Who builds the best 700R4 today?

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by tim_mc

Sorry Mike, I just saw your post. I like the heim joint shift linkage direct between the column and the trans shift shaft - good positive feel. I've never had it hang up on me.

Mine didn't hang up, they just didn't have enough deflection angle to let me make the connections. But that was on an 82 truck. 67-72 trucks probably have a straighter shot.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Mine didn't hang up, they just didn't have enough deflection angle to let me make the connections. But that was on an 82 truck. 67-72 trucks probably have a straighter shot.

I have a similar set-up on my Square dually. It's worked w/o issue since the truck was revised/rebuilt.

[ManNamedJed]

Lots of bad experiences over on Pirate4x4 from Monster Trans buyers.

I bought one from Bow Tie Overdrives and was happy. They send the parts and will help you set up the TV cable properly.

[ratpackv8sonly]

Ok just want to clear a few things up with everyone saying I'm not going to the right local transmission shop. The problem is where I live. In a 4 hour radius there is no shop thats capable of doing it correctly. Yes they all are able to rebuild it but none of them know about doing the 4th gear lockup. So....this is why I'm not able to use a local shop. I'm in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. I have already lost three from the lockup failing from the local transmission shops over the last 10 years. So local is out. I have talked to Phoenix Transmission and they are so far the easiest and most supportive to deal with over the phone. After doing my research and listening to everyone on here the other two company show serious lack in customer support so for the money they are not worth going to. As for someone asking about my rear axle setup for all this, it's a ford 9" with 4.11 gears. Phoenix Transmission does recommend 3.70s if I plan on running down the highway for long periods of time so that is the next thing to change.

But once again, local is out of the question. If you don't believe me then I invite you to move to Las Cruces N.M. and see for yourself. It's a 4 hour radius of nothing but people that knows someone that thinks they can do it. But in the end cant.

[MikeB]

Using Phoenix may not be convenient, but sounds like a good plan.

As for the 4.11 axle, it will act like a 2.88 with the trans in 4th gear. And even "taller" with the converter locked up. Should be fine on the highway for 29" and taller tires.

Back in the day when I was stationed at White Sands Missile Range, we used to come down to Las Cruces quite often. Did a lot of dirt bike riding back then. Also, the New Mexican food there was first rate, and still is! Have you ever been to Nellie's? One of the all time best, IMO.

[SCOTI]

4.11's, 30" tall rear tires, OD/700r4 4th gear @ 70mph = ~2260rpm.

[Jack15T]

I can tell you builds the WORST 700R4. That would be Monster Transmission. Stay away from those guys. They totally screwed me on a 700R4. After I installed it it wouldn't shift. When I called them they said I didn't have the TV cable adjusted correctly. I set it up three times then drove it to the transmission shop two blocks from me. They put a pressure gauge on it and found it wasn't developing pressure. When they pulled it apart they found a split filter. The pump was the incorrect one for the transmission. The governor was also incorrect for the application. The external ground screw for the lockup was snapped off and just painted over. The transmission was full of debris. I had the radiator, and coolant lines flushed prior to install so it wasn't from me. It also had a brand new converter so that was clean. The Trans cooler was new also. Two of the trans pan bolts were stripped and left in place. It cost me 2000 bucks to get it repaired and Monster wouldn't pickup the bill. They also told me they road tested the transmission prior to shipping it. I know for a fact unless they had truck with a NP205 Transfer case the output shaft on the tranny wouldn't have fit much else. I suggest going to the Better Business Bureau and read the over 170 complaints they have had filed against them in the last two years. The shop that repaired my transmission had repaired three of Monsters transmissions in the last 16 months. They still haven't reimbursed me for the repairs. Good Luck

[Rickysnickers]

Wow....sad. I don't understand how businesses like this can stay in business.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Wow....sad. I don't understand how businesses like this can stay in business.

They seem to have an unusual amount of complaints about everything from build time to reliability to customer service. On the other hand, I hear very few, if any, complaints about Bow Tie and Phoenix.

Maybe Monster simply can't handle building 5,000 transmissions per year w/o hiring unqualified techs and/or taking shortcuts.

