5EAT shuddering, slipping in every gear

I have a problem.

 

One day my trans is working fine, no hint of slipping, no problems. The next day it shudders violently when taking off from a start, hits into gear, and continues to hit into each higher gear. I have to accelerate very slowly or it will slip. I can't even maintain highway speed up a hill. The best I can do is about 35mph. If I can get the car up to 60mph on the flat, the slightest touch on the gas will cause slipping. Taking off from a start in 2nd eliminates most of the shuddering.

 

I tried it this morning and the problems are less severe, but still present. That makes it seem like I don't have enough line pressure, but there's a bit more when it's cold, so the problem isn't as bad.

 

Sitting still, when you put it into gear you can hear it straining, where before you didn't hear anything different.

 

Fluid level is good. Condition is good, too. Bright red. Amsoil.

FreeSSM shows no trouble codes.

2006 GT with 115k miles. Stock highway driver for the first 2/3. The last third is my 3-year ownership, first year stock. Last two have been stage 2 and some autoslalom.

 

Is this the dreaded rebuild/replacement scenario? It seems odd that it started slipping in every gear over night. Maybe it's just a solenoid.

 

Help me Legacy.com, you're my only hope.

When was your latest atf fluid change?

ATF was changed 30-35k miles ago. Still bright and clean looking with no burnt odor.

You can try resetting the tcu possibly?

Here's a new theory presented to me: the rumble strip-like shuddering could be caused by a failed torque converter. Since that is basically the pump providing line pressure, it sounds reasonable.

 

Thoughts?

 

Oh, and laff79, the snail would be cheaper to fix and give me an excuse to put in a 16G. Good one, though. Where's the facepalm smiley when you need it?

I did a reset this morning and took it for a test drive, but not a full re-learn drive. The only difference I felt could be attibuted to cold vs. hot characteristics.

Ya it is very possible the torque converter has failed. Do you often put it in 5th and floor it? There is plenty of torque and I am sure the 5eat doesn't like it.

I almost never floor it in 5th, and rarely in 4th. Any flooring is done in first or second, typically for autoslalom, and I rarely hit 3rd for that, either.

 

Flooring it very often is just too expensive, with the price of premium 40% higher in the great white north than just south of the border. And I have an outlet.

 

Since you're in my neck of the woods, do you have any recommendations for a trans shop? West end is better.

join toronto subaru club imo your best bet is call standard and get a low mileage 5eat and purchase a f1 valve body for better reliability.

Already a member. Deal with NV for everything non-trans related, because the only thing they do with autos is swap them out for manuals. And I'm with you on the F1, too.

 

I just want to find someone that has seen a 5EAT before, before I resort to a stealership for service.

Local trans shop is of the opinion that it's most likely the input drum. Although he says the fluid looks really clean if this is the problem. Unlikely to be the torque converter, or the car wouldn't move.

 

Unfortunately, they've had an untimely passing in their workforce and can't get to me before next week, even just to put a pressure guage on and check the line pressure. If it's a straight forward repair, I'm looking at $1500 as a starting point.

i know of quite a few horror stories with transmission shops which is why i still recommend swapping for another unit nv auto can swap them just be sure to change the transmission filter in the driver side fender.

 

you will start at $1500 but end up at $4000 and might still not work correctly. id contact hexmod to get more insight on things that could have failed.

Update:

 

Two solenoids on the valve body need to be replaced, and since they are hard to find, a good used valve body is on the way ($210). I'll try to fix the original then send it to ClimberD for upgrade.

 

Pretty much all the clutches are burnt, so we're into a complete overhaul kit now, too. A bunch of this must have happened before I changed the fluid in Oct. 2010, because what I have now is bright and clean. More reason for the F1, I just don't have time to wait for it now.

 

And the centre diff is damaged, so a good used one of those is on the way, too. Have a look:

http://home.cogeco.ca/~notthesnail/images/LegacyGT/Centre%20Diff1.jpg

 

http://home.cogeco.ca/~notthesnail/images/LegacyGT/Centre%20Diff2.jpg

 

As long as nothing else goes wrong, I'm just north of $2200, before tax, everything in, including the filter and Subaru fluid. I've supplied the gear oil and bulletproof bushings for them to install.

How the heck did you do that?!?! Crazy damage...

 

Valve body failures are very rare. Having not one but two solenoids fail? How did they test or confirm that? It is possible some debris was floating around your fluid system, causing cascading failure. Similar to how an engine fails when debris gets into the oil supply...

I suppose it's possible that I already trashed the needle bearings. I'll bring the diff home and take it apart and see what I can see.

 

The guy said he would like to replace two of the solenoids. I'll ask how he came to that. Aside from being busy, he's very helpful and seems to know what he's doing, even if he's not overly experienced with this transmission. There could be a reason for that though... He was very impressed with the build quality of the transmission. From a mechanical standpoint, it would seem that Subaru/Jatco has done a good job. Electronically, eh, not so much. F1 to the rescue!

 

By the way, you have an email about the repairability of that valve body. I know you're busy, I'm just sayin'.

Nobody in the area is capable of testing the solenoids on this valve body. The rationale for replacing them is that the burning of the clutches and steels is most often and likely caused by worn solenoids, so the most prudent thing to do is replace them.

Ok. The trans is back together and in the car and there is still a chatter. And there seems to be something funny going on with the rear diff. In gear on the hoist, revving it up has one tire spinning and the other not moving at all. With the car turned off, one tire spins easily by hand, the other turns with some resistance.

 

The diff was serviced last year and is filled with Amsoil, so it should be fine, but I don't think it's behaving properly.

 

The parking brake was checked, along with other factors that would be an issue on the road like tire diameter and pressure.

 

Something is causing the trans clutches to chatter it's proving hard to find. Any ideas out there? I want my car back.

i know of quite a few horror stories with transmission shops which is why i still recommend swapping for another unit nv auto can swap them just be sure to change the transmission filter in the driver side fender.

 

you will start at $1500 but end up at $4000 and might still not work correctly. id contact hexmod to get more insight on things that could have failed.

Ever so helpful. Thanks for keeping my post near the top where somebody useful might see it.

Do yourself a favor, use the genuine Subaru fluid. Car makers design their fluid with special characteristics as far as friction modifiers, etc.

I was using Amsoil before, but the trans shop put in Subaru fluid this time. Probably a Subaru filter, too, but since I don't have it back yet, I haven't asked what they used.

 

Found a rear diff near by, in case that's the problem now. I guess I'll find out Monday.

Worn solenoids causing burned clutch packs? I don't think so, not on this transmission. I'll spend some time on this later, but it's hard to say anything useful without driving the car.