.
I think the video with the open-end wrench shifting the 3-4 shift was telling. I think I would have pulled the trans, secured it to a bench & by wrench-shifting, "fully" shifted it into 4th, then carefully pulled the side cover to see if the gear is FULLY engaged, then ACCURATELY measured the fork "handle" pins distance, and then check the distance between the holes in the interlocking levers to see if they agree. Then I would manually move the 3-4 slider back and forth to make absolutely sure the slider was fully seated in 4th gear, and remeasure the distance between the fork handle pins. The distance should be very consistent, provided the "rocker" struts are undamaged and working properly. My gut suspicion is that there is some imprecision in the machining of the side cover and/or detent levers if the struts are ok.
I would also replace the cover & wrench shift it to the "3-1/2" gear position, carefully remove the side cover and repeat the above procedures, and maybe something will become apparent.
 
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