I suggest they slow down, evaluate the complaints, and determine what they can do to send better products out the door.

Would be interesting to hear from former employees.

[jimijam00]

Originally Posted by ratpackv8sonly

But once again, local is out of the question. If you don't believe me then I invite you to move to Las Cruces N.M. and see for yourself. It's a 4 hour radius of nothing but people that knows someone that thinks they can do it. But in the end cant.

This is pretty much most of the country. All the old timers that had all the knowledge of these 30+ y/o transmissions are retired/retiring. I would not let someone younger than me work on my transmission. I had a guy, allegedy best in town (according to all the muscle car guys in town) rebuild a 700R4 I had....he effed it up everyway from Sunday. Took it back to him 4 times, and the 5th he finally replaced it. Of course all the "good parts" I paid to put in the first one did not find their way into the second one. Go figure. That 700R4 is long gone and I now have a mailorder stage 3 700R4 that taking more than 500 hp/tq without breaking a sweat.

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by jimijam00

That 700R4 is long gone and I now have a mailorder stage 3 700R4 that taking more than 500 hp/tq without breaking a sweat.

Share with us what company you purchased this transmission.

[diggerbob]

I bought a r700 and converter from Phoenix in 2015 and had it shipped to my buddy's shop in Tennessee. My buddy installed it and it worked flawlessly until a couple of days later when I couldnt get it to shift into gear. I arranged a tow, had it brought back to my buddy's shop and he discovered that a nut had come loose on the shifting mechanism. Super easy fix. I called Phoenix the next day and told them what happened. They expressed disappointment that their tech had not tightened the nut properly and promised to make good on any costs for my tow and repairs. I sent them a copy of the tow bill and my buddy's involce and received a check in the mail in a matter of just a couple of days. The transmission has performed flawlessly ever since. I appreciate the way they handled themselves and would gladly do business with them again.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by diggerbob

I bought a r700 and converter from Phoenix in 2015 and had it shipped to my buddy's shop in Tennessee. My buddy installed it and it worked flawlessly until a couple of days later when I couldnt get it to shift into gear. I arranged a tow, had it brought back to my buddy's shop and he discovered that a nut had come loose on the shifting mechanism. Super easy fix. I called Phoenix the next day and told them what happened. They expressed disappointment that their tech had not tightened the nut properly and promised to make good on any costs for my tow and repairs. I sent them a copy of the tow bill and my buddy's involce and received a check in the mail in a matter of just a couple of days. The transmission has performed flawlessly ever since. I appreciate the way they handled themselves and would gladly do business with them again.

Impressive customer service right there.

[MAC71Cheyenne]

So you guys have kicked my can down the alley a bit on these transmissions. Like most there is no local tranny/drive train shop left anywhere near where I live. Most of the vehicle shops around are if I can't plug it in to tell me the problem I won't work on it. I'm intrigued with the stated improvements the 700R4 and variants but not sure of the cost vs benefit of swapping out a '71 TH400 for a 700R4. The 400 has no issues and finding a good take off around here would be difficult. So hijacking this thread, opinions? Leave it alone, keep the 400?, locate and rebuild a GM?, or purchase new and cross the fingers. Its a truck, I drive it, no heavy trailers or stoplight cruising...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by MAC71Cheyenne

So you guys have kicked my can down the alley a bit on these transmissions. Like most there is no local tranny/drive train shop left anywhere near where I live. Most of the vehicle shops around are if I can't plug it in to tell me the problem I won't work on it. I'm intrigued with the stated improvements the 700R4 and variants but not sure of the cost vs benefit of swapping out a '71 TH400 for a 700R4. The 400 has no issues and finding a good take off around here would be difficult. So hijacking this thread, opinions? Leave it alone, keep the 400?, locate and rebuild a GM?, or purchase new and cross the fingers. Its a truck, I drive it, no heavy trailers or stoplight cruising...

TH400's go until they don't & are fairly HD pieces of equipment. If the current one works & you don't drive on the highway multiple times a week or take extended trips there's not much benefit to changing away from one.

