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5EAT with IPT VB blown at 38k miles, options???


brandonGT

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Well, it finally happened- the disgusting bad 5EAT in my 06 Legacy gt blew and I need a completely new transmission. The car was at stage 2 power levels since 10k miles and I've had the IPT valve body since 15k miles and it blew at 38k miles. Car was never even launched and the ATF fluid was changed at 15k miles and 30k miles. What an awful transmission.

 

So, given that the car is not under warranty and I have to pay like 5k+, I'm curious to what my options are. I'm all about performance but price is the number 1 priority. I was wondering If I could put the 5spd manual transmission in for the same price, or perhaps the fully built IPT transmission. Whatever route I go, all the parts would HAVE to be brand new and all work will be done at a local subaru dealership What are my options??? I really don't want to go back to the dreaded 5EAT but If it is by far the cheapest option, well then I might just have to.

 

My knowledge of cars doesn't really extend past the engine and tuning, so can I please gets some help from you guys in this situation. I appreciate it in advance...

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What does IPT say about using their VB mod on a stage II? Do they expect the trans to hold up? If so, I would ask them to "help you out here" by maybe giving you a decent discount on a fully built IPT trans.
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What does IPT say about using their VB mod on a stage II? Do they expect the trans to hold up? If so, I would ask them to "help you out here" by maybe giving you a decent discount on a fully built IPT trans.

 

I looked, they claim nothing about the power it can support. But the consensus on this forum is that VB mod=immunity from transmission problems which is certainly not true!

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that is not the consensus at all. VB mod = a bit safer for hard shifting. doesn't mean it's immune from anything.

 

how did it "blow"? ...what exactly is wrong with the transmission? what were you doing when it went? mid-shift? hard accel out of a corner? is it the tranny or one of the diffs?

 

why are you doing the work only at a subaru dealer? you wont send your transmission to IPT for a rebuild?

 

a MT swap costs anywhere between $5000 and $7000 when i was quoted from a shop that had done them before, depending on the transmission you pick. also i think you would need a new ECU.

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I was doing some street tuning and I punched it in 1st gear in Sport mode and it jolted forward violently then just snapped so I drove home with it making this loud clicking sound under normal acceleration. and while cruising the transmission would slip about every 10 sec and the rpms would increase and the car wasnt moving any faster. This action would follow by the transmission eventually catching the gear again, jolting me forward accompanied with a loud BOOM! I drove all the way home like this and right as I got into my neighborhood I had to give it a little gas to get up a steep hill and that is when it completely blew. From there when I put it in reverse or drive it would not move at all and I was in gear at all. Car was never on the drag stip or auto x but I did drive relatively aggressively on the street but no launches.
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that is not the consensus at all. VB mod = a bit safer for hard shifting. doesn't mean it's immune from anything.

 

how did it "blow"? ...what exactly is wrong with the transmission? what were you doing when it went? mid-shift? hard accel out of a corner? is it the tranny or one of the diffs?

 

why are you doing the work only at a subaru dealer? you wont send your transmission to IPT for a rebuild?

 

a MT swap costs anywhere between $5000 and $7000 when i was quoted from a shop that had done them before, depending on the transmission you pick. also i think you would need a new ECU.

 

Because it is the most convienent I suppose and well they know the cars the best since they work on them everyday. I am considering having the transmission rebuilt by IPT, but subaru would still be doing the install.

 

Best case scenario is getting the manual transmission because I regret getting an automatic for a while. In a perfect world, I could have subaru get all the parts necessary for the transmission swap and do it all for about the same price as a new 5EAT would cost. But that seems unrealistic, but I don't know?

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I was doing some street tuning and I punched it in 1st gear in Sport mode and it jolted forward violently then just snapped so I drove home with it making this loud clicking sound under normal acceleration. and while cruising the transmission would slip about every 10 sec and the rpms would increase and the car wasnt moving any faster. This action would follow by the transmission eventually catching the gear again, jolting me forward accompanied with a loud BOOM! I drove all the way home like this and right as I got into my neighborhood I had to give it a little gas to get up a steep hill and that is when it completely blew. From there when I put it in reverse or drive it would not move at all and I was in gear at all. Car was never on the drag stip or auto x but I did drive relatively aggressively on the street but no launches.

 

well that's interesting to hear that it snapped like that especially on an 08.

