cha_7_0

If you are going to use Maddog Transmissions out of Georgia, this is a must read. I know there are posters of old who have had bad reviews of Maddog Trannies. You can see them under the title "How Long will you Maddog transmission Last? I am going to offer a complete customer review from start to finish. I Live within a mile of their shop. I am going to take up a Ford Big Daddy E4OD transmissions, for a rebuild. That ford tranny is a complete booger inside, very difficult to get it shifting correctly, and we will see how they do. With the mixed reviews I want to see how they are on the beater truck before I let them at my 91' sleeper birdie pushing 310 ponies out of a tbi 305. I post some pics as well and keep everyone up to date.

UnderCover89TBI

iTrader: (25)

So your willing to spend $$$ with a shop that gets bad reviews just to see if they do better work now? instead of finding a shop more reputable in your area first so you have less worry about your transmission?

cha_7_0

I have check with most of the garages around here and all the word was good. I even been able to ride in a 68' camaro with a Maddog tranny in it. I have rebuilt three cars with the help of this forum and never contributed anything, I believe most here have the best info on the web and I thought after I decided to take it there I should keep everyone informed about my experience. I hope it might help somone in the future.

cha_7_0

I will post pics I got of there shop. Also asked if they would keep me informed about the progress, the Lady at the counter said she would keep me up to date.

85MikeTPI

iTrader: (2)

Yeah.. If it walks like a troll, and talks like a troll, it's probably a troll..

UnderCover89TBI

iTrader: (25)

I understand. Thanks. I hope it works out well for you. Be sure to give an informed review when all is said and done. Not really for me I have a tranny guy here in California. But for local guys closer to you.

92 Formula

iTrader: (2)

Once a vendor rep is bad, I will never reconsider them. Also, there are too many good transmission builders out there...my favorite being Dana at Pro Built.

Good luck with your money.

cha_7_0

Got the truck back, this past weekend. Everything seems to be all good, only time will tell. I'm not so computer quick so havin trouble posting pics but, will keep trying. She shifts good, nothing special to say about it but, only time will tell. And who has been speaking to my wife, knowing I look like a troll haha!!

Gumby

Does seem awful odd to join a site and then go right into a product endorcement for your first 4 post

92 Formula

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I sincerely mean no offense to the OP, but I'd weigh the feedback carefully. And, as I said, I wouldn't give my business to any company that has or had a bad rep.

Best wishes to you all.

cha_7_0

Gumby I never thought about it that way and I even have to say yeah. I really have just taken info off this site for years and never had anything to say. I just saw all of the old reviews from 05,06,07 and thought since I was only fixin a beater up and had made my mind up to go there to tell my experience. I agree I wouldn't mail order or long distance purchase, I am within a mile. But, I do see ya'lls pov, I still will keep up date on how it runs.

cha_7_0

I really thought the troll was about how I looked, damm I am getting old. It is true after 40 it is all down hill

cha_7_0

Ok truck is running strong on the new tranny, I did check with my wife and I do look like a troll haha.

UnderCover89TBI

iTrader: (25)

Well glad to hear the tranny is working good...

zee28

sorry but this sounds like a poor attempt to make a wrong or a few wrongs,right.I think if you would have come in and not mentioned the bad reviews and simply said something like "hey had a maddog installed in my camaro/firebird and it's great" it would've went better.Just so you know being a troll is not considered a good thing.And to honest,not rude I don't care how well that trans holds up in anything but a camaro or firebird because that's what this site is for and clearly thats where the reviews came from,correct?

camaronewbie

The "proof" will come after many months. If you come back in 2 years and tell us it's still great, then OK, maybe they got their $hit together. EVERYONE says a Mad Dog is great the first week, month, etc. After 90 days, that's when they start falling apart. Then, after all the money spent, folks open them up to see that Maddog charged for a 'great rebuild' only to find that they replaced very little, used the crappiest parts they could find, and slapped it back together with many bad original parts still in there. That's were the bad reviews come in, months down the road. Same with Monster, Raptor, and all the other big internet-advertising rebuilders.

As mentioned, with that much cash on the line, Pro-Built is the ONLY place I'd consider ... because no one's ever had a bad word to say about Dana or his work.

