Monster Transmissions

[93 Krawler]

Has anyone on here used this company?

Back in early 2011 the trans in my 2007 Chevy Express cargo van went out completely. I removed the trans with the plan to rebuild it myself. After I got the trans apart, many parts had broken and destroyed just about everything including the case. So I ordered a heavy duty towing trans and torque converter from Monster Transmission. It took over a month to get it.

In Jan. 2012 I lost 2nd and 4th. Talked with Monster about the warranty and the said to ship it back on my dime and they would look at it. I figured it was the 2-4 band, and if so, it would be cheaper to fix myself than pay the shipping charge. I tore it apart and it was the band like I thought. Got a new band locally from Trans Star and compared the two bands. The new one was beefier than the one Monster used. The area where the apply pin hits the band was a lot thicker. That's where the old one failed. Put it back together and all is good.

Another year later, Jan. 2013. When I got back from the hangover run yesterday, I was backing up in the driveway it felt like it slipped. Didn't really think anything about it till I went to work today. I got about 5 miles from my house and I started loosing gears fast. 4 3 2 1 nothing.... Now it won't move. :mad::mad::mad:

Now tell me how a $2,000 heavy duty trans built to tow dies with less than 25,000 miles and 2 years old. I tow my rig about 3 times a year no further than Big Rock.

I bought the 3 year extended warranty and should have around a year left. What would you do... Pay the shipping back to them and let them fix it, and wait for another year for it to die again, or have it rebuilt? In my case, I would do the rebuild.

I say Monster Transmission sucks!!!

[twiztedzuki]

dont sound good, i rebuild my own th350/400s and i modify or change to tci valvebody for more pressure and use red clutches for offroading with minumal troubles. i kind figure ur paying for name monster. Dtt built me a trans for cummins with 600hp and i had zero troubles from it, i towed and did john force burnouts withit constantly. mite look into them

[fordman00]

Dtt builds good trans, i heard there backed up though. If it were me and ypu knew what you were doing id buy all the parts and rebuild it myself.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[humpy]

I got a guy in bethel that does all our transmissions and he is best in business.. Don't pay for monster name... Is 4l65 or 4l80e?

[93 Krawler]

Dtt builds good trans, i heard there backed up though. If it were me and ypu knew what you were doing id buy all the parts and rebuild it myself.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Not a professional by any means, but I have rebuilt about 10.

I got a guy in bethel that does all our transmissions and he is best in business.. Don't pay for monster name... Is 4l65 or 4l80e?

It's a 4l65e. I thought I was buying quality, not junk. If the case hadn't have been junk, I wouldn't have ever called them. The van was only 4 years old at the time, so finding one in the junkyard was not going to be easy.

[humpy]

Look into converting to 4l80e I'm sure it can be done... Mine has 261k on it and still goin strong

[itbrokeagain]

At 4 years old should have been covered under warranty the first time it went out right? Cottman in eaatgate rebuilt mine at200,000. I have 310,000 now and tow a lot. No problems

[93 Krawler]

Look into converting to 4l80e I'm sure it can be done... Mine has 261k on it and still goin strong

That's what I was thinking or an Allison if it's possible. We have a 3/4 ton 2011 express at work with a 4.8 and an Allison 6 speed. That would be sweet.

At 4 years old should have been covered under warranty the first time it went out right? Cottman in eaatgate rebuilt mine at200,000. I have 310,000 now and tow a lot. No problems

We bought it used with 95,000 miles. Must have been a fleet vehicle. They treated their drivers well. It is AWD, fully loaded, and has rear air/heat.

[Hope Springs Hauler]

That's what I was thinking or an Allison if it's possible. We have a 3/4 ton 2011 express at work with a 4.8 and an Allison 6 speed. That would be sweet.



We bought it used with 95,000 miles. Must have been a fleet vehicle. They treated their drivers well. It is AWD, fully loaded, and has rear air/heat.

I don't think that the Allison Trans ever came in the Vans due to the ENORMOUS size of the trans. The DMAX vans came the the 4l80E. The new trans that GMA has for gas vehicles is a 6L80E or 6L90E depending on GVW.
The 6L90 with the tapshift is being retrofitted into some older trucks and should be awesome.

[biggin69]

I would not deal with this Monster trans place anymore if it were me. Sounds like you know how to rebuild an auto so I would go that route and use quality parts.

[timido]

A great transmission guy to check with also is Jim Widener.

Widener Automotive
704 East Pearl St
Batesville, IN 47006
(812) 932-2025

[93 Krawler]

I don't think that the Allison Trans ever came in the Vans due to the ENORMOUS size of the trans. The DMAX vans came the the 4l80E. The new trans that GMA has for gas vehicles is a 6L80E or 6L90E depending on GVW.
The 6L90 with the tapshift is being retrofitted into some older trucks and should be awesome.

You're right. I didn't know GM had a 6 speed tap shift tranny.

I'll have to check the length of the 6l90e. The 4l80e is longer than the 60 so some mods will have to be done. I'd like to find a AWD 1 ton express cargo van with a Duramax and power windows/locks/mirrors. Is that asking too much...

[itbrokeagain]

Yes because the duramax never made it to the vans because of deck height.

