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Tuned perfect at 75k, now at 76k steering wheel hops in 3rd, 3.5-3.75k; 5EAT

Soda Popinski

By Soda Popinski
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ShadowImg Mentor

ShadowImg

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I believe every one I've heard of losing the 5EAT on here mentions that it starts slipping in 3rd first, then completely lets go of 5th later. YMMV, just what stuck in my mind from reading everyone's stories. My 08 5EAT held up ok, but I sold it <40k miles.
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bmx045 Grand Master

bmx045

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You confuse whining with frustration and a willingness to learn, sir. Im trying to not only find a solution, but find how to NOT do it again

 

well, I firmly believe a sequence of events have to occur to have a failure like yours. As people said, you usually lose the packs from the top down, so third being the first is unusual. Have you ever changed the ATF? just out of curiosity

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fishbone Grand Master

fishbone

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Guys, cut him some slack. I'd have opened a thread trying to diagnose an issue like this as well, rally or not.

 

Popinski, imho if you get the IPT tranny, it's way overkill both in capacity and spending. Are you likely to go big power and really need the cryo-treated internals, a modded torque converter and the whole nine yards? We're talking over 400whp. IMHO, here is what I would do if I were in your position, a plan I have for myself if my tranny shits the bed. Get ClimberD's modded valve body which blows IPTs away both in performance and especially price. Then try to source a set of clutches stronger than OEM. Again, I forget where we landed on this but I thought ClimberD or someone else here found a set that is stronger than OEM. Go to a trusty local tranny shop and have them rebuild the transmission. Additinally, if you want to bulletproof the center diff so you can launch that bitch safely all day, get the kit that ClimberD sells. I know it sounds like I'm advertising him up and down but he's just about the only dude to offer what I'm suggesting. You'll come out ahead as far as price and have a tranny strong enough to hold just about 350whp safely. And if you continue to rally, you have no business running the OEM ATF unless you like spending your money on frequent flushes.

 

Skip IPT. After it's surfaced what they charge for what they do to the valve bodies, I can't in good conscience recommend to anyone they get their full built tranny. I really don't see value especially in their torque converter mod since ours is quite strong AND high stall from factory. Just too many question marks for that big $$$

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fishbone Grand Master

fishbone

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Also, this was on record previously but was removed.

At least for the 2005-2006 5EAT valve body, IPT installs a spring, removes a couple of in-line filters and for this they charge 700-some dollars. Someone tore down their modded vb and compared to stock and that's what was apparent. We have asked them NUMEROUS times what the secret is behind their vb mod service and all we got in return were evasive answers.

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doccrowley Experienced

doccrowley

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220829390373&fromMakeTrack=true

 

found one here, 650 + 399 shipping for a complete tranny, 5EAT.

 

dealership wants 6 hours labor to install.

 

should I just pull the trigger on this?

 

 

May or may not be a good deal. They don't list mileage or any other details, and they offer no warranty. Too expensive on freight.

 

www.car-part.com will list mileage and warranty info.

 

I've purchased 2 5EAT's through them.

 

My experience: don't switch model years on your tranny purchase. It won't work.

 

Figure out why you cooked your tranny. I know why mine cooked: overheated the ATF and got the ATF light and car vapor locked after a cruise through Deathh Valley at 114degrees, car fully loaded with 4 people, luggage and 4 bikes on roof. Also, ran the car at a track day 1 qt low on ATF from a leaky tranny cooler clamp I installed myself and missed before the track day.

 

I knew tranny was a ticking time bomb when I went to the BNR 16G with all the supporting fuel mods to max power the car. Tranny did not survive the tuning process, but turbo had to be done with OEM leaking turbo oil seals.

 

I've been quoted by dealer and local tranny shops $2200-2300 for a rebuild. Nobody has done one, not even the dealer. Nobody knows about OEM vs. upgraded clutches, etc. I did not feel comfortable having the tranny serviced, rebuilt, upgraded by somebody with zero experience.

 

I used car-part.com and bought an '05 to go in my '06 because it was local, avoided freight and included a 6 mo warranty. Switching model years did not work! Tried everything to trick it including switching all sensors on tranny, wire harness, VB's, etc. TCU always thought there were the wrong gear ratios and kept throwing P0735, 34 or 32 codes and would constantly change.

 

Bought another tranny from car-part.com, 41k miles, freight was only $300 to cross the country. I paid $1050 out the door for included 30 day warranty and matching TCU, which I didn't need but have on hand.

 

Suggestions: get a good AUX tranny cooler in place, (preferably that has a thermostat controlled flow) and be prepared to drain/fill your tranny every 10K based on how you run the car and how the fluid looks. I use AMSOIL Universal ATF and was trading it out every 10K trying to save my tranny. Knew it was on borrowed time.

 

In addition, get to know ClimberD and his VB mod that is coming for the 08 and the center diff mod that is proven. It is an extra $700 in mods with a proven record of performance. Center diff mod takes 30 minutes when the tranny is out of the car. Super easy install!

 

As soon as ClimberD announces he has the capability to rebuild a 5EAT, I know where my '06 orig tranny is going. To be rebuilt by somebody who know it inside and out.

 

Good luck!

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doccrowley Experienced

doccrowley

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www.car-part.com currently lists 3 08 5EAT's available that match the Auto, excluding Outback, Turbo criteria.

 

44K from NY for only $1065 from a company called LKQ. Call them, they'll negotiate the price and they have warranty options. They were $200 less over the phone for me for my first purchase of the '05 that didn't work.

 

Good luck figuring this out and getting back on the road ASAP!

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doccrowley Experienced

doccrowley

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Doc, where there any mechanicaly issues with that 05 tranny in your 06? I know you got CEL's but I'm thinking you could've just disabled those CEL's in your map if everything emchanically was alright.

