Some 5eat help.

Hey guys. Not too long ago my transmission crapped out (thanks to the guy before me who never got his fluid changed) I sent it in a month and a week ago to my mechanic and ever since they've been working on it. Originally he said 1-2 weeks, then 3, then 4, and now I have been without a car for 5 weeks. First issue was the trans pump. The guy told me it was all burnt out, so he needed my okay to order a new one, I gave him the okay, now after five weeks he's telling me something in the valve body is broken (something computer module thing, I forgot what he said) he needs to order a brand new valve body because they don't sell the part inside the valve body seperately and he said it'll be about 1k more. At this point I just want to know if I'm getting tricked here and having money stolen from me. Original deal was 3k (take out the tranny rebuild completely put it back in) now he suddenly wants 1k more for the valve body dilema. I've got three questions: can he be bullshiting me, can he be overcharging me for the valve body, and would a ipt vb mod fix the issue with the current vb, because I'd rather do that. Thanks so much.

Wow. First break that up into paragraph.

 

And the answer's to your questions.....

 

No he is not over charging you,

 

No he is not stealing money from you,

 

And no the IPT valve body mod does not fix the electronic protion, only increases line pressure of the fluid.

 

4k For a total rebuild is normal. Although if it is 4k, I would send the whole transmissions to IPT and do their full rebuild.

Sorry about the massive paragraph. I would have done the ipt if I knew it was going to be 4 grand, but I just found out yesterday so I'm basically forced to do it through him, I really have no other choice. Thanks for clearing that up for me, I didn't actually think he was over charging or tricking me, but I wanted to be certain because I'm faced with a new problem every week.

Hey guys. Not too long ago my transmission crapped out (thanks to the guy before me who never got his fluid changed) I sent it in a month and a week ago to my mechanic and ever since they've been working on it. Originally he said 1-2 weeks, then 3, then 4, and now I have been without a car for 5 weeks. First issue was the trans pump. The guy told me it was all burnt out, so he needed my okay to order a new one, I gave him the okay, now after five weeks he's telling me something in the valve body is broken (something computer module thing, I forgot what he said) he needs to order a brand new valve body because they don't sell the part inside the valve body seperately and he said it'll be about 1k more. At this point I just want to know if I'm getting tricked here and having money stolen from me. Original deal was 3k (take out the tranny rebuild completely put it back in) now he suddenly wants 1k more for the valve body dilema. I've got three questions: can he be bullshiting me, can he be overcharging me for the valve body, and would a ipt vb mod fix the issue with the current vb, because I'd rather do that. Thanks so much.

 

 

Should of just bought my IPT built transmission for $3800.

Opie, I'm a bit suspicious. First off that they would take so damn long to fix your transmission. Sounds to me like they are not dedicating their full attention to it. Second, exactly what failed in the valve body? Something computer module thing? How would you know they didn't drop the thing on the floor when unmounting it? Request the valve body and inspect it for mechanical damage. A valve body from Subaru is right around $700, not a grand. Is this a reputable shop? Do you trust them?

Did the transmission throw any codes when it failed?

You can find salvaged 5EAT trannies around for anywhere between $900 and $2000 or so. Just something to keep in mind.

I didn't have any cels. My gears were slipping like mad ever since my fluid change, and it drove like hell. THey are reputable. My mechanic uses them and had a lot of experience with them and he said he does good work, basically my mechanic (who has been my mechanic forever) is kind of working like the middle man in all this.

Did you use OEM fluid when you had it drained? It is possible that the only thing wrong with the transmission was the pump and said component in the valve body. However, it would have been likely for the transmission to light up the check engine. Ask your mechanic if the price he quoted you for the VB is with everything else or just the part. Last I checked, like I said, the valve body alone was somewhere around 5-700 bucks. For a grand you can find yourself a donor salvaged transmission.

Yes I did use OEM fluid.

Yeah I'll double check with my mechanic.