But, I hope we're wrong, and I hope they started actually doing something for all the cash they rake in.

WESTOF7

ha do a search for maddog transmissions on pirate4x4.com I liked the thread where maddog threw a parts store converter in a supposedly "built" tranny and it ballooned pushing the crank through the block of a $20000 motor in a competion rock buggy at koh , then refusing to make it right and handling the situation poorly in every sense of the word. What a joke.

92 Camaro

iTrader: (1)

I have had my Monster transmission for almost a year now. No complaints whatsoever.

the solitaire

I think it´s a bit unfair to base a companies reputation on one or two rumoured incidents which none of the members here present have witnessed in person, and then take up a rude attitude towards someone who lives near the same company, has informed himself and done business with the same company.

If someone spent $20 000 on an engine, and didn´t care about the quality of the work done on a transmission, then goes and waste the engine in off-road application I think it is only poor character to blame what happened on the contractor that offered a transmission.

Has anyone seen the contract for this transmission?
Was it a premium job or was it a stock rebuild with the intention of road-use, rather then off-road?

Up to the moment where someone posts the original contract for that transission, I just rather accept the person who wasted a $20 000 engine is a loudmouth rather then anything else.

If the contract clearly states that the transmission built is fit for the projected power output of the engine it´s intended to be used on, and is fit for off-road use, I can agree that there might have been a quality issue, or even malicious intent on the side of the contractor who obviously used a part not fit for off-road use.

Without these details I personally put more weight in the reports from the original poster, independent of whether or not the car in question is a thirdgen or not, then assuming truth in an urban legend from 5 or 6 years ago.

That´s just my 2 cents however.

DaKrames92

iTrader: (2)

c'mon guys, you may feel that unending urge to ruin someone's day, but he's just trying to post some useful information. He saw that we had bad experiences with that stuff, and now he's just trying to share some insight. if you don't like what he's trying to do, don't post. it's as simple as that. this forum is in part to help people make decisions, not to rag on someone because you don't agree with them or what they're doing.

WESTOF7

We are not talking about one or two isolated incidents here, we are talking about a long and colorful history of incompetance and just plain ripping people off documented by numerous individuals on different forums .
My friend most certainly did care about the quality of work that went into his transmission considering he would be competing in the worlds most demanding offroad competition. The cause of the engine being destroyed was the transmission being poorly modified causing the torque converter to balloon pushing the crank forward through a new gmpp lsx block. My friend paid a considerable amount of money to have a bulletproof tranny built for his rig. When the tranny was taken apart it was discovered that maddog had just performed a cheap rebuild with factory parts and a cheap parts store converter a fact maddog later admitted. IMO it would be poor character not to blame maddog. My friend only made it publicly known on a interne

the solitaire

Westof7, I'm willing to believe that.

In case of such an incident, history becomes colourful quite quickly.
As said before, I see one happy customer and one disgruntled customer and a lot of jabbering about stuff posted on the internet.

The easiest way to solve this is to post documentation clearly outlining the amount of concern your friend had for his engine by showing the specifications/demands he provided for the rebuild.

Money is not equal to quality. You can throw a lot of money at something, but it doesn't nescessarily make something better.

For me, I always clearly state, in detail, what I expect from basically anyone I deal with, regardless of the item in question. That includes intended use, minimum expected specifications, guarantees, warranty, price and timeframe untill delivery of the goods.

I don't care if that's trannies or used books, and I do not do business with people that can not or will not provide all the required information up front. If your angry friend did the same, and still ended up with a broken transmission it should be instantly clear who the guilty party is. From there it would take a good lawyer 5 minutes to settle the case. If your friend failed to be specific about the details up front, in my opinion it's his fault, not maddogs.

J91

I find it amusing how fast people trash mfr. of parts, cuz of something they read or heard. While I know firsthand Pro-built makes a good tranny, I did tear one up. It was supposed to be good for 500hp and was for about 18 mos. Then it started slipping between shifts. I have to admit it had 4-5000 mi. on it when I put it in. I know this because I know where it came from. I have no problem w/ Pro-built they have a very good product and Dana is a great guy and very helpful and knowledgeable to deal with. To put it mildly I beat the hell out of my car @ opentrack, auto-x, drag racing events and on the streets. So problems are likely to happen.

