Hi! 2 things...
 

I'll soon post about my disaster, but first:

- My SVX is now great except for the alternator, the power steering pump, and the fact that I get 10-15 MPG, not driving too hard. I know how to fix the first two, but my god, what's with the last one???

- My Dad is so happy...he loves my car, and that it's unique, but he needed something bigger, so he wound up buying a 1994 Ford Crown Vic with the Police Package. It is in immaculate condition, except that when I checked the tranny fluid for him, it smelled like burning rubber, and it was a brownish purple...not good. But Jiffy Lube said NOT to flush it...they said that some of the metal varnish may be holding the gears in place. He is quite worried, so I want to get back to him with an answer that may help.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Joe.

Re: Hi! 2 things...
 

As for the first question, you might want to talk to the guys with better knowledge here. I suck at engines.

As for second question about the crown vic, Jiffy Lube guys are right. If yoiu want, I recommand replaceing the fluid over time. As in drain a cupful for a week, then fill up a cupful and over time, you will have new fluid. If you flush it, you might kill the tranny.

Lwin

Alternator will cost about $160 to rebuild and beef up to 115A.

Power Steering, need more info. Could be a $2 O-ring.

Crown Vic? If it was a police car, the tranny was most likely serviced at frequent intervals, as MOST police equipment is well maintained, but driven hard.

I would say, get a T-tec tranny flush and take your chances. Driving on bad fluid isn't going to avert disaster for very long.

Doug

Re: Hi! 2 things...
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CopsodyX
[B]I'll soon post about my disaster, but first:

- My SVX is now great except for the alternator, the power steering pump, and the fact that I get 10-15 MPG, not driving too hard. I know how to fix the first two, but my god, what's with the last one???



what kind of gas are you using????



- My Dad is so happy...he loves my car, and that it's unique, but he needed something bigger, so he wound up buying a 1994 Ford Crown Vic with the Police Package. It is in immaculate condition, except that when I checked the tranny fluid for him, it smelled like burning rubber, and it was a brownish purple...not good. But Jiffy Lube said NOT to flush it...they said that some of the metal varnish may be holding the gears in place. He is quite worried, so I want to get back to him with an answer that may help.


i don't know about the crown vics, but i know the chevy impalas for NYPD only have a 8 month life expectance...lol. take the car somewhere else to get checked, just like a doctor, the mechanic could be wrong...burning tranny fluid is not good

Kelli

Cody,
I just bought my second SVX in Long Island. I flew up and drove it back to KY. Wish I'd known you were there, we could've gotten together.

First, to your Dad's Crown Vic. If you don't FLUSH the fluid, at least, replace it. If it's brownish, it's burnt beyond repair. I think what jiffy lube is worried about is loosening some of the particulates with a flush. That's a wise concern, but, it shouldn't scare them from doing a "gravity" replacement. Drain it and re-fill it ASAP.

Sounds like you could have any number of problems with your gas mileage. I'd start with plugs, then, clean the throttle body, perhaps the MAF sensor, maybe the injectors, sheesh could be a million things, coils, . . . sorry, wish I could be of more help, but, with that kind of gas mileage, I'm afraid you're going to need professional help. Take it to a dealer or trusted independent mechanic ASAP. Try "Daddy's Garage" in Queens. He's the one that worked on my "new" SVX. He does a lot of SVX work, so he can be trusted, in my opinion. Good luck.

I love all of you...thanks! :)

The fluid is a brownish purple, and smells more burned than anything i've ever smelled in my life. I told my dad that if he keeps it in there, he won't make it more than 20k miles, and if he changes it, he may get from 0-200,000 miles out of it. His choice.

Now, my little baby, my SVX, had 96k on it when I got the fluid changed...the fluid wasn't that burned, though. My SVX came from the factory with a filter, but the greatest Subaru dealer in the world, Metric Subaru, told me it wasn't there. I was like, WTF??? They said they could install it for less than $100, but I won't pay for it. The tranny was rebuilt by Heritage Subaru (the worst Subaru dealer in the world) at 66k miles, and they put a tranny in there with the lowest ID i've ever seen...no filter kit, small jitter on turns, etc. THEY PUT A TRANNY IN THERE THAT WAS WORSE THAN THE ORIGINAL! So I went to SOA to ***** about it, and they're of no help whatsoever, they're like, you're the second owner, you mean nothing...They're liars, too. They said that they would call Metric Subaru for me, and authorize them to fix it for me for free about a week ago if the filter wasn't there...they never called. Now I have to get on that woman's tail to see what happened...she PROMISED she would call.

As of now, 4,000 miles after the fluid change, my tranny shifts into all gears, fairly smoothly, goes into reverse quickly, BUT...my lockup torque convertor is VERY rough with me...is anyone else's like this? On the highway, it engages smoothly, but take your foot off the gas, and it jerks a bit...weird.