OP your rebuild should never have taken more than two weeks tops. After five weeks I would be calling a lawyer.

thebigevilfoot - whats the milage on your legacy? Did the trans slip when starting off from a stop? while moving did the RPM's shoot up all of a sudden? having some issues with my 05. Just wondering if its normal for the trans to crap out at 86000. dropped it off on monday and still havent heard anything. i'm hopeing its not going to cost me 3-4000 like your talking about. just finished paying it off.

Mine has 71000. I'm just going to try and sell it, I have owned an automatic for just over half a year and it will be the first and last automatic I will ever own. Provided I can sell it of course...

The 5eat is a good transmission, if you maintain it properly. Your mistake was not replacing your trans with a used good condition unit when it failed. Much cheaper. When the trans fluid goes a really long time without being changes, it turns to goop and starts building up on the linings passages and anything really. At this point, doing ANYTHING is a risk, catch 22. Fresh fluid can dislodge junk and clog up parts of your trans, causing it to act like yours does. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get unlucky with this. The same goes for a flush. Chalk it up to experience. If you are shopping for a car, and the fluids are cooked, don't buy it. Good luck with the rebuild. I call BS on your trans rebuilder BTW. Just a gut feeling. You can always get a second opinion from someone who knows their stuff and can inspect it.

The 5eat is a good transmission, if you maintain it properly. Your mistake was not replacing your trans with a used good condition unit when it failed. Much cheaper. When the trans fluid goes a really long time without being changes, it turns to goop and starts building up on the linings passages and anything really. At this point, doing ANYTHING is a risk, catch 22. Fresh fluid can dislodge junk and clog up parts of your trans, causing it to act like yours does. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get unlucky with this. The same goes for a flush. Chalk it up to experience. If you are shopping for a car, and the fluids are cooked, don't buy it. Good luck with the rebuild. I call BS on your trans rebuilder BTW. Just a gut feeling. You can always get a second opinion from someone who knows their stuff and can inspect it.

Thanks for the advise, I really appreciate it. I'm never gonna make that mistake again. Unfortunately I don't even know how to go about inspecting if I am getting scammed or not, should I ask to keep my old valve body and have someone check it out?

Thanks for the advise, I really appreciate it. I'm never gonna make that mistake again. Unfortunately I don't even know how to go about inspecting if I am getting scammed or not, should I ask to keep my old valve body and have someone check it out?

 

It is one option, but I don't know that it would help you with keeping the costs in check. Just be upfront and use your best judgement. Perhaps ask him to show you exactly what is wrong with something that requires extra money. If it sounds like he is feeding you BS, he probably is. There needs to be a good reason to replace parts. For all anyone knows, your trans rebuilder could be right. If he is really a good mechanic, the he will show you exactly what is broken and why it needs to be fixed.

Update:

It's been about 2 months now and I still don't have my car. My mechanic accidentally tore apart the harnass on the transmission (the one with the turbine speed sensor etc.) We got a replacement, but now he's telling me to connect the entire harnass back together, you need to go back into the tranny and he said he would need the rebuilder to do it because it requires him to go pretty deep into the tranny and he's just not willing to do it and possibly make a mistake. Is this guy bs'ing me? I've gotten work done by him before and he is lazy and likes taking his time (but gives really good prices and does good work), but this is getting extremely extensive. Even if he's not lying about the harnass, monday I'm letting him know that my patience has run out.

Id pull it from his shop, take it to another nad have him pay that bill. This is ridiculous, Im thinking he doesnt have a clue. Since he damaged the harness he should pay for it to be fixxed, you shouldnt be down more time

You need a lawyer! You need to document every conversation you have had with this guy.

You must be a very patient person, I think I would have beaten him and ended up in jail.

You'd be very surprised, I am actually extremely impatient (which is why I drive a Legacy GT ) but unfortunately I pity the guy because I've known him for so long. Everytime I would get work done he'd say pick it up in 2 days and it would always be 3 or 4, if it was 5 days it would be a week etc. but he originally told me around 2 weeks, now I'm waiting for over 2 months. My dad has already threatened the guy, and If I here another story monday my reasonable ways will be over.

The harness pass throughs are not very deep. He is an idiot.