My next Transmission purchase was a Monster Stage 3 rated @ 600HP. This tranny works better than any other I have owned and has been in the car for 7,000mi. now. Time will tell if it holds up. Their service has been great to say the least, I guess what I am saying is, if you don't know firsthand, you probably shouldn't be trashing anyones product. I work on alot of high performance cars and can tell you I have seen alot of good transmissions ruined because people do not break them in properly or install them w/o external coolers,or put shitty fluid in them, misadjust TV cables and then say it's a piece of crap.

I know people who have had good and bad experiences w, Pro-built, Monster, TCI, and MadDog transmissions. It's all subject to interpretation. If I do not know something first hand I'm not gonna jump on the bandwagon cuz he says, or she says. Just because someone buys a product that we don't approve of or have in our car does not give us the right to trash their choices. Automatic trannys are subject to fail when they see long sutained hours of abuse, they build heat like crazy, especially when stall speed convertors are used. A drag racing tranny will not hold up on the street gets too hot, a street tranny will not hold up on the strip, it is not designed for WOT shifts, etc...

I think you get the point here at least I hope you do. When running high HP engines w/ automatics and even manual trannies, things are gonna break. Anyone w/ racing experience will tell you this, finding a good working combo is the key to success, wether on the track or the street.... Just my 2cents worth!

UnderCover89TBI

iTrader: (25)

Well said J91

cha_7_0

THey fixed everything !!

cha_7_0

Lou is a stand up guy.

RyanJB

I got my trans a few months ago, had nothing but problems with them. First trans had linkage problems, second trans had no shift kit included. We demanded money back because of the 12 hours we spent swaping transmissions around and the extra hour or two we would spend with the valve body for the shift kit. They never sent the money and this was in early April. I'm not even sure they did anything to my trans, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a stock 700R4 I was just tired of dealing with Lou's ****. Don't trust them.

Csavor911

Please email your situation to csavor@maddogtransmissions.com

He will fix the situation for you.

Maddoglou454

This is Mad Dog Lou, the Owner of Mad Dog Transmission,

I know we have had some issue in the past... I am not saying those posts are true, maybe 20% of these posts are true. I have opened up some of the transmissions under warranty and have found that the customer did not get what they paid for. I definitely learned a valuable lesson. My shop grew too far too fast; and I had the wrong people on my team. I am here to tell you that I LOU personally inspects every transmission and downsized the shop from 25 employees now to 8 employees. So it went from quantity to quality. Back in the day everyone pretended they cared but the fact remained that they didn't and work reflected that.

Lets not forget that there is incomplete installation as well; people forget to clear the cooler lines which will contaminate the transmissions. I have seen many times they will break the front pump when installing the converter.

So lets not forget we all are human, and everyone wants to blame the builder. I have stepped up my game and we do dyno test EVERY transmission because of human error and defective parts. As far as I know... we have put out all fires and have honored all Warranties; which I continue to do as a good business man.

I also want it to be known that I personally have investigated these issues and as a on going basis continue to improve my quality in transmission building. I read all the bad reviews of my company and transmissions and look into every claim, and try to make it right. I continue to look into my company to find out where we can improve; and yes we have made mistakes like every company has... but I am here to tell you that we have improved our quality 100% and will not tolerate nothing but the best going forward.

I thank you for your message..

Thank You,
Mad Dog Lou!

MAD DOG TRANSMISSIONS

Phone 770-781-0949
Fax 770-781-0969

RyanJB

You say you test every Trans but the first one you sent me was bone dry and clearly untested considering we added extra fluid to make sure the lines and cooler were filled and it was still low. Not to mention it had linkage problems and when it was put into reverse it forced itself into drive and rolled forward. It never would have made it off the lift or the dyno that you claim to test on

Oh and you've resolved all the problems? Where's that check you said you'd get right out about 2 months ago?

antoine

Maddog said the samething on another forum

RyanJB

Doesn't surprise me. The more I see/hear him talk the more I realize he's full of lies.

I called earlier today asking about the money I'm owed and they said they shipped the check April 20th. I called about 2 weeks ago and you said you'd get it right out... Which one is it?

FireDemonSiC

NEVER trust a MadDog transmission. From all the horror stories I've read on here, I would rather cut a hole in my driver's side floor pan and fred flintstone my *** around town than run a maddog tranny.

