briankk

jeryst asked: "So I was wondering if any of you with SVX experience could share your thoughts on the car, what goes wrong, what isnt worth fixing, what to look for, etc." The engine in these cars seem to have less failures than do the 4 cylinder engines of the same period, and have a really stout bottom end. That said, under the intake manifold is stuff needs looking at. You should replace both knock sensors, and all those little rotten hoses, with blue silicone. Also, one or two plastic vacuum check valves about the size of a bean, both mine were cracked, I replaced with "real" check valves from a junkyard Ford pick-up.. This is a non-interference engine, if timing belt breaks, you get to walk home. Changing that belt, and other stuff in there, is kind of a PITA, not a lot of room to work there. I've replaced my belt with a Dayco, reasonable price, there are idlers and tensioner that want replacing, too. Beware that your belt kit doesn't have Chinese bearings, some do. Replace the water pump, make sure you have the later style pump with the impeller that looks like a 3" vented brake rotor, they are indestructible, 'till the bearing goes. While in there, replace the thermostat bypass hose with NEW hose, and install Subaru factory thermostat and rad cap. The auto trans in these cars is under qualified for the job, most dead SVXs I've see have dead 4EAT, which can sometimes be rebuilt, for about $4k now, if the shop will allow you to trade in you old box. The SVX has the oldest style 4EAT, fitted with a 3.54 R&P not used en any other Subaru. The 230 HP engine puts enough load on this that the case flexes and the R&P run out of alignment eventually, if re-builder doesn't like your old R&P he may just refuse to do business with you. You can buy an new R&P set from Subaru for about $400, I was thinking of getting a late Outback box and replacing the R&P myself.. I find the car a PITA to get in and out of, seat is low, door is awkward shape, steering is heavy and brakes are weak in my car, I've read this a a chronic SVX complaint, car is too heavy for the brakes.. However, if you don't mind getting stared at, and have a 200 mile tow membership with AAA, they can be a hoot to drive..

Heater core? Hmm.. Cars climate control system works a treat, but lately AC performance most prominent. I will check heater core 1st opportunity.. I've recently discovered that the SVX water pump came in 2 flavors, early and late. The early one was a windmill type, the later a waterwheel type. I'm thinking I've got a worn early style pump, but thats just speculation for the time being. I posted a question about Bilstein shocks for the SVX. No such animal. BUT, there are Bilsteins available for the WRX , and WRX struts can be fiddled onto an SVX, but its spendy as hell, near $500/corner for WRX Bilsteins on your SVX.. I wonder if plain ol' WRX suspension bits would be an upgrade. The SVX is quite porky, I wonder if the stock SVX springs might not be stiffer than WRX stuff. Anybody know? My thinking is that WRX struts gotta be better than 25 year old stock SVX struts.. Idosubaru has a point about Rockauto. They are box movers, very likely have no idea whats actually in the box. But by now, they have to know they are moving counterfeit parts. Buyer beware..

I bought this car in four pieces, a rolling chassis, an engine, and 2 bad transmissions. over the years, i managed to buy another 3 bad transmissions, and one that just plain didn't bolt up. About a month ago, a friend of mine bought a parts car, for the engine, drove it a couple hundred miles home, I got he trans, and it works fine so far. Before the engine was installed, I pulled the intake, replaced both knock sensors, both check valves, and all the hoses under the manifold, with blue silicon hose. Everything rubber under the hood, replaced with new, all hoses belts, etc. Did not replace timing belt, and other stuff, 'cause it looked new. Did replace thermostat, bypass hose, and rad cap with new Subaru parts, new green coolant. Coolant purged and burped. Drove about to satisfy self that engine didn't leak, replaced oil with Rotella T6 synthetic, & new oil filter. One rad fan, NG, replaces and checked function. Rockauto. I bought the expensive part, got the cheap stuff. Nevermore. Now I get Subaru stuff from Subaru. Don't much care about Rockauto excuse.. Just putting out there my personal experience, You can go watch the guy on You Tube, judge for yourself I'ts not about mistakes or mistreatment, it's about lying about the product and refusing to make good. If that suits you, good luck..

I went for a long test ride, about 50-60 miles, uphill and down. 20 or so miles into it, turned up hill on freeway, set CC to 62 mph, At turnoff up the hill, no issues. Engine like a watch, no heat, noise, leakage.. But when I got off freeway, engine immediatly started to overheat. Pulled into gas station, bought a coke, let engine cool. No visable distress under hood, all secure and dry..all visable belts brand new..20 mins, later, tried again, still pretty hot, but got to downhill portion of my loop, engine started to overheat again going down steep hill using brakes more than engine. Stopped and cooled off some more at bottom, started up other side in full cringe. Up hill under power, engine cools right down, no issues 'till top, turned off on level ground, engine overheats again... I'm thinking, probably have old style water pump, vanes so worn I have to have 2K rpm on the clock to move enough water to cool the engine, means have to replace water pump w/new style pump, change belts, idlers tentioners, blah & etc. So I try to refresh memory of what to do by looking it up on You Tube, find a rant from a fellow who bought a Gates kit, found it had Chinese bearing is some pulleys, never mind Japanese OEM parts listed on box. Guy complaint to Gates and Rockauto, both blew him off. Had a similar problem with Rockauto couple of years a go, bought a bearing from them. They list parts from multiple sources, from cheap to expensive, I selected Timken OEM bearing in Timken box. When the box got here got here, it had a Japanese bearing in a Timken box, that I could have selected instead of more expensive Timken. Complained to Timken, they suggested I was lying about that, 'cause was impossible, complained to Rockauto, got blown off. So, if you buy anything from Rockauto with a bearing in it, check for undocumented Chinese stuff inside. I'm done with Gates, they used to be a quality leader, but substituting Chinese stuff is unacceptable abandonment of quality control. Now I wonder where their belts are made. I don't buy bearings from Rockauto any more, either.

