jasinwa Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I did a search for SVX and did not find anything here (expected that on legacycentral, but figured this was a model nonspecific board!!).... I've been thinking of a Legacy, but have seen some SVX's...they look really nice and still have all features I desire (AWD, Boxxer engine, etc)... Of course I think gas mileage is not too good (but the Legacy I am thinking of is a 93 Turbo, so how much worse can it be?). Anyone have any experience (good or bad) with the SVX and care to share?? thx...jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DualCarb'84 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I have a buddy with an svx, and he has about 80,000 miles on it. He has had his wheel bearings done twice, and had a new tranny put in. I guess these cars are known for such issues. I remember him complaining about the cost of parts(brake pads cost him a hundred bucks or something) but overall, he is happy with the car. Never any trouble from the motor or electronics. I dont think there are too many of em out there, spare parts might be an issue. I love subaru cars, but i dont think i would ever buy one of these, just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasinwa Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 I'm unsure too....but I have a possible lead on a mint condition, garaged 1996 svx with less than 30K on it....may be too good to pass up, if I can get it at the right price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Definately a Love/Hate relationship with mine.... I have gone through a number of transmissions (4?-5?) but I will never part with it. If you are going to get one, here are some suggestions; - Visit subaru-svx.net - Take your time in looking for the right one and be prepared to travel to get it. - DO NOT get it as your only car, I wouldn't call it unreliable, but it can get expensive if fixes need to be imediate. - Budget $$ for repairs in the first year of ownership. Depending on if the PO beat on it and your ability to do repairs on your own you should plan to spend $500 - $4000 for repairs. - There are a number of SVX's and members of Subaru-svx.net in the NW, check out a few of their meets, and get to know some of them. They will be able to help you find a great car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 ... a mint condition, garaged 1996 svx with less than 30K on it.... :eek: Jump on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasinwa Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Definately a Love/Hate relationship with mine.... I have gone through a number of transmissions (4?-5?) but I will never part with it. yow......that does not sound good or promising! - There are a number of SVX's and members of Subaru-svx.net in the NW, check out a few of their meets, and get to know some of them. They will be able to help you find a great car. Figure I couldn't go too wrong with one that has <30K on it....until I read your reply! Do you drive it hard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Do you drive it hard? At times:cool: but the PO abused it... If I knew what I know now, I would have passed on the one that I got. Even thought the transmissions are a week spot it is unusual to go through them like I have. It has become commonplace to swap the stock 3.54 EAT with a 4.11/4.44 EAT's or 5/6 speeds. It is a great car, as finances allow, I will probably end up with an additional one. Do your homework, read the site and figure out if it is a ride you're willing to take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstwagon Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Here's a site about the SVX I found interesting... http://smallcar.com/svx/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/ the weak spots are the wheel bearings and the transmission. The transmission lock up torque converter clutch material flaes off and clogs the cooler. Next thing you know your tranny is fried. There are several ways around this. Install a cooler and a filter, install a manual. or convert to a legacy automatic. The svx tranny has a clutch pack and a differnetial in the awd unit, where as the legacy just has a clutch pack. you wont notice a differnce. i am going to buy one myself once my physical therapy is done. Be forwarned, the legacy board tends to run more austrailian then american. They are no where as technically knolwdegeable as this board is. On the plus side the svx engine is juts a 2.5 with with two more cylinders. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 The svx tranny has a clutch pack and a differnetial in the awd unit, where as the legacy just has a clutch pack. :confused::confused: where did you hear this? also... They make some good products, but a number of members have had "issues" with Small Car, do some research before using them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasinwa Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 The owner won't go below $13,000 I just don't think it's worth that price. I thought I was nice offering $9K He must think he can hold out. :-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skizix Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I did a search for SVX and did not find anything here (expected that on legacycentral, but figured this was a model nonspecific board!!).... The search function on this board seems to be set to ignore words of 3 letters or less. For sure there are plenty of posts with "svx" in them here. That sucks, for sure, since many, many folks are surely doing searches for, e.g. tps, iac, egr, etc. The other thing that sucks about the search here is that if you enter > 1 word, it does an "or" search -- no option that I know of to filter results based on all words being found. Definitely limits the utility of this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasinwa Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 The other thing that sucks about the search here is that if you enter > 1 word, it does an "or" search -- no option that I know of to filter results based on all words being found. Definitely limits the utility of this site. yup...I thought if one uses quotes, it would capture in between the quotes, but now i don't think so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 :confused::confused: where did you hear this? also... They make some good products, but a number of members have had "issues" with Small Car, do some research before using them. this is not a secret Just google SVX transmission failure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Alcyone_SVX http://www.subarusvx.com/ http://www.drwtransmission.com/subaru_svx.htm "The torque converter clutch lining can flake and plug the transmission cooler in the radiator, resulting in a loss of proper lubrication flow" Subaru even has a tsb on the issue or three. These are all very well known issues on the car. You need to do some more research to know what your getting into. Also if i recall the windsheild costs 1300.00 to replace. Go check the board i listed, i don't make this stuff up. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/ the weak spots are the wheel bearings and the transmission. The transmission lock up torque converter clutch material flaes off and clogs the cooler. Next thing you know your tranny is fried. There are several ways around this. Install a cooler and a filter, install a manual. or convert to a legacy automatic. The svx tranny has a clutch pack and a differnetial in the awd unit, where as the legacy just has a clutch pack. you wont notice a differnce. i am going to buy one myself once my physical therapy is done. Be forwarned, the legacy board tends to run more austrailian then american. They are no where as technically knolwdegeable as this board is. On the plus side the svx engine is juts a 2.5 with with two more cylinders. nipper Wheel bearings aren't any more of an issue than with other Subies. They just need to be replaced properly otherwise you screw up the hub and then can never get bearings to seat properly. The problem with the tranny is excessive heat not that clutch material cloggs up the cooler. TSB was for the 92 radiator where they put a filter in the cooler which clogged 'em but after that they didn't clog and they still failed early. My 95 with both an aftermarket B&M cooler and the stock cooler runs about 100 degrees above outside temp in normal driving 115 in traffic and that is with my gauge in the pan. Not a clue what you're talking about a dif not being in a Legacy tranny but the SVX has an extra set of clutch packs in it (thought to be a little beefier that way. The SVX has absolutely nothing in common with the 2.5 (which didn't even exist at the time or even the 2.2 for that matter. Its unique onto its own. It does however share crappy aftermarket oil filters with the legacy so it must be the same right? Buy the best you can. Be prepared to put another tranny in it right away too. Don't pay extra for someone who claims to have just rebuilt the tranny as chances are it was a poor rebuild. Listen for rear wheel bearing noise and walk away if there is any as it means the hubs are probably toast. Defiately don't buy one if you can't afford to maintain it. Remember its a car that was 30k in 1992 so parts aren't exactly cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Subaru TSB's are written to limit thier exposure to lawsuits (look how they write them on piston slap and head gaskets). Go read the links, the debree clog the screens, and the transmission over heat, its thats simple. Also another theory is too smal a fluid port, but since a external aftermarket filter and an external oil cooler rectify the problem, i doubt that is the reason. Odd i have never had a rear wheel bearing on 6 differnet subarus (all well over 200k on them). On all the years i've been on the board i can count on one hand that legacy, imprezza rear wheel bearings go bad, but i lost count of all the foresters.The only subaru with that issue is the forester, not all subarus (don't paint with a wide brush). If you do a search here you will see that not only is it foresters with bad wheel bearings, but the fix is to use a legacy wheel bearing. Every peice of material i have read describes the SVX as a 2.5 L with two extra cylinders. The only differnce is the way the cams are driven, a combinitaion of a belt and gears. I dont make this stuff up. I have been looking for an SVX for two years. Everything is well documneted on the internet and the SVX board. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60991 from a week ago. There are very few posts on here about SVX, once again i suggest you investigate the other board. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 this is not a secret Just google SVX transmission failure.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Alcyone_SVX http://www.subarusvx.com/ http://www.drwtransmission.com/subaru_svx.htm "The torque converter clutch lining can flake and plug the transmission cooler in the radiator, resulting in a loss of proper lubrication flow" Subaru even has a tsb on the issue or three. These are all very well known issues on the car. You need to do some more research to know what your getting into. Also if i recall the windsheild costs 1300.00 to replace. Go check the board i listed, i don't make this stuff up. nipper I wasn't questioning the blocked lines causing overheating causing trans failures, I was wondering about your statement about the SVX having a diff that the Legacy doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetterFan Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 For anything SVX, check out http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/. They know their SVX's over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Funny I just told ya that only the 92s and some 93s had a screen in their tranny cooler. I should know I've owned a 95 for oh 8 years or so now, race a 92 that weighs 2700lbs so your links mean absolutely nothing. I'll send ya a link for a site that says the sky is pink if you'd like! I know of no aftermarket cooler that has rectified the problem. It is heat that is the biggest issue and my 200 degree tranny temps show that. As for your external aftermarket filter is concerned. They came with them stock in 94 and up! As for the wheel bearings. I guess you don't read Car and Driver much? Their 05 Legacy had its rears replaced very early on! Mine lasted until 145k on my SVX. I've read no literature that says the 3.3 is a 2.5 with 2 extra cyliners and though I wasn't a math major 2.5 plus 1.25 doesn't equal 3.3 now does it. Show me a single part they share such as those pistons etc. Even the stroke is different! If you've been looking for an SVX for 2 years obviously you haven't been looking real hard then as they are very readily available. Subaru TSB's are written to limit thier exposure to lawsuits (look how they write them on piston slap and head gaskets).Go read the links, the debree clog the screens, and the transmission over heat, its thats simple. Also another theory is too smal a fluid port, but since a external aftermarket filter and an external oil cooler rectify the problem, i doubt that is the reason. Odd i have never had a rear wheel bearing on 6 differnet subarus (all well over 200k on them). On all the years i've been on the board i can count on one hand that legacy, imprezza rear wheel bearings go bad, but i lost count of all the foresters.The only subaru with that issue is the forester, not all subarus (don't paint with a wide brush). If you do a search here you will see that not only is it foresters with bad wheel bearings, but the fix is to use a legacy wheel bearing. Every peice of material i have read describes the SVX as a 2.5 L with two extra cylinders. The only differnce is the way the cams are driven, a combinitaion of a belt and gears. I dont make this stuff up. I have been looking for an SVX for two years. Everything is well documneted on the internet and the SVX board. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60991 from a week ago. There are very few posts on here about SVX, once again i suggest you investigate the other board. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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