Just to help keep this forum going, and my curiosity.

I've read and heard about some of the shops now and in the past that do fast paced rushed overhauls/ rebuilds, and how some techs talk about doing 3 to 5 units a day.
How can all the necessary checks be done at such break neck speed? Don't know about nowadays but many years ago alot of the big chain transmission shops, were in the same category that Earl Shibe and Macco paint jobs were.
I understand going fast, but for me only driving or operating, flying etc. I never go fast putting some machine together, when rushed that is when I do stupid stuff.

If this is not appropriate for this forum please delete it.

 

Short answer is it's not possible unless with either multiple builders or some assembly line type set up. Forme working alone start to finish ( Of course my people expect them to look as good as they work) it takes me 2-3 days with all the build needs and special mods I do. (course I am also old and have a bit of arthritis slows me down a times)
But yes many just throw and cheap kit in and hope for the best. It's a gamble but likely still a profitable route . A cheap rebuild kit from amazon with primary bushing and band can be had for 150 , quick fix for PWM 20 dollars , oversized drop in AFL 40, Boost valve 25 , cheap sprag 25 assuming they even go that far charge 1200 and even if they get 1 in 4 back they still make money . Of course that's in brick and mortar shop, That would never fly here, You would get blasted hard. I have seen people here scream over a touch of rust in the threads of the linkage shaft, Of course you pay a premium price you expect a premium product.
And of course with online stuff the customer cant see whats inside normally (Mine they can as i TAKE A PHOTO of every step of every build for each customer) but typically they cannot, So outside appearance is how they are judged and as used car lot people will tell you, You can sell a Sharp looking car all day even if it does not run so well and people will be understanding, But if it looks bad even running great they will forever see it as junk.

 

They can't, not without risk of having a returned units due to actual builder error. That's why certain places charge an extra $$$ on top of parts and labor and warranty to cover themselves in the event that the unit comes back knowing they rushed it. Then you got a certain % of customers that won't even install it correctly, burn the unit up, and then having to deal with that. It's a whole different ball game once we start talking about performance-oriented transmissions. I stopped building these units because for me, personally, if it's not a performance unit it's rather boring to build it. Second, it was taking way too long to be meticulous and get everything right in the performance builds rather than take short cuts. I also refused to build one unless I was present for the install. All the time adds up. On top of that, the profit margin sucks when you aren't building enough to get a decent enough discount on the parts. I built enough to get enough profit to feel that my effort on taking the time to learn how to build them was justified, and then I stopped building them. These days I just try to help others by answering questions but on FB it's getting dumb because the same questions get asked over and over again with no one doing a simple search.

I've been told that a few companies that start with M were literally taking 1 out of every 8 transmissions or so and just slapping a fresh coat of paint on a junkyard core and claiming it was a rebuild. The stories are out there of individuals opening up these transmissions upon receipt and seeing nothing was replaced.

I was giving people who I built for a list of all the parts that were put into the unit and copies of all the receipts of what I actually paid for the parts and where they were purchased and when, so that they knew exactly how much they were paying in labor and exactly how much I was actually making on the sale and how long it took me to get the parts. (Not saying a business should ever do this, I'm just saying what I did... I'm not a business)

Here's an example of what I was providing to everyone that I built a 4L80E for. Maybe if someone builds one for themselves, they will find value in this. I did it so that if one ever came back, I could see if it was altered from what I did.
If I ever decided built them on the side again, I would NOT provide these sheets to the customer and instead just keep them for my own records. Way too many questions were getting asked just out of curiosity on the specs that were being provided to them LOL!

 

I also do very similar to the same as far as a build sheet per say. I dont advertise that im a builder because im not. I do it simply for a hobby and I enjoy it mainly doing it for people that I know if they need something done. Theres are a couple guys locally specifically one that I dont want to make it seem like im advertising taking work away from him because I dont claim to be a builder. And really dont want to be

 

If you are talking about The Transmission Shop in the Pomona area of California? The ones I have seen over the years were not good builds.

 

Maybe cause Im getting old, IDK but for me alone to tear down and properly clean OF course my customer's by nature expect pretty outside. So between tearing down, cleaning, soda blasting case, cleaning again etc and doing the parts clean and inspection, Then all the fixes and mods on top of the builds. Some would argue I go a little overboard. Machine all the apply / backing plates even new ones to make sure flat (You may have noted as I have many times new is not flat).
But all in all and sometimes having to machine pump faces and backs I can have 2-3 days in a unit working 6 to 8 hours a day at it.
but most of these fast build YOUTUBE AND TIKTOKERS also do not show the prep which give the impression it is an easy quick process. And Illusion or not showing and editing.

 

I will be 75 next month. The more you learn, the more you have to do on the next build. It will always take longer as time goes on. You notice things that maybe were not that important at the time, now are. It is the little things that can make or break a good build. Flat sanding pressure plates is common. As you say, they are rarely flat. I have said for years that most people that call themselves a transmission builder. Are parts changers at best!

 

I will be 75 next month. As the cases and external parts keep getting older. They are getting harder to clean. As you state the fixes, modifications, flat sanding the new pressure plates, modifying accumulators, etc. I find the more I have learned, the more I do and it takes more time. You cannot unlearn something. A lot of hours can go into this. I said years ago. The people that build transmissions are parts changers at best. That leaves very few of us...