2004 Montana Transmition slipping I think???

[ktm525]

Ditch the Montana and buy a Manitoba. Buy Canadian.

[Jester13]

Hi All,

A quick update for anyone who was at the edge of their seats wonderring "what happened with this guy's tranny problems"?

Long story short, I finally had to have the tranny re-built, at Mr. Transmission since it seemed to be the only place that would deal with my "Coast to Coast" warranty coverage.  Cost came up to under $3000 including a 2 year 40,000 km warranty.  Brought it back 2 months after rebuild due to some occassional shifting problems and they changed the valve body again.  Over a month since then and the car has been running smooth with no shifting problems whatsoever.  Long term will give a better indication as to whether they did a good job or not but so far everything works like it should.

I must say that I had a very good, no hassle experience dealing with this particular Mr. Transmission.  I was expecting the worst after reading many horour stories from other threads.  I think if you can find a place that's been around for a long time and has a good local reputation, then it probably doesn't matter what the name is on the sign out front.  I did my research, asked around and chose the best "Mr. Tran" in the area and hopefully it will pay off.  I know that some of you might be thinking "Yeah but you got crap parts".  Maybe so, but my van is a GM, and a 2004, if it lasts me another 4-5 years with hopefully 1 less problem now, I'll be happy and it won't bother me much that my tranny parts weren't top of the line parts that would have lasted 10 years.  If my van was only a couple of years old, and say a Toyata, then yeah, I would want to have the best quality parts available to keep it running trouble free for 10+ years.

Anyway, I'm in no way saying to everyone with tranny problems to run to your nearest "Mr. Trans".  But I at least seem to have had a good experience there so far.  Do your research, ask around and hopefully you will get lucky and find a place that will give you a decent repair, at a decent price and take care of you if you have problems with the repair, no matter who that ends up beeing.

I will be sure to update occasionaly to anyone who is interested how good or bad my tranny repair turns out.  I'm getting a new 17 foot travel trailer in June so that will be a good test since I will be doing a bit of long distance travelling this year.

Cheers.

[articsteve]

Always good to hear back about issues.

I'm getting a new 17 foot travel trailer in June so that will be a good test since I will be doing a bit of long distance travelling this year.

That's an understatement! 

[mrthompson]

You are planning to tow a 17' travel trailer with your Montana? 

[blur911]

You are planning to tow a 17' travel trailer with your Montana? 

That's what warranty is for.     

I'm assuming the weight is within the towing limits.

[Trainman]

You are planning to tow a 17' travel trailer with your Montana? 

That's what warranty is for.     

I'm assuming the weight is within the towing limits.

Depends on the trailer of course:

Lightweight & Aerodynamic Design

There are many key features about the Escape which make it lightweight and aerodynamic, keeping travel costs to a minimum. With a dry weight of only 1900 lbs (plan A or B), the Escape 17’ has been designed specifically for mid sized vehicles such as mini-vans, SUVs and mid-sized trucks with a V6 engine or a minimum towing capacity of 3000lbs.

http://escapetrailer.com/

2004 Pontiac Montana Specs:   Maximum Towing Capacity: 3500 lbs.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2004/pontiac/montana/100311666/specs.html

[Jester13]

You are planning to tow a 17' travel trailer with your Montana? 

That's what warranty is for.     

I'm assuming the weight is within the towing limits.

Depends on the trailer of course:

Lightweight & Aerodynamic Design

There are many key features about the Escape which make it lightweight and aerodynamic, keeping travel costs to a minimum. With a dry weight of only 1900 lbs (plan A or B), the Escape 17’ has been designed specifically for mid sized vehicles such as mini-vans, SUVs and mid-sized trucks with a V6 engine or a minimum towing capacity of 3000lbs.

http://escapetrailer.com/

2004 Pontiac Montana Specs:   Maximum Towing Capacity: 3500 lbs.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2004/pontiac/montana/100311666/specs.html

I am getting a 17 foot Taylor Coach, Canadian made in southern Ontario.  Light weight considering it's size compared to a lot of other companies.  I like the fact that it is made within driving distance (long mind you) of Ottawa in case I need to bring it back for any issues and I am suporting a Canadian company.

While my van was at Mr Transmission, I had them install a tranny oil cooler to support the max tow rate of my van which is 3500 lbs.  The trailer weight, with the options I chose, should come in at around 2000lbs dry, which still leaves me with cargo weight for lugage, food, passengers and gear.

[mrthompson]

Cool.  Thanks for mentioning Taylor Coach.  I'll have to keep their trailers in mind should I be in the market.

Happy towing.