One more thing...EVERYONE in the NY area should go to Metric Subaru in Huntington, Long Island. The manager there is awesome, he used to rebuild SVX trannys, he knows all about them, his mom has a red 94 L that he maintains, the quality of work is phenomenal, and the prices are CHEAP...a new timing belt, a new crankshaft seal, new power steering lines, and the 30,000 mile tuneup, where they do everything down to the tranny fluid change, cost under $900 including tax and all labor. The timing belt portion was only $360, if any of you need those done.

Oh, and someone asked what kind of gas I use...I only use Sunoco or Amaco 93...that's all. But the previous owner filled it with some 89 crap...I found receipts in the car...

Any thoughts on the above?

PLUS...1992 has 3 cats. 1993 has how many? 1994-1997 have 2 cats, right? I'm a bit confused about the exhaust system in these cars.

The top silver part of my engine, where the six intake (?) bumps are, one of them has a little dent in it. Normal?

The manual button on my transmission doesn't work. Does anyone else have this problem?

Isn't the top engine speed of the SVX 7,000 RPM? My rev limiter cuts in rather abruptly at 6,500 RPM, and all my shifts with my foot down, even while in power mode, happen at 6,100 RPM. Why? Is this a tranny thing?

Could the last two be tranny specific, thanks to a bad rebuild? Could my weird tranny be causing my bad gas mileage?

Thanks in advance!

Could the last two be tranny specific, thanks to a bad rebuild? Could my weird tranny be causing my bad gas mileage?


Cody - Go to Lee's thread of 8-18 in Technical Q & A, "Dash indicator & Cruise". Read all of it. If 4th never locks up, you're sucking gas big time.
Good luck - Ron.

Engine RPM: Unless you keep it in 1st gear and floor the pedal, you won't see the engine it 7k RPM. Don't worry if you try it, the tranny will shift into 2nd even if you lever is in 1st.

Fuel Consumption: If lockup doesn't happen, it still won't cause the fuel mileage to go down below 15MPG. My trip thru the Blue Ridge Parkway was mostly hill terrain, in either 3rd or 4th gear, and I managed to pull 25MPG easily, even with some spirited driving. Is the check engine light coming on? If it is, pull the code. If it isn't, O2 sensors, MAF, dirty throttle body, those things can cause a pretty severe deterioration of fuel mileage. Are you idling the car a lot? Many short trips? Stuck in traffic a lot or lots of stop-and-go driving? Those will bring the MPG down as well, but from my experience, the only time when my MPG dropped below 15MPG was when my Duty Sol. C failed and caused a 50/50 lockup with the car. Even with a failed O2 sensor I have been able to do better than 15MPG, and this is from city driving with lots of stop signs and traffic lights.

VK

Re: Any thoughts on the above?
 

Oy Vey :rolleyes: :eek: :p

I'm going to try the 1st gear thing tomorrow. But I don't think it will work. We'll see...you get it up to 7,000? What year SVX?

See the post ABOVE my last one, where I mention how jerky lockup is...it locks. It REALLY locks. Does anyone else experience this?

Check engine: No, but when I cleaned my engine bay, yes, for one day.

I don't idle the car a lot. No, not many short trips. No real stop and go traffic.

So, about the dirty throttle body and such, what should I do, where should I take it, how much $$$?

I tried the 1st gear thing. My engine only went up to 6,500 RPM, then went to 2nd. Yours goes up to 7,000?

Where do I get those items cleaned to get my gas mileage fixed? I know I have new plugs, filters, etc., from the Subaru 30,000 mile tune up, but I don't know about anything else.

What kind of mileage is everyone else getting? The most I EVER got out of a tank of gas was 260 miles HIGHWAY, and recently, about 200 MIXED. Those numbers aren't good.

What is it most likely? Remember, the previous owner filled the car with 89. Did that break something, or just make the **** dirty?

Ok, 6500 RPM it is... Long time since I tried it... :) Really, there's no point in hitting above that, considering the peak hp is at 5400 RPM and peak torque is at 4400 RPM.

I *think* a malfunctioning EGR system can also cause very poor mileage, but usually would come up with a code.

Have you tried disconnecting the battery overnight to force the ECU to relearn? If it's trained on sub-par gas, it may have an effect.

Throttle body cleaning shouldn't cost much, since it's not that hard to get to. I'd guess an hour's labour or so, but I really don't know the book rate, since I did it myself.

The torque converter lockup should be smooth, similar to a 3rd to 4th gear change. If it's "slamming", I doubt that's good.

VK

Thanks for the info.

I did reset the ECU 3 times. No change.

OH, and in hot weather, my engine hesitates. Normal?

It's not so much slamming, it's just harsh when I take my foot OFF the gas.

You're talking about "driveline backlash" if I understand, correctly. Some of that is "normal" to a degree, but shouldn't be TOO harsh. Do you experience a "clunk" when backing up? If so, you may have a bad tranny mount. Also, backlash could be caused by weak motor mounts.