 

 

Yes you can disable the codes so that the Cruise lights and functions were still good. But, you'll still get a flashing Sport mode light all the time and you'll never get good shifts. It was harsh all over the place.

 

I stopped short of spending more money on tracking down a matching '05 TCU to go with the '05 tranny I was trying to use. I had spent money on tranny R&R twice and the costs of cut/splice the harness 3 diff times and 2 additional pan drops and fluids and still had no smooth shifting and constant blinking Sport mode. Even with ClimberD's valve body installed, shifts were crazy harsh! Like, knock your teeth out harsh. Put 500 miles on it while were many were trying to figure out what was going on. Nobody could confirm that inside mechanicals were same or different, other than part numbers were different for '05-'06. The tranny tail housings are different, but the internals are the same, identical in the Center diff. Ask me how I know....... Was in there 4 different times trying to get it all worked out.

 

Luckily I sold the '05 to another local that lost his 5th gear about 3 days after I made the '06 purchase. He is super happy, tranny with a warranty, AMS fluids, new tranny seals all around and I lost only $100 bucks from what I paid for the tranny. Wasted a ton of money in labor costs at the shop, though.

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fishbone Grand Master

fishbone

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Soda, if you can stand the downtime, don't spend on a new unit. Get the cheapest possible rental you can get and you'd still come out ahead. If you buy all your parts in advance you should not be down for more than 5 days, ClimberD mod included. You can get rentals for what, 15 bucks a day? That's 75 bucks and you will know for a fact you are tearing down a functional transmission. An eBay tranny ... you may very well end up with one full of metal in the pan.

Everything hinges on the competence of the shop that will do the rebuild.

 

LE: shit, you have an 08.

Forget everything I said about ClimberD's valve body mod. There isn't one yet for your year. You should wait and take it easy until he develops one ;)

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Soda Popinski Mentor

Soda Popinski

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I've been trying to figure it out but as you can see, since I'm not a transmission tech. People are more cynical and sarcastic and point fingers rather than help... a few people have helped though.

 

I drive with a lead foot, and recently tuned the car probably over the threshold range of the OEM tranny to 255awhp and 285 tq. No cooler yet, was on the to-do list.

 

I put it into a 'rally' in a sense, but it was nothing more than marathon driving, about 600 miles a day for 2.5 days.

 

Dealership said the same thing about rebuilding it: a) "you're the first one I ever heard with a dead 5EAT" and b) no one here has ever done it

 

That sure makes me feel warm and bubbly.

 

I called the guy with that tranny. It's from a 2008 LGT 5EAT with paddle shifters, just like mine. the kid killed himself in an accident doing 120 and hitting a tree, drivers side.

 

It comes with the torque convertor and coupling (the drive shaft was simply removed and the tranny dropped) so I'll replace that.

 

At most it has as many miles as I did, the car was NOT modified at the time of accident (fatality! bad juju!)

 

1050 to the door for an exact transmission is the best price I found... and I'm gonna go for it, since it can be here in 2 days. (GA to CT) TCU is identical.

 

Maybe I'll donate the old tranny to climber D for the benefit of us all

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fishbone Grand Master

fishbone

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If the dealership has never done it, more the reason to stay away. Why pay dealer prices? Go to a local reputable shop that has experience. The shop I go to does a lot of aftermarket work. If they can build a tranny to hold up to a 800rwhp Supra, they can handle a measly Subaru 5EAT.

 

No tranny cooler, on the OEM ATF, driven hard, I'm not surprised the tranny gave up. How many miles do you have right now on the ATF? A little preventive maintenance goes a long way, so does a cooler. Don't be too quick to point the finger at the power output. Don't mean to flame you, but there's no excuse for not having a cooler especially since you can get a good one for around $45.

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ShadowImg Mentor

ShadowImg

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There's a lot of discussion on the comparisons between this tranny and some Nissan units, so might be good to do your research on exactly which ones, because you might find a shop familiar with the other uses of it. Definitely better than nothing.
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Soda Popinski Mentor

Soda Popinski

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Well my tranny shop, Jerry's Transmission of Guilford, CT... is currently under 22 inches of water with no phone. I'm going to simply ship it to Bertera Subaru of Hartford, CT.

 

Joe Newton is the service manager there, he's worked on all kinds of cars from subarus to race cars... and the transmission tech there is top notch. 650 + tax to install.

 

Same model, trans and setup (paddles) so it's literally a plug and play.

 

My house is under water from the flooding as I'm on the CT shore.

 

 

@Fishbone: All the trans cooler systems I've seen run in the range of $1000, maybe I'm looking at the wrong type of trans cooler? All the guys on the rally said it would be between 800-1200 for a good cooler. Do you mean the simple oil/trans cooler that sits behind the condensor or is it something else?

 

I bought an aluminum radiator for the car but was unable to install it due to the fact that there was no automatic ATF cooler build into that. I'm not sure why, but there are ATF lines that run into nipples on the radiator (lower half).

 

I think I'm going to replace the transmission and possibly sell the car and pick up a nice, red 09 6MT LGT because the body style also had the red color I wanted originally. Dunno though, the car and I have been through a lot together. It's hard to let go!

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ShadowImg Mentor

ShadowImg

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09 Red spec.Bs are incredibly rare, you found one for sale? It's not a bad idea to sell it and go with a manual if you plan to go up in power. That's one of the reason I went from my 08 5EAT to an 09 spec.B. I knew if I went 16G or VF52, the trans would be on borrowed time.
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Soda Popinski Mentor

Soda Popinski

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boy you aren't kidding. Just went looking and it seems I'll have to put an APB out for it.

 

Thinking about even buying it first, then transferring all my upgrades to it, putting the other back to stock with the 09 OEM's and then selling off the 08.

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