Gsmblue Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Gary, the lady there at Monster did at least say she'd run it up the chain, so I'm not going to threaten them with anything. I work for a company with strict policies, and I know what it's like to be the guy who has to "tap the sign." I also know that we make exceptions based on a customer's circumstances, and that's what I'm hoping they'll do here. LEBaron, that was a concern of mine, especially because one of the alignment dowels is on the broken-off part. But this shop specializes in this stuff and said they could get it perfect. It's only $65 for the welding option, and if it does turn out to be out of alignment or something, I can always just send the whole thing to Monster and pay the big cost. And hopefully, the lady I talked to can get some knocked off the price and it won't be as exorbitant. GSMBlue, It seems like if they don't cover damages to the case, they shouldn't gig me for fixing it. I just won't tell them I got it welded, and let the warranty claim expire. Then if something goes wrong that IS covered, I will just send it in and hope they don't notice LOL. Mat, I do understand running a business and the bottom line, I know that some things are beyond control. When I build a piece of furniture for someone and they have a problem with it, I take it back and fix it free of charge. If one board on a table had a crack I didn't know about and it opened up, I'd fix it. If I shipped any of my work anywhere, I would see about at least sharing the cost of freight, since that's a big cost for anyone. And yeah, it's definitely a used case. I didn't expect a new one, really. It would be nice if they would just leave it bare instead of putting aluminum-colored paint on it, though. I feel like a crack that big might have BEEN a "visible blemish out of the box" if it weren't for the paint. Of course I'm upset that my very expensive component is now unusable. I also understand how it is when you have business to conduct. I guess my opinion on it is that if I paid them $2800 for one unit, everyone else is too, and if their products are as great as they say, then mine is among a very small number that need to be warranty'd. IF the number is indeed small, then eating only part of the cost of my purchase is not such a financial hit, and they'd make it back when I need my transfer case and my other Fords' transmissions done. Your attitude is very civil and considerate. It is always good to see people do the right thing and have the right attitude! I like like your plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Gary, the lady there at Monster did at least say she'd run it up the chain, so I'm not going to threaten them with anything. I work for a company with strict policies, and I know what it's like to be the guy who has to "tap the sign." I also know that we make exceptions based on a customer's circumstances, and that's what I'm hoping they'll do here. LEBaron, that was a concern of mine, especially because one of the alignment dowels is on the broken-off part. But this shop specializes in this stuff and said they could get it perfect. It's only $65 for the welding option, and if it does turn out to be out of alignment or something, I can always just send the whole thing to Monster and pay the big cost. And hopefully, the lady I talked to can get some knocked off the price and it won't be as exorbitant. GSMBlue, It seems like if they don't cover damages to the case, they shouldn't gig me for fixing it. I just won't tell them I got it welded, and let the warranty claim expire. Then if something goes wrong that IS covered, I will just send it in and hope they don't notice LOL. Mat, I do understand running a business and the bottom line, I know that some things are beyond control. When I build a piece of furniture for someone and they have a problem with it, I take it back and fix it free of charge. If one board on a table had a crack I didn't know about and it opened up, I'd fix it. If I shipped any of my work anywhere, I would see about at least sharing the cost of freight, since that's a big cost for anyone. And yeah, it's definitely a used case. I didn't expect a new one, really. It would be nice if they would just leave it bare instead of putting aluminum-colored paint on it, though. I feel like a crack that big might have BEEN a "visible blemish out of the box" if it weren't for the paint. Of course I'm upset that my very expensive component is now unusable. I also understand how it is when you have business to conduct. I guess my opinion on it is that if I paid them $2800 for one unit, everyone else is too, and if their products are as great as they say, then mine is among a very small number that need to be warranty'd. IF the number is indeed small, then eating only part of the cost of my purchase is not such a financial hit, and they'd make it back when I need my transfer case and my other Fords' transmissions done. That's your call and I respect that. But it isn't a threat. It is a fact that their reputation is being discussed, openly and on a large forum that is open to anyone in the world. I think it is fair that they know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickelplate Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 That's your call and I respect that. But it isn't a threat. It is a fact that their reputation is being discussed, openly and on a large forum that is open to anyone in the world. I think it is fair that they know that. That's a good point. It IS already being discussed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Whitstone Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 GSMBlue, It seems like if they don't cover damages to the case, they shouldn't gig me for fixing it. I just won't tell them I got it welded, and let the warranty claim expire. Then if something goes wrong that IS covered, I will just send it in and hope they don't notice LOL. I don't see how they couldn't notice, the weld scars are going to be very apparent. And then I fear they would deny your claim on that basis alone. Are the welders going to remove the internals from the case? If so, warranty issue again. If not, I would be concerned about the pump and the forward gearpack and any bearings they have being exposed to the weld heat. You have to pump a huge amount of heat into what, quarter inch or thicker aluminum, to get a solid weld on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 That's a good point. It IS already being discussed. Not only is it being discussed at the moment, but unlike on Facebook the comments will be found when someone searches for anything that is in this thread. In other words, these are effectively eternal statements that will impact their reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Not only is it being discussed at the moment, but unlike on Facebook the comments will be found when someone searches for anything that is in this thread. In other words, these are effectively eternal