May wind up doing that, if no way to fit Bilsteins..

I don't know enough about this suspension to answer intellegently. I'm getting my iformation/impressions from driving the car imagining what I would do to change it from what it is, to what I wish it were. Aside from tire/shock wishes, I also wish it were about 1500 lbs lighter.:-)

I'd prefer not to have anything to do with Facebook. The problem I'm having with my SVX is that it handels like a pickup truck. A lot of this is due to PO' fitting it with Douglas brand Walmart tires, but I think that the whole thing iss too stiff, is why I looking for Bilsteins.. Not inclined to put $700 worth of tires on it 'till I have an idea the transmission will live to see the end of 'em.. I dont think he car needs lowering, but really does want softening up. But I will got to local junkyard and look at STI stuff. Wonder if STI seats would fit..

Posed over there a couple of days ago, got 20 or so reads, no replys.on the shock question.

Been several years, but my '94 SVX is finally up and running. So some questions... Has anybody ever found a wat to fit Bilsterin shocks to an SVX? A local Subaru guy told me that Impreza STI brakes will bolt on, and improve stopping power a lot. Anybody ever done this?

You bet it makes a hell of a noise. I suspected the problem upon first drive with "new" transmission installed. Back to shop, pulled drain plug, out came tooth and various other small metallic bits. Re-filled diff housing with clean bulk 10/40 motor oil and drive it home, a bit over two miles, it sits in my yard as we speak.. The drive between my place and the shop is reasonable flat, couple of small hill, nothing worrisome, discovered that under load, or backing off throttle, noise gets pretty severe, but at 50-60 mph, feather the throttle and coast, hardly any noise at all. For what it's worth..

In much of CA, most gasoline powered cars are required to undergo a state smog examination,every two years, without which you can't register, or re-register the car. The smog guy has a list of cars and their requirements, this list is of all the cars allowed in the state, and their OEM equipment. You present with a car not on the list.. Good-by. Caught driving a car not on the list, you get arrested and the car is confiscated and destroyed, similar to the fate of car that has been "tampered with", i.e. has equipment installed thats not on the list, or had equipment that is on the list, removed. Now the important thing to know about this smog stuff, in California, at least, is that the State doesn't care why or how the car has been "tampered with", it just fails, which is the problem with the SVX. There never was an SVX made with a manual transmission, and the state knows it. Smog check fails right there, theirs nothing you can do about it but to move to a free state. Now, it happens by chance I live in a bit of CA that does not require bi-annual smog checks, only smog on transfer. In other words, it smogs when you buy it, but never again. There some quite unusual vehicles lurking out here in the woods and that has me thinking....` My SVX runs like a watch, the engine is perfect, throws no codes, I replaced several of the engine sensors and all the vacuum hoses (blue silicone), but the trans has a broken-off ring gear tooth (came out with the oil change), but the TCU doesn't know that, theres no code thrown I wonder if I were to show up at the smog place, the car might not actually pass, the smog guy does not drive the car, he checks equipment off his list, sticks a probe up the exhaust and checks for codes.. Then, having it smogged and registered, I could stick in a 5-MT and go my way.. Just thinkin'...

Understood. Let me put it another way. A given R&P set is used for a while, or a long time, then moved to another g-box, and properly set up. The question in my mind is will the re-setup in a different g-box cause a new wear pattern to be superimposed over the old wear pattern, and if so, will it accelerate the deterioration of the tooth hardening, and eventual failure that would not have happened if the R&P set had been left alone in the old g-box?

The transmission that is in the car is a proper (3.54) 4EAT, but one of the ring gear teeth fell out with the last oil change. The trans itself seems OK, and since it seems that I may not be able use the junkyard box I bought. I've had another thought. Since I have 3-4 dead tranmissions with good R&P sets, why not just change out the busted set for another used set? Back in the day when R&P sets were face milled, this would be a big no-no, but now a-days they are hobbed. I know that Subaru will attach a variety of ring gears to a pinion of a certain tooth count, I wonder if hobbed sets don't care as much about being perfectly matched. I also wonder if the R&P sets can be moved without eventually failing.. Any working machinists out there?

I've come to know that Subaru information on the net is plentyful. Every question I've ever asked has been covered in three possibilities. (1) Yes, it will work. Everybody knows this. (2) It'll never work and if you try you'll damage the car. Everybody knows this, (3) Sometimes it may work, when the moon is in the 7th house and your mechanic is fluent in Japanese. Everybody knows this. (sigh)

How much?