5EAT Rebuild by IPT

[AKLGT]

ok, sorry, yes, slipping i should say. I explained to Ty at IPT what was going on. he described to me exactly what the techs here told me is happening: the lower gears are not set up for the amount of torque i'm pushing and the hesitation of the gears are making it slip/grind. By doing the valve body upgrade, i should be able to eliminate that hesitation and get nice clean crisp shifts. he quoted me $650 to get the job done same day as I cannot have too much downtime on the car. This is my livelihood and I'll have to rent a car during that time while it's being worked on.

 

and FYI, to have a new tranny installed at dealer cost (hubby works at the dealership so we pay cost for SOA parts and labor) is $6000. So a rebuilt race tranny for $6000 is not a bad price at all. i do not have $6000 right now so it will make no difference! If this resolves my slipping issue, it will be worth the $650 plus shipping.

[Skillz]

Did they tell you "if you are making x amount of trq and x amount of hp you will need a valve body upgrade"?

[AKLGT]

no. i don't think it's that. i believe it's more or less what you want to do with the car, how you drive it, etc. i did a lot of racing and powerbraking (not everyday but i did do some) last summer. i imagine that due to this it is wearing those valves a little more than most people who just drive their car from point a to point b. the damage has been done already, so now it's a matter of trying to get this fixed and upgraded so it will not slip anymore.

 

if you want more info, i'd suggest giving Ty a call at IPT #1-866-828-7267. He was most helpful.

[underpowerd]

i'm wondering if you'd had any of these symptoms pre-swap, vibe? as i can't really imagine how you could really be pushing any more torque down low with a conservative tune on a bigger vf39 than the tdc stg 2 vf40 which is torquey as hell down low?

interested in hearing more about your symptoms: is it like a solid climb to @ 3-4-5K then reving higher without power transfer before shifting, where it should normally just shift?

also is this happening in every gear, or just 1-2, or 2-3, etc?

is it worse in sport, with sport's tendency to hold gear longer? any appreciable noise associated?

interested, and tia; and hope like hell the VB upgrade works wonders for you.

i think even 650 is good insurance for 6000, and if providing crisper shifts, may just be one of the best upgrades for a mod-minded AT'er. also, how will you have the VB upgrade installed?

[mele63]

trdvibe, so this just started happening for you?

 

I thought your 5EAT was still holding up:

 

 

like i said, i had stg 2 from april last year til 2 wks ago when i did my swap. raced my car at the track several times as well as autox. no probs. .

[AKLGT]

yes, after I did the STI swap last month. I had a coolant leak and when I took it into the dealer to have that taken care of (the hose clamp came off), they took the car for a "drive" to make sure it was running right. When they came back, they told me the tranny is "confused" and it's slipping in the lower gears. It can't take the torque so I need to figure out how to either change the gearing or the tranny is going to go kaput. I trust these guys as they know what they are doing. They are the only 2 techs that work on my car when it goes in for service.

 

After researching the issues, I found it is not an issue of the PDX maps, but is the valve body. I spoke to Ty at IPT regarding my LGT and he described to me exactly what my 2 techs told me. From reading up on what the big boys have done to resolve this issue, it seems this is what I need to get the gears stronger, shifting crisp and clean so the tranny is not in torque shock. I have been running my PDX maps w/ Torco overlay because I prefer the more agressive "feel" to the car. I suppose with my driving style and preferences, I should have realized i'd probably need to do something like this before. However, I'm not a car guru so this thread didn't make a whole lot of sense until now.

