Those w/IPT tranny...

has anyone in the built tranny club put a lot of miles on the IPT 5eat?

I'm at a crossroad as 3rd gear is going on my 5eat. it's either get the built tranny or dump the car.

3rd gear going? How so? What is the behavior?

You have a 3rd alternative. Get a used 5EAT unit for around $1200. Depending on your power levels, you should be fine with just an IPT valve body on your new tranny.

Later edit: so you are at Stage 3 running an AVO380, dynoing abour 355 hp at the wheels? That's rather nice.

It's up to you. You could go back to stock, replace the tranny, sell the car and get yourself a manual. OR, you can do the above and see how it holds up. We have someone around here, forget the username, at right around 400awhp with the stock tranny but with a cooler and an IPT valve body and it's doing fine so far.

i can feel grit in the AT fluid, more than normal tolerance.

That, unfortunately, is definitely a sign that the clutchpacks started eating themselves.

Just to clarify, you've been running an AVO380 on the stock transmission? ATF cooler by chance?

When I said take the parts off and return to stock, I didn't mean that you should sell those parts. You should keep them and transplant them in a manual Legacy GT, since they shouldn't be AT-specific, save for maybe the downpipe and the tune?

I am having a 5eat issue as well. When I am cruising in 5th gear it hesitates and surges (easy to replicate with cruise control) Revs seem to go up and down very slightly. It is hard to describe.

Does that sound like slipping?

I am debating flushing the transmission but I have heard that could be make the slipping worse (if that is my issue)

That, unfortunately, is definitely a sign that the clutchpacks started eating themselves.

Just to clarify, you've been running an AVO380 on the stock transmission? ATF cooler by chance?

When I said take the parts off and return to stock, I didn't mean that you should sell those parts. You should keep them and transplant them in a manual Legacy GT, since they shouldn't be AT-specific, save for maybe the downpipe and the tune?

i put a tranny cooler on the car the when it was stock. i'm gonna get either a 2010 Mustang and vortech it with a full Steeda suspension or a 2009 G8 GXP

Mine was built February of 2008. Had it for a year, pushed it at 400 whp for a short while, then Stage 1, and now I am back to stock and staying there. It has held up just fine. As for miles, I have been on 15-20K or so on it.

Unless you have a the cash like that, I would probably get rid of the car.

I am having a 5eat issue as well. When I am cruising in 5th gear it hesitates and surges (easy to replicate with cruise control) Revs seem to go up and down very slightly. It is hard to describe.

Are you sure that's just not your torque-converter disengaging from lock-up mode? What you are describing sounds perfectly normal to me except for the hesitation and surging part. Can you be more specific?

Mine was built February of 2008. Had it for a year, pushed it at 400 whp for a short while, then Stage 1, and now I am back to stock and staying there. It has held up just fine. As for miles, I have been on 15-20K or so on it.

 

Unless you have a the cash like that, I would probably get rid of the car.

what did you think of the tranny? any issues? can it handle the power?

what did you think of the tranny? any issues? can it handle the power?

It can handle an SZ55/FMIC setup just fine. I brake launched it a couple times with the SZ55 setup and it had no problems spinning all four tires. It can definitely handle the power. Its just very expensive. I spent close to $6000 once shipping and installation was taken into account.

It can handle an SZ55/FMIC setup just fine. I brake launched it a couple times with the SZ55 setup and it had no problems spinning all four tires. It can definitely handle the power. Its just very expensive. I spent close to $6000 once shipping and installation was taken into account.

thanks for the info. i really don't want to get rid of my LGT. i'm embarrassed to say i have about $20k invested. so to spend $6k to save the car it may be worth it. i have had a tranny fund for a while.

^ Then it should be worth it to you then!

ever run the car in 1/4 mile? just curious

thanks for the info. i really don't want to get rid of my LGT. i'm embarrassed to say i have about $20k invested. so to spend $6k to save the car it may be worth it. i have had a tranny fund for a while.

Dude, again, if you really do want to stay in the Legacy GT world, I think the absolute cheapest possible route for you to go is basically return your present car to stock, get the cheapest new tranny you can find and sell it.

Then take the parts you took off and install them on a manual Legacy GT. With the shot auto tranny, you could potentially part it out. I'm sure someone here would at least be possibly interested in the valve body.

I will say that it is discouraging to read about your troubles. I'm not near going Stage 3 just yet but amongst the turbos I was considering, AVO380 was one of them. I guess this is just one more argument in favor of just going with a VF-52.

Are you sure that's just not your torque-converter disengaging from lock-up mode? What you are describing sounds perfectly normal to me except for the hesitation and surging part. Can you be more specific?

It basically feels like the tq converter is disengaging and engaging between 2k-3k rpm. Basically, if I put on cruise control or have a steady foot at say 65 mph the rpms seem to go up and down ever so slightly.

It is impossible to drive smooth and is very annoying. I am wondering if flashing back to stock would help but it probably wont.

It basically feels like the tq converter is disengaging and engaging between 2k-3k rpm. Basically, if I put on cruise control or have a steady foot at say 65 mph the rpms seem to go up and down ever so slightly.

