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TRE or Shepard tranny?

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Empyrials

20+ Year Contributor
152
1
Jun 12, 2003
Wichita (Aka, Hell), Kansas
i was wondering which one did the better rebuild, i searched a little and only found good and bad stuff on TRE and didn't hear a thing about Shepard.

I'm only looking to run like 300 whp on AWD 96 so what upgrades should i look at as well?
 
well after emailing TRE many times with no response and having really fast responses from Sheperd....im going with shep... :thumb:
 
ya i've heard mixed with TRE and only good with shepard but very little on both sides...

but about upgrades

should i do the 4 spider center diff?
the upgraded shifter rails?
steel shifter forks?

since i'm only aiming at 300 Whp it wont be a killer on the trany, however i still want it to be stout, so Hopefully i wont have to do this again for awhile.
 
I Personally Have A Shep Built Trannys And Am Very Pleased With It. If You Are Only Going To 300hp, I Would Just Do His Normal Rebuild ($895) And Upgrade Center Diff. My 02 Cents
 
i said i searched a little, and i did, just choose bad search words i guess and only did like twice but coo thanks man for the links
 
i've personally got a shep rebuild and damn do i love it. and he's the best in customer service if you ask me. if i ever need more tranny work, shep is where i'm going. :thumb:
 
I personally wanted to go shep but he told me that it sounded like my tranny was unrebuildable. Because of this and that only TRE has the longer 5th gears I bought a reman. tranny from TRE. Should be in this week sometime. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
=Jason-
 
Shep has the 10% and 25% taller 5th gears too, except i think i heard that he gets them from TRE....
 
I just took a road trip up to see shep and to pickup my tranny. $1800 worth of work to get it working again, but he had the work done in 3 days. He rubs a good business, frequent phone calls and good communication put him at the top of my list. If your ever having tranny issues have shep take car of it. He took care of me, so the least i can do is spread the kind word. He showed me the car too :)
 
drweeser2 said:
He showed me the car too :)

Damnit I wish I lived closer to him I want to see it when I bought my tranny.


I just got my Shep tranny Friday and have yet to install it, but he is great to deal with. I would email him and let him know your goals and he will tell you what you should get to be on the safe side. If you want more info go to www.vendors-reviewed.com You may need to register, but please do we are trying to make a good resource so you wont have to post here and wait for replies. You will be able to search and see the same thing in less time.

Michael
:talon: :laser:
 
I've talked to both and let me put my .02 on this.....

I bought TRE'S trans/upgrades and all, two weeks after buying, it blew up on the street (never had a chance to take it to the track) and this was trying to move out of the way from a guy that ran a red light. Some how this was not covered under warrenty! Fine, paid to have it fixed and right now that trans is sitting on the floor of my garage (god for bid if it breaks again). Go w/Shep, flame me on this but I should've sent it to him. Right now in my gst (no lsd) is a 50 dollar junkyard (92) trans that pulls 1.7's 60 ft all day long and no problems (shifts like butter). I know that every dsm is not the same but try it and if it doesn't work send it to have it rebuilt.


P.S.

I only post this to help other dsmers to make a choice....call and talk to both. If you can't get a hold of the company that you are calling don't buy from them (my opinion) because this will cause problems in the long run.

:thumb:
 
ya thanks guys for your input, i'll be droping my tranny tonight and sending it off to shepard tomorrow

thanks
 
Our 1g has a TRE-rebuild in it. Fantastic work, couldn't be happier with the end product (GVR4 1st, double-synchro 1 and 2, evo shift forks, yadda yadda). Communication is something Jon and Ming over at TRE need to work on a bit, though; hard to get ahold of.

As far as Shep vs. TRE...pick one. Seriously. You're going to get top-notch work from either one, and the shops are on very friendly terms with one another. I can drive to Kalamazoo if I need transmission work done, so TRE is probably who I'll deal with when it's time for the 2g to get a rebuild (unless Shep has some amazing pricing on shipping).

You might also think about Turbotrix (formerly BMTranny). I've heard good things about them too, but I know very little about the shop personally.
 
I would go shep. His customer service is fantastic. My trans blew and picked a brand new one from him with a double syncro 2nd, heavy duty toring bearing, upgraded magnets for $2,075. Good deal if you asked me! Shep all the way.
 
I don't think you can go wrong with either TRE or Shep for a transmission rebuild, they both know what they're doing. I am lucky enough to live close to TRE, and when i destroyed my stock trans i purchased a new trans from them. My brother had his trans rebuilt by TRE as well. We both have been very happy with their services. Here is a link to my review of my trans, and here is a littlein-car video clip of my brother driving his ass off to a 11.9 @114 with a 1.67 60ft. As you can see the trans shifts very well. :) He put ~60 passes shifting like this on his trans last year without any problems.

Jon @ TRE has 15+ years experience, and pioneered many of the transmission upgrades currently available, such as the EVO shift forks with bronze wear pads, higher speed 5th gears, and double syncro 1st, 3rd, 4th, even 5th gear. More recently, he made shifting improvements in his base model transmissions so that the double syncro 3/4 is no longer necessary to shift @9K+ rpms, at no additional cost.

TRE's facility is very well equipped. They have their own specialized wet magnuflux particle bench to thoroughly inspect parts for cracks, a shotpeening machine to strengthen parts, and a huge glass beading machine that makes the transmission case look like new. Not to mention their very own CNC machine at their disposal. ;)

Many people find that TRE can be hard to get ahold of, and that the rebuild may take longer than expected. The thing is, it takes alot of time to perform the inspection along with all the modifications they make to every transmission they build to make it stronger and shift as good as possible. Some of the modifications are very tedious and time consuming, but they make all the difference between a "good" shifting trans and a GREAT shifting trans.

I bought TRE'S trans/upgrades and all, two weeks after buying, it blew up on the street (never had a chance to take it to the track) and this was trying to move out of the way from a guy that ran a red light. Some how this was not covered under warrenty! Fine, paid to have it fixed and right now that trans is sitting on the floor of my garage (god for bid if it breaks again).

What failed in your transmission, and what did you have to do to move out of the way of the car that ran the red light?

I would go shep. His customer service is fantastic. My trans blew and picked a brand new one from him with a double syncro 2nd, heavy duty toring bearing, upgraded magnets for $2,075. Good deal if you asked me! Shep all the way.

Did you get a brand new 1st or 2nd gen trans? Did you get any other upgrades with it?
 
redrkt said:
Did you get a brand new 1st or 2nd gen trans? Did you get any other upgrades with it?

Brand new 1990 tranny. Had him put in the heavy duty toring bearing and up graded mags. The trans. came with a double 2nd.

I've put 500 miles on it, and so far it shifts and performs like a dream.
 
Both TRE and Shep can build an exceptional transmission. However they have a very different approach to their customer service and support. This is just my opinion, but it seems to be many others' opinions too. Hands down, I went with Shep to build my tranny after a five minute phone call with each. I cannot "talk down" suppliers, so take that as you will. But please read this thread, it will futher aid you in making your decision. :thumb:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118998

Thanks -Paul-
 
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