TRE vs. SHEP

[DSM-Talon-John]

This summer im going to be getting my tranny rebuilt to stage 1 through either TRE or SHEP. I think it will be helpful for future people if everyone with experience would give there opinions on things they heard, experience they had, time it took, and the performance factor afterwards


Stage 1 w/ each




www.sheptrans.com
New 1-2 Fork
New 3-4 Fork
New Shep Trans Spec 2nd Gear
New 1-2 Hub/Sleeve kit with Double Synchro Rings
New 3-4 Synchro Rings
New 5th Gear Synchro Rings
New 1-2-3-4 Synchro Springs
New Input, Output, and both Drive Shaft Seals
New Input Shaft Bearings
New Intermediate Gear Bearings
New Roll Pins
New End Nuts
New Center Diff Side Shims
New Nylon Shifter Pad
Shims for setting preload
Call for 90 pricing
New engine dowels





www.teamrip.com
The parts replaced:

New high friction 1-5th synchros

New 1st-2nd hub & sleeve

New 1st-2nd shift fork

New 3rd/4th shift fork

New double synchro 2nd gearset

New Input shaft bearings

New intermediate shaft bearings

New needle bearings under 1st -5th gears

New oil seals

New synchro keys

New synchro key springs

New front & center differential shims

New heavy duty Neodymium trash magnet, oil filter and magnetic drain plug. Keeps the oil clean.

New snap rings, roll pins, end nuts, bearing shims and all the other non-reusables that you would expect to be replaced in a quality rebuild.

INCLUDING:

Torrington bearing upgrade for center differential

Glass beading of transmission case




Usually everyone with a stock tranny will have a problem at one point or another so please give good advice and opinions and share accurate information on what you did. Also if you know of anywhere else please list.

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

This will help put i t all together.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/show...light=shep+tre

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/show...light=shep+tre

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/show...light=shep+tre

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/show...light=shep+tre

http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167267

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135091

 

[TurboG1]

For "Stage 1" I would go with "best price" because both tre and shep are competent shops and replaced parts are about the same based on what you listed. I damaged my original tranny (http://abq-dsm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=525) and needed a replacement.
Because of price (fall special 06) and upgrades I wanted, I purchased the TRE stage 2 with speed design 4-spider center diff and 10% taller 5th gear. Received within 2 weeks (once payment was received.) I had to pay a $400 core charge

 

[GVR4592]

It really just comes down to who you want to support, they both do great work.

 

[JayRolla]

I know someone who does good work, check this link out and compare prices. Ive personally seen his work and its great.

http://www.jackstransmissions.com/

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

What about return times for each, i have read some good things about sheps return times but what about tre's. It looks like tre has maybe had bad customer service in the past but there stage one adds up to a better deal.

 

[kronus]

Well I'm dealing with TRE right now. They don't neccesarily have bad cust. service; they're just rediculously swamped. And I didn't make it any easier for them since I wanted a 1.8 transmission rebuild, . It's been a while since I made payment, but he did verify over the phone that I was getting the correct tranny. Oh, and fedex also lost the transmission the first time, .

 

[hereitcomes]

Shep is a bit more popular, but he is swamped with work as well, just as TRE is. I know people dealing with shep currently, and they have been waiting for a while. I know people with both TRE trannies and Shep trans. in their cars, and both of them are satisfied and the cars drive great.

 

[GVR4592]

I know someone who does good work, check this link out and compare prices. Ive personally seen his work and its great.

http://www.jackstransmissions.com/

When did Jack get a website? I've been trying to get ahold of him for a couple weeks, this is perfect timing. Thanks for the link.

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

I think im gonna go with tre, they have the all around shipping and they give way more in value over shep, shep sounds great to though. It sounds like they both are great finished products.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

I have a stage 2 TRE and love it. Would like to of gotten a Shep but TRE was local at the time so I went with them and never looked back. Feels awesome.

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

Another thing is tre gives all new high friction syncros and shep doesnt, thats really what i need for my third gear.

 

[2gAWDTalon]

Post back in this thread how your experince is going though out the whole process and after you get it and install it; how it feels. That would be great and valuable info for poeple doing searches in the future. That way in one thread it will take them all the way through your desicion making process, the hassel of the work being done (shipping it out, how much down time, getting it back), and the results of the finished product. This would be a great thread then for future searchers! Thanks!

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

Sure thing but its gonna have to wait til the summer.

 

[JayRolla]

When did Jack get a website? I've been trying to get ahold of him for a couple weeks, this is perfect timing. Thanks for the link

Im not sure, a month or so back. I was talking with him and he brought it up. I was like damn man thanks for letting me know.

 

[Syndicate13]

I've dealt with both shops and I have nothing bad to say about either. Jon at TRE is very knowledgeable about these cars and he can get carried away talking to you if you ever get him on the phone. He always responds to emails promptly and the one time I was sent a wrong part he made it right ASAP. When it was time to buy a transmission I went with Shep because I was tired of dealing with the Evo forks and he had just started to offer the chromoly forks. I made my purchase and never looked back. Both shops are very good at what they do and you will be happy with either one of them.

 

[twicks69]

DSM-Talon-John


I have had experience with both TRE and SHEP, along with Beyond Redline Performance with upgraded transmission rebuilds.

I have had two TRE trannies (back in 2003). One was a "stage 2" with a GVR4 1st, 4-spider center diff, and a few other little details. It lasted a couple thousand miles, and 1st gear sheered its teeth off. I tried again with another rebuild with a regular 1st gear, and it lasted a little longer, then broke 2nd. Both trannies shifted very smooth, price was decent, shipping was slower than SHEP. Breakage of the trannies was my fault.