[AKLGT]

i'm wondering if you'd had any of these symptoms pre-swap, vibe? as i can't really imagine how you could really be pushing any more torque down low with a conservative tune on a bigger vf39 than the tdc stg 2 vf40 which is torquey as hell down low?

interested in hearing more about your symptoms: is it like a solid climb to @ 3-4-5K then reving higher without power transfer before shifting, where it should normally just shift?

also is this happening in every gear, or just 1-2, or 2-3, etc?

is it worse in sport, with sport's tendency to hold gear longer? any appreciable noise associated?

interested, and tia; and hope like hell the VB upgrade works wonders for you.

i think even 650 is good insurance for 6000, and if providing crisper shifts, may just be one of the best upgrades for a mod-minded AT'er. also, how will you have the VB upgrade installed?

i don't really know. i've always has a little hesitation in the shifting, but when i was TDC stg 2 the car seemed ok. my techs have driven my car down the race track last summer even. Like i said, i trust those guys. they know what they're doing and they mod their own cars. He noticed the slippage more or less when he drove it like he stole it (usually does after he works on something since he knows how i drive) and came back and said it needs help ASAP! These 5EATs are still a mystery to them as they (like most) work on modifying the 5MT's or STI's. They thought maybe the street tuner software would clean up the shifting and gears but I was told by PDX and Cobb that it will not change the gearing at all. I then went and remembered reading something about something.... tranny upgrade, yada yada and Magic mentioned we needed to do a valve body upgrade for the 5EAT to hold more power and torque, etc. so, in my researching and freaking out with having a car down while I'm starting my new business, I have decided that it is still by far cheaper to spend $650 than $6000. As for how and when to install the VB, we're hoping the service manager will allow me to get the car up in the air, take out the parts with the help of our tech friend (off hours) then figure a way to push the car out of the stall area to the back lot until we get the VB back. probably looking at about 4 days down time as there is no such thing as Next Day shipping in Alaska. and it's going to East Coast no doubt!

[VTGT]

Hope to hear positive results after the modified VB installed.

[AKLGT]

me too. because this is extremely frustrating for myself and my hubby (he's not happy with me right now ). we got a lot of money going out on this "simple" install.

 

it's proving to be a lot more involved than originally thought. However, I am quite confident with the glowing recommendations that the other 5EATers have given for IPT and their work. And after speaking with Ty in person this morning, I feel better that this can be resolved. I just hope the install and reinstall will not be too expensive... I'll still have to rent a vehicle during that time as well.

[mele63]

Hope to hear positive results after the modified VB installed.

 

+1.

 

Reading this makes me feel like I've been punched in the gut. $6,000.00 is like second car money, not mod money.

 

I just can't believe the 5EAT can be that fragile. Just think of all the idiots out there who beat the crap out of non-modded cars with 240+tq...you'd think there would be an epidemic of failures....

[LittleBlueGT]

Any cooler will be fine, I just went above and beyond. Install would have been easier with a small one, but mine wasn't too bad. If you live in cold weather, I don't recommend both the cooler and synthetic, as the fluid may never warm up. Really, just adding the cooler should be enough.

 

 

Not sure about the cooler but synthetic tranny fluid is great in cold and warm temps.

 

I know many people (including myself) who use synthetic tranny fluid right after the car comes off the lot.

 

It gets down to -40 where I live and many many people put tranny coolers on their cars/trucks.

 

My MPV came with a factory installed tranny cooler as an option and it does just fine in the winter.

[wukindada]

Get the BG flush, Subaru ATF & BG additive.

 

Change every 20-25k on a modded car;)

[underpowerd]

Get the BG flush, Subaru ATF & BG additive.

 

Change every 20-25k on a modded car;)

 

always appreciate your advice .

 

wuk, fairly safe to assume you've been putting the most (or at least plenty) through the 5eat the longest (or a good while, at least): other than fluid/cooler, do you have any trans. upgrades?

[AKLGT]

ok, what is the BG additive? I have the best stuff in there right now, but what is the BG additive?

 

nm, hubby just walked in and informed me that that's already done. car will be just under 30K miles anyways. so when i have the car up in the air, take out the VB and solenoids, we'll have to do tranny flush once we put the car back together anyways.

 

Like i said, my techs have been really good about making sure my car is running smoothly. they know how it drives, almost better than me!