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so I drove home with it making this loud clicking sound under normal acceleration. and while cruising the transmission would slip about every 10 sec and the rpms would increase and the car wasnt moving any faster. This action would follow by the transmission eventually catching the gear again, jolting me forward accompanied with a loud BOOM! I drove all the way home like this and right as I got into my neighborhood I had to give it a little gas to get up a steep hill and that is when it completely blew.

 

Wow, why didn't you get a tow?

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wow, definitely doesn't sound like a 'typical' 5eat failure -- afaiu, ipt vb mainly helps preserve clutchpacks, so a grenade in 1st would be beyond its influence.

 

car ever in a collision (specifically, hit in front wheel?)?

 

i'd look hard at the doability of 6-spd if seriously considering going through with an MT swap.

sorry to hear man, best luck with the fix.

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wow, definitely doesn't sound like a 'typical' 5eat failure -- afaiu, ipt vb mainly helps preserve clutchpacks, so a grenade in 1st would be beyond its influence.

 

car ever in a collision (specifically, hit in front wheel?)?

 

i'd look hard at the doability of 6-spd if seriously considering going through with an MT swap.

sorry to hear man, best luck with the fix.

 

no it hasnt been in a collision but about a month ago the front right tire blew out and I rode on a spare tire for about 100 miles before getting new tires. There may be something there...

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Op I just installed my IPT rebuilt transmission this week. IPT will subtract the cost of the vb from the full build and pay for shipping it back to you. Good luck!

 

This is very useful information because that saves a solid 1000$. At this point a rebuilt transmission seems to be the best option and shouldnt be much more than a brand new 5eat from subaru, if at all.

 

Still, a manual transmission would be nice :wub:

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This is very useful information because that saves a solid 1000$. At this point a rebuilt transmission seems to be the best option and shouldnt be much more than a brand new 5eat from subaru, if at all.

 

Still, a manual transmission would be nice :wub:

 

I feel ya on the manual transmission. I researched the hell out of it, and it was just too damn expensive.

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I hope you don't take my tone the wrong way.

First, when shit goes wrong, you need to stop driving immediately to prevent further damage.

Second, the transmission is shot but we don't know why. You mentioned you are tight on funds so I don't suppose you are interested, at all, in having it inspected to pinpoint the failure for academic purposes. It is clear that the valve body is not at fauly, personally I think you managed to strip your center differential gears. The transmission is no longer transferring power correctly, the center diff is just spinning freely. Driving the transmission with stripped gears and most likely debris in it was the final nail in the coffin.

Were you turning when you punched it?

Swapping to a MT is not cost effective, so it's not even worth considering as an option.

IMHO your best option is to go to www.car-part.com and buy a refurbished transmission. They can be had for anywhere from $800-2000. I see several right now, one for $1200 and a coule other ranging from $1500 to $1700.

You will be able to swap out the IPT valve body and sell the valve body you get with the new transmission and recoup a few hundred bucks. You can even hold onto the ruined transmission and take it apart yourself for fun and keep it as a donor transmission. I'm sure someone here would be interested in having an additional stock core parts.

 

Personally I made a "pact" with my 5EAT. If it blows, I am replacing it, going back to stock and trading the car in for a Spec.B. She knows I am firm on this so she doesn't dare cause me trouble.

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when in a turn, one wheel is spinning faster than the other (inside wheel has to turn less to cover the same ground versus the outside wheel) so the diff has to absorb the difference in the spinning. if you punch it mid-turn it can cause a lot of stress on the diff and potentially break things.

 

this is my very basic understanding of it, i could be wrong

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^That is correct. The center diff is not particularly at work when you are going in a straight line on dry pavement. Punching it when coming out of a turn, hard enough to initiate a downshift, will essentially punch the center differential with a drastically higher torque load and the shock is no bueno. Frank_ster has pictures of said carnage in another thread of his.
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I was not turning when I gunned it. I guess putting all that power down at once in 1st gear was just too much to handle, I doubt it would've went down like that if I had been in manumatic.

 

Fishbone, I like your idea to save money but that worries me because I am right back to where a started- a stock crappy 5eat that will blow if I drive it hard. My tune is very aggressive and has lots of torque early and that is how I want it, I'm not going to let this POS transmission hold me back. And eventually I want to go vf52.

 

We will see what happens, but I am going to look into the IPT transmission and try to get the ball rolling tommorrow.

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Also, don't take it the wrong way...

I can understand not wanting to be held back from what you do with your car....but it kind of sounds like you chose the wrong platform for what you want. I say fix it and trade it for a 5MT that can really handle the type of power you want and be done with the trans. swap craziness and all that... IMO.

 

Good luck getting it fixed of course...

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