new SVX owner, couple of questions...
 

Hi there, my name's Nevin. Howdy everyone. *waves*

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of my car yet, but yesterday afternoon I bought a black '95 LSi. It has 106k, the tranny shifts great, put it up on the hoist and there's no rust on it anywhere!

Anyways, just wondering if there are any common problems that these cars have? I've heard that the trannies, wheel bearings, and brakes are the most problematic areas. I work at a tire shop and we service cars all the time too, so I figured I'd hook it up to the tranny flusher and put in some Amsoil synthetic ATF and throw an aftermarket tranny cooler in to help it out. BUt yeah, are these things reliable? Anything I should be on the lookout for? Is it true that the bottom end is forged from the factory?? I'm not looking to do much to the car as I want a reliable daily driver, but I think it will be just fine with some tint, lowering springs, and maybe I'llfab up an intake for it...

Also, I was wondering what the wheel pattern is. Is it 5 x 4.5"? I thought I saw a picture of a member's car that had some RX-7 wheels on it. I have an extra pair of these rims laying around, and I would LOVE to paint them gunmetal, throw some new tires on, and go roll! Also, would 245 series tires be too wide to fit in the wheel well?

ANywyas, sorry for all the noob questions, but any answers are welcome!

I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow night!

The sun visors droop, inevitably. The wires which feed the vanity lights in the sun visors wear down and short, inevitably.

The wheels are 5 x 114.3, same as the RX-7 and 300ZX and lots of other sporty cars. Did I mention STi? :D I'm lookin' at you, Bwana... Also, stock size is 16x7.5.

That said, I bought mine after it had been abused severely. After replacing what was outright broken, the car has been an absolutely solid performer and incredibly reliable. It made a cross-country trip with a worn-out brake caliper and went through one of the hottest parts of California without grenading.

The SVX is a Subaru. I think that's all I really have to say? :)

I wouldnt really count them as common problems, but after 15 years some of the sensors are ready for replacing. The original knock sensors are probably cracked, and the driver's side one is a bear to get to. The O2 sensors go bad too, they're $100 a pop for the Bosch units.

My MAF sensor went as well, so when you custom make your intake, don't use an oiled air filter, use a dry filter like an AEM cone style. Oh, and don't switch to synthetic oil, only dinosaur for this beast :)

Rust really won't be a problem unless she was abused, I was reading in the R&T guide that they coated the undercarraige with zinc and engineered good draining to avoid moisture building up anywhere, so the SVX resists corrosion hardcore

All-around tinting is gonna run you $200-300 - the car has ten panels of glass! You can get a good lowering spring or coilover setup from the motorsport warehouse, not an option for me in the boondocks as she's too low as it is!

Oh yeah. Water Temperature Sensor. Don't know if it's common, but if you have strange problems and a check engine light and the code says it's malfunctioning...

Just go into the dealer and ask for a Water Temperature Sensor off of a 95 Legacy. They're the same, but the Legacy part is cheaper. No joke; they're the same Part # and everything. :D

Please don't power flush the tranny! :eek: Could be the kiss of death, loosening up a bunch of junk. Just drain, change filter, add fluid and the cooler, run awhile, repeat the drain and new fluid.
Gene

I had the kids at Super Lube power flush my 208k mile tranny lol. It went from shifting rough to smooth as sex. If you're worried about flushing your tranny, a re-man might be in order.

As for these cars being reliable? Well mines got 200+ thousand miles on it and all I have to worry about is a couple of warped brake rotors, a wonky 02 sensor, and a fussy CD player.

Personally I wouldn't lower the car, it's low as it was designed to be, it'll still glide on the highway and be able to clear that pesky ihop driveway bump.

Though...

This is assuming he gets the tint professionally done, which if you can lay some stickers and smooth some bubbles, you'd realize is a waste of time and money. What I will suggest is if you really want those multi-pane windows to stand out, use a slightly different tint on the inner and outer side windows. When we redo mine, I'm going to use a nice gold tint on the inner windows, and a silver on the outer ones. If it works out anything like what we did to my pals RX, it'll be pimpin.

