BEWARE OF P.A.T.C!!!! (Performance automotive trans)

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06-05-2014, 03:33 PM

LiftedLS3

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BEWARE OF P.A.T.C!!!! (Performance automotive trans)

Well, this is my terrible experience with the company of PATC. It started out last July as I wanted to purchase a built to the max 4l80e for my swap in my 2008 nnbs silverado with a crate motor and nitrous. I had dealt with Nathan right off the hop and seemed more than friendly and wanting to get my trans built to meet my application. After I ordered up the trans, with all the bells and whistles I had received it 2 weeks later in a crate. When I opened up the crate I had discovered that one of the ears of the bellhousing was cracked and fell off when we took the trans out of the crate ( this did not look like shipping damage as the trans was very secure in the crate). Least of my worries, I tig welded the piece back on and continued on. I then opened up the box that contained all of the misc parts for the swap and discovered that the wiring harness for the swap was not sent and was on the invoice and shipping manifest. (Another screw up on their part).

On to the installation...
After a ton of phone calls regarding the crank spacer they had sent with the swap, and numerous convertor to flexplate fitment issues we then took matters into our own hands and machined the spacer. Would have been nice if they told us this was needed for the swap....

So now we get it all bolted in, files downloaded, pins swapped on the tcm and get it going in the truck. Everything seems to be working awesome. After 2 weeks of the trans in the truck I had noticed when the convertor unlocked it would create a ton of heat and my trans would heat up until I locked the convertor. (I was mis educated and continued to drive the truck like this for the next few months thinking it was normal for a high stall convertor.)

One day in February I went to hop in the truck and found a small puddle of trans fluid beneath the truck. I then pulled the tc inspection cover and found that there was a pump seal leak. (No big deal... So I thought)
I then drove it over to my buddy's place (GREENSIERRA) where we started to pull the trans. We dropped the drain plug and seen that the fluid had a ton of metal shavings and the fluid was severely burnt.
We took it to a local trans builder which had a VERY good rep for building performance auto trans' and when he pulled it apart he discovered a number of "shocking" things.
1. Wrong band used on one of the drums
2. Used needle bearings and pump assembly
3. Drain backs for pump not drilled out (apparently a must for performance trans)
4. Something in the trans was siliconed where it should have been tapped and plugged(I think it was to raise line pressure?)
5. Half the parts of a "shift kit" (they included half of the parts apparently.)
6. Tolerances in the rear assembly were out of whack causing it to bind the whole trans and ultimately wrecking all the parts in the trans, burning all the clutches and taking out the torq convertor.

I then contacted Nathan from Patc and after sending a whack of pictures of all the damages they then agreed to warranty the trans, and send me the needed parts to get it back up and running using my local trans builder.
I then signed an online agreement that all trans parts were to be refunded in full along with the shipping charges for me sending the old parts back. Well, I ended up paying for all the parts, and all the shipping with still the promised that I'd be refunded once they received the old damaged parts. I received the new parts a week later and found that they had sent me a convertor for a 4l60e... Really??? Are you serious!!!
Well, I send them back the wrong convertor, they send me the right one overnight air. Cost me 179.30 to send it back. Promised again to get reimbursed.
So after I get all the parts in the newly built trans from my local trans builder I have never had a problem since March. Trans shifts way firmer, everything seems better, no more heat and truck had never performed as good as it has now.

So now onto trying to get my money that they owe me... Should be easy? Right? Wrong!!!
So the 273.88 for the old parts sent back, 179.30 for sending the wrong torque convertor to me and sending it back to them, 195.69 on the duty and brokerage for the new parts they sent to me and 1695.34 for the new parts they were warranting and charged me for totalled up to a return of 2344.21 Canadian total. I have called back since March at least once a week, sometimes twice a week (I am busy as hell with my businesses) and have tried to get ahold of Don, the owner and his wife Trudy, that are in charge of the refunds. Well after talking to probably the whole staff of PATC and only them taking messages for don or Trudy to call me, I was super fed up. It must have been at least 15-20 phone calls before I spoke to don about the issue, got sluffed off then I had got my mother involved (has more time during their business hours to make some calls) and finally she had gotten ahold of Trudy and she refused to refund half of the money. I still do not have any of the money in my bank account that was promised to me and have never been screwed around so hard in my life. Trudy then promised to refund me 1174$ for???? I mean that's only half of it. What about the remainder.??? So to this date I still have not been refunded and am very disgruntled. I wish I would have taken another route then to deal with these scam artists. I hope nothing good for this company. I have been holding off on doing something like this for a very long time hoping for the refund, but I guess this is the end of it and I may as well bash their company. I hope this sheds some light on to anyone who is considering to deal with them on a trans build or for any transaction for that matter. I give them 0 stars.