And having the wrong people working for you? Come on, Lou. You run the company, set the rules and regulate the standards. The workers YOU are paying to do a certain job a certain way are using inferior parts when it doesn't impact their pay rates whatsoever? That story just doesn't make sense.

I'm on board with everyone else in this thread who has said that once a company garners a negative rep, they're permanately off my list.

It seems all of these mail order transmission services have been generating a lot of misfortune lately. I have even been seeing Dana get some heat from a few users around here lately.

RyanJB

Monster seems to be doing pretty well. Their price was the only thing that made me choose mad dog over monster, and now I wish I would have just got the monster

Csavor911

Ok, First off... We cant send a transmission with fluid. Its against the law.

Second, I dont know your full name so I can fix the problem myself and make it right. Like I said earlier. Please email me at csavor@maddogtransmissions.com and explain what happened and I personally will see it through to make it right.

DeltaElite121

I haven't dealt with you guys personally, so I am certainly not in a position to judge.. but why is it Lou posted, and now you're in here trying to take care of the problem? I figure if he's bold enough to post personally about taking care of a pissed off customer, he should also be willing to personally take care of the problem himself considering it's his company to begin with.

That's just me, though. As long as it gets resolved I guess it ultimately doesn't matter.

Csavor911

I am not trying to speak for Lou. I am the office manager, and I wanted to help and make sure this situation gets corrected. If I can do that great. I will be more than happy to help anyone with a situation and get you the help needed to fix the problem.

ringo234

I had mt 700R4 built by my mechanic Dyno Don so I know exactly whats in it. He also built the engine and The exhaust from the headers to the tailpipe. I think I'm lucky because I live close enough to take my car to his shop and have the work done in front of eyes.

matts86cam

iTrader: (1)

keep the heat coming guys, I am looking for a transmission and need to know these things.

jdawg1276

I know this is a old thread
how is the transmission holding up

RyanJB

It's holding up. It has an incredibly annoying whining sound coming from it in first gear but it's driving fine.

FireDemonSiC

NOT good!

jdawg1276

Nope not good at all have you had him look at it or has the warranty expired

RyanJB

I haven't had him look at it yet. I don't have another car to drive for the 2-4+ weeks he would have my trans.

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Better line something up, get it fixed now, or be prepared to have another car when it fails completly.

articwhiteZ

iTrader: (56)

why dont you guys do the tranny your self?
go and buy the right upgrade hard parts.do the mods. and put it together.

yes some of the best hard parts sell for more the the shops are selling there trannys for..but then ya get what ya pay for.

the new 6 pinon planet sells for a tad over a grand.. and the other new upgrade parts a tad over $600. but its only money.

yes you could have $1800 into just good parts before the convertr..but it would hold up, and last.
iv worked for a few Nation wide tranny shops in the past (as a Kid)
Royal transmission
Aamco trans
Gieraltar trans

all can pump out trannys for to to day driving.some shops better then others ..even with the same name...its just fast food for your car..thats it in a nut shell... for fun we would time the R&R on the 3rd gen it was down to 7 min on the rip..and 20.on the install..thats one guy doing it..
(my best time)..we could pump out the corn dogs..ya know

also with the big tranny shops. you would get held over a fire with what it was going in
say a th400 in a car $750
same tranny in a RV MH $1200

SAME off the shelf th400.. (the RV was a easy install) more so then the car!) you just paid more!

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Because most peopel are afraid of auto trannies.

Takes a few special tools that most people don't have. At least the TH400's I rebuilt years ago in school did.

RyanJB

Initially I was going to do the trans myself. The problem was the amount of metal that was in the remaining components after my pump broke. I figured it would have been an easier time if I just bought a built trans rather than attempt to build my own. Apparently I was wrong.

More than likely I am fix whatever this is but I do need to get ahold of mad dog and arrange something.

articwhiteZ

iTrader: (56)

most of the tools you can make...but some you buy...is one point..but still under $100.

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Yep, but like i said, most people are afraid to tear into an auto transmission, fear of the unknown.

Ask how many guys built their engine ,then ask how many built their trans.

I'm not justifying it or agreeing, just saying thats most peoples reason for not.