[Accelo]

Originally Posted by jimijam00

I wouldn't worry about the "complaints" you read online about Monster or some of these other transmission builders. They have sold thousands of these things, and those few problems find their way online.

Of course nobody knows if the buddy failed to set the TV cable correctly, which is the most common reason these mail order 700R4s fail.

Their are too many times I wish I would have googled the customer complaints before purchasing. Sure the complaints make better news and are more likely to service on the net. However the internet sales make it much easier to ignore legitimate complaints. It hurts when you spend over 2K and can't even get past the order desk. No place is caveat emptor more important than on the internet. Their are 174 Complaints about Monster Transmission on the BBB (Better Business Bureau). And Monster is located in Florida, which is notorious for lax consumer protection laws. If that isn't a red flag I haven't seen one.

The second most common reason mail order 700R4s fail would be incorrectly installation of the torque converter.

[jimijam00]

Originally Posted by Accelo

1. Their are 174 Complaints about Monster Transmission on the BBB (Better Business Bureau).

2. The second most common reason mail order 700R4s fail would be incorrectly installation of the torque converter.

1. They've been in business at least 18 years from what I can see, so is 174 complaints out of average over an 18 year period for such a business? I don't know. I have no idea how many transmissions they've sold over those 18 years either. 500 per year would be 9000 total, 1000 transmissions would be 18000 total, and so on. So there's that.

2. Interesting.

[morepwr]

I have had a Bowtie Overdrives 700R4 in my 91 C1500 for about 80K miles and it has been perfect. I know a couple of others who have used them with positive results.

[beanious]

Easy answer, you do. Disassemble, learn, rebuild and perfect. Today's automotive parts world is not what it was 10, 20, 30 or 40 years ago. Everyone says they're the best at transmission rebuilds but if you buy the rebuilt parts, disassemble, inspect for cleanliness, accuracy and tolerances the rebuilds are all pretty bad. Combine that with Mondays and Fridays... Just google the companies selling rebuilt transmissions and parts for them, you'll se reviews all over the map. Due to this I actually spend the time and rebuilt 700R4s myself. If you want it done right, do it yourself...

[Accelo]

Although one can learn the details of rebuilding a transmission the skills are another thing.
Not to mention the tooling required to do it right. Sure, the internet makes it easier these days.
The dial indicator, parts cleaner and other special tooling will make the couple grand for a rebuild look inexpensive. I am not saying not to do it. Just be realistic. Frankly I wouldn't even consider pulling a transmission without a lift and a proper transmission jack. With two people I have pulled a 4l60 from a four-wheel drive Silverado in 20 min. And that's not a record. Guess it comes down to commitment. Do you have the time and resources to learn the ins and outs of rebuilding? If you decide to do it you will learn attention to detail that's for sure.

[Steeveedee]

I have a guy who is ace at rebuilding transmissions, but he's here in California.

[body bolt]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

Since 87-92 700r4's are really easy to find in any junkyard you might as well use one of them.

This is what I've done and would do again.

[gmc684x4]

Precision transmission in Texas would be a good place to check out
Monster transmission proubly has a far higher failure rate and complaints then posted at bbb as most ppl do not follow up look up monster complaints on YouTube only seen one get fixed only due to him having a YouTube channel

[beanious]

A TH350 went out on me, had it rebuilt at Red-D and failed, then had a mom and pops shop rebuild a 700R4 which failed as well. Both shops claimed to be experts but failed.

This led me to where I'm at with rebuilding my transmissions. When disassembeling the ones that failed, there were glaring signs that they were not rebuilt to correct tolerances and standards as well as not being thoroughly cleaned prior to rebuild.

Best tips I can give ya are:

Install the largest cooler(s) you can find on an auto transmission, heat kills
If installing yourself use a line gauge to test TV pressures prior to first drive
Don't go bananas driving it if you want it to last, same with anything
Tolerances, precision and knowledge of the transmission are key
The 700R4's had changes every year, knowing what to use and upgrade is critical
Find a shop that specializes in your make and model of transmission, they all have quirks
If you have built it yourself and something does go wrong, you know how to fix it

[NASTY-LSX]

DO NOT buy from MONSTER or MAD DOG.. Just do your home work shop around.