 

It is impossible to drive smooth and is very annoying. I am wondering if flashing back to stock would help but it probably wont.

That is odd. You are saying that if you have it on cruise control and are going on a level road, the rpms are not locked and rock-solid at a certain RPM? They just kinda wobble around? You might be looking at a torque converter issue indeed. If 5th gear were slipping with absolutely no load on the car, I'm sure you'd get a CEL or some mighty severe slip under load.

If you feel brave, you could test the functionality of the torque converter. The procedure is described in the technical manual. Basically it tells you to torque brake the car for no more than 3 to 5 seconds. The rpms should climb and stop at around 3200-3500.

If you drive it in manual mode around town, once the car is fully warmed up, if you cruise around 40mph in 3rd gear manual mode, the torque converter should be locked up after a while. If it fails to lock-up, ever, you might have to have it looked at.

Note that the 5EAT prevents the converter from locking up before the ATF and/or coolant reach normal operating temperatures.

Flashing back to stock won't do anything. The TCU is separate from the ECU and can only be programmed by the dealer using Subaru Select. You could go to the dealer and have them check your VIN and see if there is an updated reflash for your transmission. There was one for mine. You could also have your dealer reset your TCU learned parameters.

i sent out my spare VB and will be having IPT install it on Tues.

Best of luck. I'm in for updates. You may get lucky and it may cure your slipping problem. If not, you could buy the clutchpack replacement kit from them and have a trusted tranny shop swap the internals. Check their site, they sell the kit for under 1k iirc.

If I shift it "just the right way", my IPT VB tranny will upshift from 2nd to 3rd firm enough for the dash to shudder, as if someone punched it from underneath. This happens if I'm in manual mode with 40% throttle or so, out of boost, with load on the engine, shifting under 3K. It's awesome and reassuring, but I try not to do it as it kinda makes me cringe sometimes. It feels rough.

That is odd. You are saying that if you have it on cruise control and are going on a level road, the rpms are not locked and rock-solid at a certain RPM? They just kinda wobble around? You might be looking at a torque converter issue indeed. If 5th gear were slipping with absolutely no load on the car, I'm sure you'd get a CEL or some mighty severe slip under load.

If you feel brave, you could test the functionality of the torque converter. The procedure is described in the technical manual. Basically it tells you to torque brake the car for no more than 3 to 5 seconds. The rpms should climb and stop at around 3200-3500.

If you drive it in manual mode around town, once the car is fully warmed up, if you cruise around 40mph in 3rd gear manual mode, the torque converter should be locked up after a while. If it fails to lock-up, ever, you might have to have it looked at.

Note that the 5EAT prevents the converter from locking up before the ATF and/or coolant reach normal operating temperatures.

 

Flashing back to stock won't do anything. The TCU is separate from the ECU and can only be programmed by the dealer using Subaru Select. You could go to the dealer and have them check your VIN and see if there is an updated reflash for your transmission. There was one for mine. You could also have your dealer reset your TCU learned parameters.

How do you know that the torque converter in 3rd gear in manual mode crusing at 40 mph gets locked up?

Best way to describe it is that the transmission feels like a manual does. It is a direct connection between the wheels and the engine with no "rubberband" feel to the revs and the pedal.

But you know, sometimes I am forgetting that I have a stiff tranny mount which makes what the tranny does a lot more obvious. But the simplest way to describe it is that if you cruise at 40mph in 3rd gear as an example, if you lift your foot off the pedal, the revs should stay rock-solid to what they just were instead of being "flexible" and fluid like they usually are. Similarly, when you put your foot back on the throttle, as long as you don't squeeze it too much too quick, the revs should not go up or down.

I paid attention this morning. In 5th gear with the torque converter locked up, at 2K rpms you should be at right around 51-52mph. In 4th gear with the torque converter locked up you should be at 2k rpms at right around 42mph. This is assuming that they did not change the 5EAT gearing from 05-06 on the 07+ models.

The tranny normally should do just about the best it can to lock up the torque converter if it is possible. Which rarely happens if you are in D mode in traffic, because you'll always be in too high of a gear for the vehicle speed. The torque converter won't lock up if you're going too slow in a high gear, such as 5th rolling at 40mph.

I can get mine to lock up in just about any gear, and it locks up effortlessly and quick. This tells me that at least the converter is in very good condition

Despite what others may feel about their tranny, I love my 5EAT and I think it's a true champ.

Forgot to mention. Before I realized what was going on, this kinda freaked me out.

I would go out to datalog the car and make sure that the tune is good, so I'd wind it out in 3rd gear from 2K rpm all the way to 6600. Well, every now and then at around 3500, 4500, 5500, 6000, I could see that the revs would just stop climbing as if they hit a wall and the car would just continue to pull without any change. And I couldn't figure out wtf was going on. I thought the tranny was slipping up and at those rev intervals it was finally catching up. But what was really happening was the torque converter trying to lock up. It would lock up but then it would let go since it was an "oh crap, this guy still has it floored, I gotta give him the most power I can" moment.

I hope I'm not completely derailing this thread with my useless blabber.