Mine have been perfectly reliable; the only thing that's stranded me was a dead battery. That's not to say I haven't had to spend money on them, or park one while waiting for a needed part.

Good luck.

dcb

Awesome guys! Well, thanks for all the tips.

Also, whoever mentioned it... how can synthetic oil be BAD for the tranny? I do realize that flushes can sometimes just loosen up the crud in trannies, but I found out that this car was owned by two different middle-aged women all it's life until I found it!

Also, what kind of oil do you guys run in it? I've had good luck with Mobil1 synthetic in every other car I've had, so I figured I'd go ahead and run that in here too. Also, is the front diff separate from the tranny, or does it use the same fluid as the tranny? What about the rear diff, what kind of fluid there?


Sorry again for all the noob questions, but I just want to make sure I'm treating it right from the get-go.

Funny story, but as it turns out, I test-drove an SVX about 7 years ago when I was looking for my first car. It was a black '95, had about 80k miles on it and it looked like pure sex! I didn't get back to it in time though, and someone else bought it. However, I did find a '94 Probe GT that I still own, absolutely love, and will never sell. In the meantime, I had always kept my eye out for an SVX if I ever saw one. Turns out that the one I bought is the SAME car as the one I test drove nearly 7 years ago. Since then, it's only put on 22k additional miles, it's been garaged all the time, and like I said, owned by an older woman!! WOOO!!!

So, I just thought it was pretty cool that I ran into the same car again. I knew it would be mine eventually!!

Also, I'll get some pictures posted up tonight before and after the RX-7 rims go on.

Thanks again for all the replies, and you can bet I'll be sticking around here!


p.s. I know that subarus are VERY reliable. I towed one once that was only 3 years old, had 230k miles, and the reason I was towing it was that the alternator went bad. Nothing else had ever been replaced on the car besides consumables!

All right! Another one added to the club.

I use Mobil 1 in my car as well, haven't had any issues. So it sounds like you're good. :cool:

Got around to taking some picture tonight. Tried putting the RX-7 wheels on, but I need a different lugnut for the probe to bolt the sooby rims on for the time being. So... I'll jsut get them tomorrow and get new pictures tomorrow night!

In the meantime here are a few photos, and sorry, it's an older digital camera...kinda lousy quality, but you get the idea!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ictures002.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ictures001.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ictures003.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ictures004.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ictures005.jpg

There we go. Just curious, but is there a picture limit on this forum? I've been on others that are ten per thread... so just curious.

Also, if anyone has the rear engine cover that has the H6 emblem on it, shoot me a PM as I'd like to have one!

Thanks for looking!

Can't speak to possible negative effects of flushing the transmission that some cite, but if nothing else, it's a needless expense.

I use plain vanilla Havoline, the same oil I've used for 30 years, and see no reason to change.

Yes, the front differential is separate from the transmission; the dipstick is on the passenger side of the tranny. I don't remember the gear lube spec, but it's in the owner's manual, if you have one. Pretty sure factory spec is different for the front and rear.

Nice looking car. I like the tan interior.

dcb

I absolutely love your SVX. Those brake calipers actually look really nice, and the body looks like it's in perfect condition. I've forgotten just how good a clean black SVX looks (especially without that silly pinstripe like on my 92). Congratulations on the pickup, she looks solid sir. :cool:

Well thank you. After checking the front diff, it smells like 75-90 to me. I'll probably just stop at the local store and pick up some Amsoil synthetic for the diffs and change that out. Also, the previous owner put in a K&N drop in, but I'm curious if there are any actual aftermarket intakes. If not, I am certainly no stranger to fabrication and I'll probably just weld up my own!

For the moment, my suggestion would be to leave the K&N drop-in filter and airbox alone, but remove the intake resonator that's behind the airbox in the fender. I did that for my old Legacy, was pretty easy. Ended up just removing the box for the resonator and cutting the intake pipe in half.

That should be plenty for the moment I think. :)

Car looks nice, congrats and welcome to SVX hell/heaven. Did you take off all the rims and remount? one set of the directionals is on backwards, I think the rears, any pros know for sure,,, im still a newb too.