Anyone bought from ShopDiesel?

I had the same problem with an order I placed in October...took forever to get.

I ordered a new Banks torque converter from them. Paid for it and all the same day, Dec. 4th. I've gotten promises of ship dates that didn't happen, promises of return phone calls that never came, and they haven't answered a single email from their "customer service" dept.

Spdloader

I would suggest posting about this on thedieselstop but it would more than likely get yanked right away since they are sponsors. Jason is beginning to get carried away with the site's no sponsor bashing policy. If it were me I would call my credit card company and dispute the charges....you haven't received anything but empty promises. Just curious, why did you decide to go with the Banks TC?

Well, since my post earlier, they have given me a UPS Tracking number, and a phone call to confirm it. I don't know if they read in this newsgroup or not, but I have gotten results in the last few hours.

As far as the Banks choice, another person in the grading business that I'm in has experience with this particular item, and it is proven to be a fine upgrade. I have a problem that a lot of '99 F350 TD's had, the shudder and growling noise when the converter tries to lock up while pulling a load, or under heavy acceleration, in my case a ton trailer and 5 Tons of grading equipment, not nearly the rated capacity of the truck. The Banks has a much lower lock up at about 1650rpm, and his mileage and drivability increased dramatically. The PS Diesel starts creating torque down low, but the factory converter doesn't start to lock up until around

2400rpm. At least that's what I'm told. I also have the Hypertech Stage III programmer to increase line pressures, needed, according to Banks. Of course, they want you to buy theirs though.

I'll post more after I change mine over.

Spdloader

What is the rated towing capacity of that truck?

In it's current configuration, about 20,000lbs, including the weight of the truck. I have it registered for 21500. In North Carolina you have to pay for the weight you tow when you register the vehicle yearly. I don't know about other states.

Spdloader

under heavy acceleration, in my case a ton trailer and 5 Tons of grading > > equipment, not nearly the rated capacity of the truck.

Since the truck is about 7000lbs and the trailer and cargo was 12,000, you are NEAR the capacity for the truck. I live in NC and think that the DOT laws governing trailer weights are ridculous. The law only cares about how many axles you have, not the manufacturers rating for the truck. I see people all the time pulling full size backhoes and dozers with their F250's and 350's. Sure the truck has enough ass to pull it, but wait until it gets into an emergency avoidance situation and see how well a 7000lb truck controls 20,000lbs of load!

rote in message

What I meant was, on average I don't pull anywhere near the rated capacity with the F350 on a daily basis. When I do pull my skid steer, or my tractor, obviously I'm close to that. I have pulled them both at the same time, with a gooseneck trailer. Sometimes you do what it takes to get a job done, even if it's not necessarily smart.

I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, I have been in emergency avoidance situations more times than I care to mention, lots of little "blue hairs" out there, but the truck has performed well, trailer brakes are very important, as well as always trying to leave room between me and the vehicle in front of me. I also have an '86 Western Star with a 425Caterpillar engine tandem dump that I pull a Cat 973 loader, or an E70 excavator, or haul gravel and dirt, (not at the same time) so I'm used to pulling or hauling around 52,000lbs. The little load I pull with my F350 is nothing.

I agree, the DOT laws are ridiculous, just yesterday I got my tag renewal notice, $251.00 for the tag, and my tax renewal notice, $135.00 on the same vehicle.

I'm sick of that sort of thing.

Spdloader

While you may be able to handle these situations, *most* drivers probably can not. I have seen plenty of these 250/350 rigs pulling huge loads without having any functioning trailer brakes. It just seems ridculous that the DOT allows these rigs to pull trailers that are above the rating of the truck.