SVX shakes badly
 

Whenever I start my SVX, and am stopped in park or driving at low speeds, it runs very roughly. It feels fine when I drive at mid to high speeds, but in the low speeds or stopped, the whole car is shaking very roughly. It was fine all of yesterday until the afternoon. It had only been sitting for about 2 hours, and then I drove it home, and it started running roughly. Then I figured it would clear itself up, but it did the same thing today. No engine codes or anything. So Im sure that what everyone will tell me is that I probably have a misfiring cylinder, and need to unplug the injectors one by one to find out which one it is. However, where are the injectors? Every obstacle I come to on my SVX, I need to know the part location before I try it, so can someone give me a vague description of what they look like? Or a picture would be better. I am sure that many of you are reading this and laughing saying "He doesnt know what the injectors look like? Ha Ha!" But I dont, so forgive me.
Will replacing the spark plugs help this out?

that sounds like it could just be the spark plug wires.

They will be the only things with plastic connectors on them on the sides of the engine. 2 wires/1 plug per injector.

Oops - SVX is COP (coil-on-plug), no spark plug wires.

Pre '96 SVX is not OBDII, no misfire monitor in ECU, so no check engine light for misfire.

Look near the base of the intake manifold runners, the injectors reside there - one per runner. The connectors have latches you need to squeeze before they'll release. Push the connector towards the injector slightly before squeezing the tab, that should make it a little easier.

the same thing happened to me and it ended up being a bad coil pack, i swapped it out with a spare one i had from a parts car and my car ran better, but also another problem i had that was causing the same symptoms was my harmonic balancer came loose, if you tighten it down it will not shake anymore

The injectors were easy enough to find, I suspected that is what they were in the first place, and you guys just confirmed it for me. So I just unplugged each one, and got the same result each time. The engine would lose power, cut down for alittle like it was going to die, and then come back up to its original power. All six did the exact same thing. 19svx94, any info that you could provide for me on the location of the coil pack and harmonic balancer would be appreciated, as this is my next place to look, seeing as how I got no difference from unplugging the injectors.

The coil packs are directly fastened to each of the spark plugs.

The harmonic balancer is bolted to the front of the crankshaft, it's the metal 'wheel' in the center front of the engine that drives the accessory belts.

Good Luck,
Dan

I replaced 4 of the spark plugs today (the front 2 on both sides of the engine, the old ones sure look like they needed changing), and will replace the back 2 tommorrow when it is brighter outside. After changing the 4, no improvement at all, so im goign to assume that it is either the harmonic balancer or the coil packs. So 2 questions:
1: The bolt on the harmonic balancer is HUGE, and I dont have the proper size nut for it. Can anyone tell me what size it is, so I can go and buy the proper size nut?
2: Where would I be able to get coil packs from? Also, are you guys talking about cutting off the old pack, and splicing in a new one, or are you talking about replacing the entire wire? If I have to change the entire wire out, will I have to remove a bunch of stuff to get at them? I have replaced spark plug wires before on my old Dodge Intrepid, but that had alot more room under the hood to work.

I found a wrench that fits the harmonic balancer (22 MM for anyone who cares) but when I try and turn the bolt, all that happens is that the entire belt assembly turns, including the power steering, alternator, etc. Anyone got any ideas for this?

Thats supposed to happen. If you were just trying to tighten it I would say you dont have to. Taking it off is a pain in the ass 99% of the time.

A long breaker bar that rests on the frame, under the battery. Bump the starter, you may want to remove the ECU fuse first so the engine doesn't start, and the bolt will be jarred free. Stay the heck away from it, should anything go amiss you don't want to use any part of your body to stop a flying tool! It only takes a split-second bump of the starter.

Are you certain the dampener is actually defective? When the engine is idling is there any perceptible motion besides spinning clockwise?

Same thing happened to me and it was the coil pack for cylinder 1...but if u got the same results for all 6 when you took the connectors off then its probably not a coil pack. I think injectors would lead to a check engine light correct?

Not necessarily. The ECU can probably 'see' a short to ground or open circuit but what happens if the injector's resistance changes slightly? That would affect the amount of fuel it can flow but probably wouldn't trigger a code as there would still be continuity

If disconnecting each injector, one at a time, caused all cylinders to drop rpm equally either the problem wasn't present at the time or there's a different problem. If one or more cylinders did not change rpm then it is necessary to determine if spark, fuel or air is the culprit.

This morning, I changed the last 2 spark plugs. No change at all felt, it is still shaking badly. However, I did try to unplug the feul injectors again, and this time, I did get something. I unplugged all three on the drivers side, and the RPMs would drop, engine would lose power, and then re-stablize. Then I did the front 2 on the passenger side, and the same thing. But the very back one on the passenger side had absolutely no change at all on the engine. So I am sure that this one is my culprit. Anyone got an extra coil I could get from them for this cylinder?

Part number 22433AA310. Its $71.99 at 1stsubaruparts.com and $76.19 at subaruparts.com. However, they both dont have it in stock, and said that it will take 4-10 days just to ship it. So I would be really interested in a used one if anyone has one. Just for reference, its part #3 here:
http://www.subaruparts.com/diag/?mod...category=090-A

How bad is it to drive with a misfiring cylinder? Luckily, I have a 5 day weekend due to the holiday, and dont have to go anywhere, but im wondering if I do end up needing to go somewhere, if I need to bum rides off of people, or if I can drive with no ill effects.