statements that will impact their reputation. this is absolutely the best way to advertise your willingness to work with a customer and gain respect in the customer service world. I'm sure they spend much more on marketing then a case will cost. and yes, an unhappy customer, with lots of friends can be a real lost opportunity. word spreads like wildfire these days. good and bad! that does not imply that anyone owes anything just that customer service is the real product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 So far, my experience with Monster has been positive. Their lead time was greatly underestimated. I ordered my transmission on 10/5 and received it on 12/9 after being told it would arrive in the beginning of November. Despite that, they always kept me updated on the status of my order, and it's not hard to get in touch with a real person on the phone. Hey man, sorry to hear about the issue with the transmission. In defense of the greatly underestimated lead time, I will say that everybody is struggling with this right now. I deal with it every single day at work...apologizing for wildly incorrect lead times. It mostly has to do with sub components and receiving wildly incorrect lead times from suppliers. Things are better than they were a year ago, but they're still not perfect. We've had to re-word out T&C's because of this, and our lead times are "estimates only". It's a pain in the butt. By the way, my brother in law has had two aluminum transmission cases welded up before and they went on to last several hundred thousand miles in service vehicles. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen them myself, but they did last. They were both front wheel drive transaxles too that has big holes in them lol. The shop that welded them up for us claimed to have repaired lots of them before. Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickelplate Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 So far, my experience with Monster has been positive. Their lead time was greatly underestimated. I ordered my transmission on 10/5 and received it on 12/9 after being told it would arrive in the beginning of November. Despite that, they always kept me updated on the status of my order, and it's not hard to get in touch with a real person on the phone. Hey man, sorry to hear about the issue with the transmission. In defense of the greatly underestimated lead time, I will say that everybody is struggling with this right now. I deal with it every single day at work...apologizing for wildly incorrect lead times. It mostly has to do with sub components and receiving wildly incorrect lead times from suppliers. Things are better than they were a year ago, but they're still not perfect. We've had to re-word out T&C's because of this, and our lead times are "estimates only". It's a pain in the butt. By the way, my brother in law has had two aluminum transmission cases welded up before and they went on to last several hundred thousand miles in service vehicles. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen them myself, but they did last. They were both front wheel drive transaxles too that has big holes in them lol. The shop that welded them up for us claimed to have repaired lots of them before. Good luck with it! Just an update: The nice lady at Monster elevated the warranty case to the highest people in the process and I should hear back from them by midweek next week. I got the current trans back from the welder yesterday and I am not satisfied with the work. He told me that the metal of my case was really hard to weld because it had some magnesium content to it, then proceeded to tell me a story about another magnesium-containing thing he had welded that fell apart right after he finished. He didn't preheat the metal so his work ended up causing more cracks. He fixed those, but did not end-drill them like you're supposed to do on cast materials to prevent it from spreading again due to the heat of the welding. He ended up getting a bunch of aluminum shavings on everything, including some getting inside, by going in around the seal that goes around the pump shaft for the torque converter. Also, I got home and measured it with a straight edge, and the broken off piece is not co-planar with the rest of the transmission. Big problem, since the broken part has the hole for one of the alignment dowels. Worst-case scenario, I have to buy a whole new transmission. Anyone know any good, reputable companies I can look into for that? My local Ace Transmission quoted me like $6k for a new transmission and to install it. Yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Just an update: The nice lady at Monster elevated the warranty case to the highest people in the process and I should hear back from them by midweek next week. I got the current trans back from the welder yesterday and I am not satisfied with the work. He told me that the metal of my case was really hard to weld because it had some magnesium content to it, then proceeded to tell me a story about another magnesium-containing thing he had welded that fell apart right after he finished. He didn't preheat the metal so his work ended up causing more cracks. He fixed those, but did not end-drill them like you're supposed to do on cast materials to prevent it from spreading again due to the heat of the welding. He ended up getting a bunch of aluminum shavings on everything, including some getting inside, by going in around the seal that goes around the pump shaft for the torque converter. Also, I got home and measured it with a straight edge, and the broken off piece is not co-planar with the rest of the transmission. Big problem, since the broken part has the hole for one of the alignment dowels. Worst-case scenario, I have to buy a whole new transmission. Anyone know any good, reputable companies I can look into for that? My local Ace Transmission quoted me like $6k for a new transmission and to install it. Yikes. do your best to vacuum out any shavings. shop vac with as small of a tube as you can come up with. it does not sound as if then welder jig'd the bell housing before welding. this is such an important step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickelplate Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 do your best to vacuum out any shavings. shop vac with as small of a tube as you can come up with. it does not sound as if then welder jig'd the bell housing before welding. this is such an important step. You'd think that someone who claims to specialize it would have jigs for the common type. I dunno about where you all are, but here in my part of the US, it is SO hard to find someone who actually does things carefully and right. The reviews and pics on the weld shop's web presence looked really good. Oh well. I suppose it's all easy-street from here since nothing else can go wrong with this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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