Still, I would reccomend NOT getting a GVR4 1st gear -- they are just too weak.

I had 4 Shep trannies, mainly stage 3 or 4 setups. All of them with 4-spider center diffs. The first one was a rebuild, the 2nd one was a NEW tranny with a stage 4, and the last two were rebuilds of the broken "new" tranny. Shipping/rebuild/and return shipment are ridiculously FAST. I had one, where I broke it Wednesday, shipped it thursday, received & rebuilt on Friday, shipped back & recieved on Monday, and installed on Tuesday. John has excellent customer service, great experience and a damn good person to talk to. His prices are a little higher, but you are also dealing with darn good company. Personally, it was worth the little price difference, to get the tranny I wanted. Trannies shifted great, worked great, broke great. Again, breakage was my fault. I did have a 2nd gear failure, a 3/4 hub/slider/synchro/shift fork failure, a 3rd gear failure, and other breaks.

I have also had 4 Beyond Redline (www.beyondredline.com) tranny rebuilds. Luke is a great guy, and a very knowledgable tranny rebuilder. His prices were also comprable to Shep, again, with excellent customer service. He builds butter-shifting trannies, and has cryotreating services available (just like shep & tre). Luke also has designed his own 4-spider center diff using a really nice piece of engineering for his cross shaft. I haven't broken the cross shaft yet (I have broken SEVERAL center diffs and front diffs).


I have had my better experiences with Beyond Redline and SHEP, and would reccomend these two first.

I would also reccomend picking up the taller 5th gear from TRE (if you go that route) -- it is real nice on the highway (I had the old 25% gear).

My trannies broke 90% of the time due to the power my car is putting down. I don't reccomend a stage 1 rebuild if you intend on drag racing your car. If you are, and HAVE at least 500+ torque, I would reccomend a dogbox with a front LSD and center spool. I have over 600 torque with the current setup, and I am kicking myself that I never picked up a dogbox in the past. Considering that I broke 5 trannies this year alone, it is extremely expensive to have to do it this way. Either buy a dogbox, or expect to do another rebuild in the future if you want to have any fun with your car.

From the look of your vehicle modifications, it looks like you are not drag racing your car regularly -- go with a basic rebuild, and expect $900-1000.

From experience, follow these directions in conjunction with the shipping directions on Shep's webpage:
Also, ship the tranny FedEx Express Ground. Expect to have a 3-4 day shipment for your tranny from Washington to arrive at either Shep or TRE. Expect to spend around $50 in materials, and at least $100 in shipping costs. I use a blue Sterilite (tupperware) container with handles and wheels, with a couple 1/2" boards in the base, along with pink sheetboard insulation (broken into pieces to snugly fit the tranny in the container with lots of padding). I then seal the container by drilling holes around the entire cover, and zip tieing them tight. Then I use a HEAVY DUTY 3" blue VINYL tape (used on windows--Home Depot), and fully seal the tupperware container up. Be sure to add a "Heavy object" sticker to the container -- My containers usually are around #122-125#. Be sure to double-plastic bag your tranny, and make sure it is WELL DRAINED--there is usually a 1/2-1 quart of "mystery gear oil" that is held in the tranny if you don't tip it on its side and drain it thoroughly. If the container shows visible leaks, FedEx will NOT ship it.


Personally, with a stage 1 tranny (basic rebuild), I would call SHEP, TRE, or Beyond Redline and ask them what kind of turn-around to expect currently, then work on a price with them. All their prices are reasonable. If you are already dealing with a broken tranny, either break down and buy a NEW tranny from SHEP and upgrade it, or expect to have a high rebuild bill depending on the breakage.

Either way, good luck.

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

Thanks for the great info, the reason I wanted to go with tre is cause there stage one replaces all the syncros, and my 3rd gear has either a syncro problem or fork problem and tre would cover both of those.

 

[twicks69]

Well, shift forks and synchros are the cheapest parts for these things. Both are wearable parts, and should be replaced.

I would reccomend calling them first, and get estimated turn-around times from them, along with a subtotaled price estimate, before just sending it to TRE. Just my 2 cents. This will save alot of headaches.

 

[Syndicate13]

Thanks for the great info, the reason I wanted to go with tre is cause there stage one replaces all the syncros, and my 3rd gear has either a syncro problem or fork problem and tre would cover both of those.

Shep is very meticulous as well as Jon. Synchro rings are a wear item and would be replaced in any rebuild, from either shop.

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

Alright, you guys won me over ill give them a call but if they both do it i would go with shep. It sounds like tehre both great but sheps are a little tougher.

 

[JayRolla]

I wouldnt say they are tougher, they both use about the same parts at least in quality.

 

[DSM-Talon-John]

Well i just looked at sheps stage 2 and that looks like quite the deal to me, it all depends on how much money i have saved by summer. They throw in a whole new 3rd and 4th gear.

 

[njc1064]

i had my trans rebuilt by shep about a year and a half ago and i can honestly say that they do an incredible job up there. The turn around time was about a week i believe, the transmission was immaculate when i got it back, and it has functioned perfectly. I'm hard on it all the time and i have yet to have any problems with it. As for the customer service, its probably the best i have ever had anywhere. I've emailed, recieved answers in a timely manner, and ive called and recieved answer with no problems. I'm a fan!

 

[kronus]

As much as I hate contradicting myself, I'm running into an issue with check it here.