Need help on how to test-drive and buy an SVX

[rperkin]

Hi, I joined the list yesterday...

The more I hear about these beasties, the more I'm hooked. I test-drove my first one two days ago--sweeeet.

Thing is, how do I know the tranny isn't about to go in a few weeks and that I won't need new bearings.

I found a 92 SVX silver with 55k miles, immaculate inside, outside is good (dings on the bumpers etc). One owner. I have the maintenance records which show general service at 26k and oil change every ???1000??? Unfortunately it's at a used car lot :o( so chances of getting any help are -ve. The previous owner was apparently in his 50's, drove it a lot for two years then stored it and took it out for a spin every now and then.

It could use some front tires and they have very slightly more wear on the outside and the inside (is that fairly usual on an SVX from slight tire-roll like most other cars, or is it a sign of bearings starting to go out).

On an on-ramp onto the freeway I floored the gas pedal, the 4EAT shifted down after about a half-second (is that delay normal?). Then stayed in that gear upto 65 with the gas still on--off the gas it and changed up again -- seemed OK but I have no experience on these.

I do about 1000 miles a month and would be using this daily, if it breaks I have alternative transport (bicycle).

I'm smitten, but don't have too much cash to stretch to replace transmissions @ $3k a pop, but between this and a plug and play Lexus ES300 (yawn -- ultra boring), at the moment the ES300 is nagging at me being the sensible choice.

If I know the AT is solid, I'd jump at it (another 30kmiles before the AT goes, I can live with), but if its next week... it's gonna hurt lots.

cheers

Rich

Any help very gratefully appreciated (I'm in Redwood City, CA)

[ensteele]

Welcome to the site Rich

First, it is difficult to know when the tranny will go. If it has not been driven like a dragster, it has a better chance of beeing ok. If you get it, the first thing to do is put a tranny cooler and filter on it. That will help the life a great deal.

Tires. If you replace the tires, you need to replace all 4, because the difference will be too great for the differencial to compensate for.

There a quite a few cars that still have the original tranny in them. They don't all go out.

The wear on the tires could be alignment. Bearings would usually sound very loud if they were going out.

Good luck, and let us know your decision when you make on. :)

[rperkin]

thanks for the quick reply...

Is it possible to rotate the tires, e.g Front Left to Rear Left and Front Right to Rear right or is there seome issue with the differential that would cause a problem?

cheers

Rich
p.s. this is an awesome resource, I'd be SERIOUSLY stuck without this forum

[Mr. Pockets]

Tires should be rotated front to back only. The wheels are directional and should stay on the side they were meant for.

The recommendation is to rotate tires every 15k miles. I do all my own work, so I just rotate them every time I change my oil - which is about every 3-5k miles. That works out to about once a year for me. :p The closer all four tires are in wear, the less strain you put on your transfer clutch.

[gl1674]

Rich,

Is this the car at Duncan Motors on El Camino Double Precision in San Carlos? Mileage seems to match and there aren't many SVXes left with 55k miles on the clock.

If so I might be tempted to stick out my head and kick the tires, but beware - I might find it irresistable, it has 100k miles less miles then my own SVX.

Regarding tires, they must match in brand/model and wear level or you get accelerated wear of the AWD clutch (it is called transfer clutch). Wear on outside is not very typical, wear on inside is much easier to obtain :-). Anyway, most likely underinflation is to blame.

If the tires themselves are not directional, you can rotate wheels right to left without any significant side effects, other then some purists from this website sticking their fingers at you. The wheel disks are designed to help brake rotor cooling, but nothing bad really happens if you put them in reverse. If the tires have feathered wear pattern, puttting them to work in the other direction helps to reduce/eliminate the feathering eventually (especially if driving habits are changed at the same time :-).

Forecasting transmission longevity is notoriously difficult. The best you can do is to check that it works properly presently.
The tests I would do:

1. Make sure all gears including torque converter lock-up in 4th work. Make sure engine braking in 1-2-3 work. Lock-up requires transmission to fully warm up (10+ miles/minutes of driving).
Make sure AWD works - can you spin tires from a standing start?

2. Measure engagement time N to D - should be 1 sec, N to R should be 1.5 sec

3. Do a stall test in 1, 2, 3 gears. Drive 10+ miles to warm up,
stop in a safe place. Full brake, full throttle for a sec or two. RPMs should stabilize at 2400-2800 range. Anything above is a sign of slipping tranny (impeding repairs), anything below is a sign of an engine problem. Repeat with manual button on and gear selector in 1, 2, 3. Give at least a minute cooling time each time between attempts. If RPMS go above 3000 - stop immediately, or you might need a flatbed track to go anywhere.

4. Measure ATF pressure - most realistically it involves a visit to a good tranny shop and some transfer of money from you to the shop.

[Earthworm]

Originally posted by gl1674
1. Make sure all gears including torque converter lock-up in 4th work. Make sure engine braking in 1-2-3 work. Lock-up requires transmission to fully warm up (10+ miles/minutes of driving).
Make sure AWD works - can you spin tires from a standing start?
Perhaps some clarification, there should be no noticable slipping when shifting. Every change should be firm and without hesitation. From what you will see here, finding a perfect tranny is near impossible. They almost all have something wrong that you can nag about.