John Woods or BTS?

[armyguy209]

I know this has been asked several times. I am looking to get some fresh insight. After taking my truck to a few dealerships and looking to trade it in, the offers they gave me were plain INSULTING. I am pretty sure my tranny is going out. It went out about 2 months ago and Ford fixed it. They only fixed it partially though. The replaced the drive clutch and TC only instead of just rebuilding the whole thing. They also replaced a fuel pump while it was in there. It has never ran right since I have got it back. It shifts all jacked up and I feel like it has lost a ton of it's power/get up and go.

I have decided to take the plunge since I have SOOOO much money already into this thing and keep it forever. I am going to do the cummins swap now which I am 100% on doing now. It wont be right away because I still want to save some cash to get it done.

I do need a tranny now though in the mean time that will work with the Cummins as well when I do it. I plan on doing the tranny in the next two weeks.

I have came to two options.

1. John Woods...Has a very good reputation of building bad a$$ tranny's. Also is only an 8 hour drive from me so I don't have to pay for shipping or paying someone else to install it. I can also get John to tune everything while I am there and make sure it is working to his standards.

2. BTS...also a highly recommended tranny builder. Problem with this route is that not only will I have to pay shipping(both ways all the way to California), but I will also have to pay someone down here to put it in. These two things jump the price up substantially.

Is there something that makes BTS tranny's better than JW tranny's or any other reason I should pay the extra hunk of money and go with the BTS?

Anyone who actually has these tranny's, you input would be greatly appreciated as well as anyone else. If you do have a reason you think one is better than the other, please back it up with why you say that.

Thanks guys

[bismic]

You can't go wrong with either IMO.

[PGreenSVT]

In your situation I would probably go with Woods. I know he does a fine job with 4R100's but Haven't heard anything about him and the 5R110.

[pizza pig]

John can build a 5r110 very well. The closer the better, be grateful you live so close to such a good 5r builder.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by PGreenSVT

In your situation I would probably go with Woods. I know he does a fine job with 4R100's but Haven't heard anything about him and the 5R110.

Mitch, I thought JW had a reputation for being a 5R110 specialist and Brian as a 4R100 specialist?

Both are highly regarded and for good reason. In your situation I'd go with JW.

[macoyle]

I've driven and ridden in scparrish's truck with a bts...simply amazing, also has outstanding customer service. I don't have any experience with woods but I would say go with the closer one with free install lol. Bts drives amazing, I wish I had one...

[PC250]

lots of guys are suggesring it would be best to trade the ford trans for a dodge that bolts up to the cummins. Im thinkin about it too

[armyguy209]

Thanks for the replies..the drive is going to be no fun but I honestly think the new tranny will solve most of my problems(hopefully). I am just curious if one can stand more hp/torque and abuse than the other because I obviously only want to have to do this once and want one that can handle any abuse I can throw at it.

[PGreenSVT]

Originally Posted by Snake

Mitch, I thought JW had a reputation for being a 5R110 specialist and Brian as a 4R100 specialist?

Both are highly regarded and for good reason. In your situation I'd go with JW.

Hey Mike, where the heck you been? I know John Woods was highly regarded for the 4r100's with the supercharged Lightning guys and makes a real nice valve body for it. I just haven't seen a lot about him with the 5R110 where you see BTS all the time. Still John is a great tranny guy and I'm sure will build a nice tranny.

[DoubleDpsd]

imo, you aren't making enough power to justify the cost of a jw or bts built 5r. again, jmo. The stock trans holds up fine. Have you considered a reman unit? It comes with warranty. I mean there are other options that could save you a lot of money. Find a reputable dealership in your area, since you're having problems with some actually fixing the issue, that can handle ordering a reman 5r and can install it for a reasonable price. I found two reputable transmission shops near me in SJ using google and yelp, both supposedly have experience with building 5r's. But the aamco where I live had never seen a 5r110, you just gotta look around. I'd guess you could find a reputable trans shop close to you that has done several 5r's and save money and time over driving to holtville. or they could accurately diagnose and fix your current trans or rebuild it.. Or there is a guy over on psn in long island new york asking $700 shipped for a 5r out of a 2006 w/70k. Get it shipped to a trans shop in your area or the dealership and let them put it on. There are obviously other people on the forums and ebay selling 5r's for under $1k shipped depending on miles. just thinking of other options available to you that could help save some coin. But if you're dead set on going the built route my vote is bts with his converter and tuned by chrisb @ tsd.