[Hope Springs Hauler]

They do make a DMAX van, but I don't think that they can come as an AWD. That and they aren't a real DMAX 'cause they are only 265 hp and maybe 400ftlb of tq at the motor with the gas truck trans. Kinda wimpy for what you'd expect from a diesel. Open the hood and it looks like a solid chunk of plastic.:rolleyes:

With that and fuel prices, I'm pretty sure my next truck will be a gas motor....

[comanchedude]

Idk. They have 26 bbb complains in last 3 years. That's one per month but I don't know how many trans they sell per month.

http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/business-reviews/transmission-truck-tractor-etc-companies/avalanche-corporation-in-brooksville-fl-90008419

Did you talk to them about the small band? If it cost more to get a replacement then a rebuild kit guess you have your answer. Stuff like this sucks ass. Did you ask them what makes the trans they sold you )HD? Maybe they sold you a std unit by mistake? ..give them hell !

[93 Krawler]

Idk. They have 26 bbb complains in last 3 years. That's one per month but I don't know how many trans they sell per month.

http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/business-reviews/transmission-truck-tractor-etc-companies/avalanche-corporation-in-brooksville-fl-90008419

Did you talk to them about the small band? If it cost more to get a replacement then a rebuild kit guess you have your answer. Stuff like this sucks ass. Did you ask them what makes the trans they sold you )HD? Maybe they sold you a std unit by mistake? ..give them hell !

They quoted me around $400 to ship it back to them so they could "look" at it. It cost me less than that to replace the band. If I rebuild it, the parts and torque converter will cost me a little more than $400. No telling how long they would keep it either.

This is the trans I ordered.
http://www.monstertrans.com/store/products/4L60E%7B47%7D4L70E-Transmission-4X4-Heavy-Duty-4WD%2C-2006%252d2009.html
And one of their heavy duty towing converters.

[93 Krawler]

When I got home last night, I started the van to see if it would move and it did. It moved in drive and reverse. I pulled it in the garage and checked the fluid, and it smelled a little burnt. So now something is causing it to overheat. Something happened to it when I backed it in the driveway. At least it isn't total junk, and should be rebuildable. I'm thinking a seal blew or the converter is fried.

[comanchedude]

Just read their warranty.. its kinda not worth much as you have to pay so much to ship back and forth.. I agree with you its better to just rebuild yourself or local. guess the trans was not quite "Engineered to Dominate"







When I got home last night, I started the van to see if it would move and it did. It moved in drive and reverse. I pulled it in the garage and checked the fluid, and it smelled a little burnt. So now something is causing it to overheat. Something happened to it when I backed it in the driveway. At least it isn't total junk, and should be rebuildable. I'm thinking a seal blew or the converter is fried.

[94Dodge Truggy]

The name "monster" sounds cool so it must be an awesome transmission! :o

Some of the tv shows use this brand but we only see it installed and not really tested unfortunately. I will be near the "monster" facility in 2 months and can throw it through their window if you need me to return it.

[93 Krawler]

The name "monster" sounds cool so it must be an awesome transmission! :o

Some of the tv shows use this brand but we only see it installed and not really tested unfortunately. I will be near the "monster" facility in 2 months and can throw it through their window if you need me to return it.

Mouse better represents instead of Monster...

Yep, I've seen all the Spike shows use them, that's why I thought they were good. Lesson learned.

I'll wrap all the old parts up and you can sling them through their window. :thumbup:

[93 Krawler]

Pulled the trans out and tore it down. The fluid was dark and burnt. There was only 13,000 miles on the fluid. The pan had fine metal shavings in it, most of it stuck to the magnets. So far I haven't found anything broken/damaged. The 2-4 band I replaced last January looked like it got hot, but not really worn. The reverse clutches looked similar, blackish but not worn. The rest of the clutch packs looked great. I haven't pulled all the seals out yet to see if any failed. I'm thinking the converter failed and that's where the fine metal came from. There was also a little clutch material sludge in the pan. Time to order parts.

[itbrokeagain]

Maybe time for an auxillary tranny cooler?

[93 Krawler]

Maybe time for an auxillary tranny cooler?

I put one on it when I replaced the trans the first time.

[Tool Man]

I put one on it when I replaced the trans the first time.

Fix it now k k kevin:D

[93 Krawler]

Fix it now k k kevin:D

Ok t t t timmae...

[93 Krawler]

The rebuild parts and fluid was $570.00 Been driving it for a few weeks and all is good.

I checked the clutch pack tolerances as I tore it apart and found the 3-4 packs way off. They were about 30 thousands over the max. There was some wear on the packs, but not that much. I know this would have worn the 3-4 clutches out well before they should have. The steels between the frictions got super hot. I compared the 3-4 clutches to the new heavy duty ones I bought and there was 1 less friction and steel. I fit 7 frictions in to their 6. All I had to buy to make them work was a slightly thinner retaining ring. That gave me a nice gap right in the middle of the max/min.

I never did find any reason for the metal shaving in the pan, or why it just quit working that day. It had to be the torque converter.

When I first put the new trans in, the 1-2 shift was very firm. Firm enough I felt that if the van was 2wd, it would have chirped the tires. I emailed Monster about it and never got a reply. The extra hard shift is gone now.

Let it be known, Monster transnission SUCKS!!!