[AKLGT]

ok, so what is involved in removing the VB and solenoids? I'm assuming I need to have a shop do this, take the tranny out to get to the parts??

[jim1969]

will upgrading the VB cause more strain on other parts of the transmission (clutch packs, gears, etc.) an cause them to fail?

[MIKEBRAVO]

I'm thinking about detuning back to a cobb mapp and getting a trans cooler

[mele63]

I'm thinking about detuning back to a cobb mapp and getting a trans cooler

 

 

What map/mods are you running now?

 

trdvibe didn't have a problem with the TDC stage II tune; from what I can tell her problems started after the STi swap.

 

...I'm also considering de-tuning; I know you pay to play but I don't want to pay six grand for a new transmission.

[MIKEBRAVO]

What map/mods are you running now?

 

trdvibe didn't have a problem with the TDC stage II tune; from what I can tell her problems started after the STi swap.

 

...I'm also considering de-tuning; I know you pay to play but I don't want to pay six grand for a new transmission.

+1, TDC STGII, STI up, Cobb HFC Down, K&N. I think a combination of extra torque from the 18psi the TDC map produces and the California heat, maybe fatal. It appears that all the failed trans were running a more agressive map ie, not COBB.

[AKLGT]

will upgrading the VB cause more strain on other parts of the transmission (clutch packs, gears, etc.) an cause them to fail?

good question. My issue right now is to avoid a new tranny. I don't have the money to dump into the car at the moment. I have a brand new business that needs to get off it's feet and so I can't spend all my time worrying and dealing with the car and tranny when I should be concentrating on my business. If i can atleast bide a good/fair amount of time for the car, I'm looking at leasing a new vehicle for the business before the end of the year. I believe since I drive so much on my car now, it's quickly wearing it down. If I didn't drive so much on it, then it'd last a lot longer. I just can't afford to do that at the moment.

 

I'll have to give IPT a call and talk to them a little more. We have to figure out how to get the valve body and solenoids out of the tranny FIRST to even send them.

[AKLGT]

+1, TDC STGII, STI up, Cobb HFC Down, K&N. I think a combination of extra torque from the 18psi the TDC map produces and the California heat, maybe fatal. It appears that all the failed trans were running a more agressive map ie, not COBB.

remember, i was also running TDC stg 2 with catless up, mp, dp. i ripped on the car... i had so much low end torque! so i could have easily been slowly wearing down the gears then too, but i don't know. it's still all a mystery. i felt the swap was making my low end slow compared to my instant power w/ the TDC stg 2. so when the techs told me it was slipping because of all the torque under load, i kept thinking to myself, but it's SLOWER! it was just slipping...

[MIKEBRAVO]

I just saw the 1.16 Cobb Version 1 map revision. It more agressive then the last STGII but not as agressive as the TDC.

Dont get me wrong I LOOOOOVE my TDC map. But sometimes in traffic its like trying to slow down a bull, it just wants to go. To add, If my wife drives it she complains about how slow everyone is and takes unnessasry risks to pass slower folks.

[MIKEBRAVO]

Oh while I was researching the Hayden trans cooler,(which is 20 miles from my house)I found out HAYDEN also makes a radiator mister. I called and asked them about a TMIC application. They were clueless, but for 82.99 at pepboys it might be worth a shot. They also said I could take it back if it didn't work.

[mikeyan]

 

I'll have to give IPT a call and talk to them a little more. We have to figure out how to get the valve body and solenoids out of the tranny FIRST to even send them.

 

FWIW, i believe the valve body and solenoids just past the transmission oil pan....

 

I'll see if i can dig up a service manual to confirm or deny

 

Mike

 

Found the proper PDF... its too big to attach, PM me your email and i'll send you the pdf. It does sit just past the transmission oil pan.

[AKLGT]

I'm hoping Hybrid and JerseyGlock will chime back in. I'm curious to see how they sent theirs in for upgrading, i know Hybrid has a new tranny coming, but did JG send his VB's in?? or also get a new tranny altogether.