Need help on buying a SVX
 

This morning, me and my girlfriend went to test drive a Subaru SVX. After I start the engine, I heard some "dut, dut, dut.." sound under the hood. Many white smoke coming out from the exhaust. Went to the highway, the temp is at the middle(but little floating), but exit the highway and stop at the traffic light, the temp went to 3/4. But later on in local traffic, the temp is between 3/4-1/2. Is that really mean overheat?? But it never go to the top.

The car need premium gas. Is that the knocking noise and the unsteady temp is because low octane rate??
The car is $3000, 94, 130K miles.

Hopefully I can be a menber here.

Hopefully I can be a menber here.
 

fongangus,

You are already a member here. Welcome.

As far as the temp. Sounds to me like a water pump going out or maybe even one of the fans is going bad. I had a similar issue where at highway speeds the temp goes down but in traffic the temp goes up.

It was a bad right side fan. The motor came off the blade.

With the engine off. grab the fan blades and see if either one of them wiggles freely. Mine was not connected to the motor but would still turn when the car was running. The motor post came off of the blade but would still catch on the fan blade and make it spin.

White smoke usually means burning oil.

Thats all I can say.

Goodluck.
Wayne

PS What city are you in? I have one for sale that just needs a little work but runs excelent

Re: Hopefully I can be a menber here.
 

I could be wrong, but I thought white smoke was coolant and blue smoke was oil.

For instance, on my GL, when oil gets sucked into the intake via a vacuum hose due to a bad PCV valve (don't ask), the car belches blue smoke. Now that an intake gasket or maybe even head gasket is blown on the same car, and it sucks in coolant, it puffs white smoke.

I would be wary of an SVX blowing white smoke. But then, maybe it's just a gasket on the throttle body or something easy like that, allowing coolant into the intake. That's just a guess. The overheating, to me, suggests something much more major.

Blue Vs White Smoke
 

Damn wrong again. Your right white is liquid, coolant, blueish is oil.

That makes twice this decade. Bad Wayne Bad. Go to your room.

aweeeee geee wizzzzzzz.

Ciao
Wayne

bluish-white? white?? What is bluish-white?? Seems that I saw white.

White is coolant - but I'm strictly referring to smoke coming from your exhaust. If this smoke is coming from somewhere else on the car, it could be something else like transmission fluid. Still, that wouldn't explain your overheating.

Let me break it down for you;
If you saw blue or bluish-white smoke there is oil burning, if you saw white smoke there is coolant leaking in the engine and burning off through the exhaust. This could explain why the temp is going up and down. The sound you hear could be the misfiring of a spark plug due to water on it, this would be more noticed at first start. if I were you, and you really like the car, I would talk them down a couple hundred dollars and use the difference for the repairs... Just a suggestion.

The difficulty with this problem is it could be many things, from a gasket to a (dare I even say it?) cracked block. That could cause both your white smoke and your overheating. Have you checked to oil to see if there is water or "froth" in it? If so, say thanks, but no thanks. If there isn't any water in your oil, then, I'd pay the money to have the engine pressure tested and completely gone over by a reputable mechanic WHO KNOWS THE SVX.

I may be a bit of a stickler, but I think you mean compression tested not pressure tested. This will verify that the engine cylinders do not leak down (compressed air admitted thru the spark plug port bleeding off into the atmosphere, into the cooling system, or into the crankcase due to failed head gaskets, broken rings, or cracked castings) over time. and which cylinder or cylinders may not be sealing (pressure readings to be within a 10% range minimum to maximum).

I'd be very afraid of this car!

Actually, both. Pressure test for the coolant system and compression test for the cylinders -- you can never be too safe. I'm already afraid of this car and it's far, far away from me. :)

Who's trying to unload this can of worms, a dealer or a private party?
If it's a dealer - walk away, unless all the obvious stuff gets repaired, & he offers a warranty. Then offer to pay $2,500.

If it's a private party, offer $1,500, explaining that it's going to cost you $10,000 to get all the obvious stuff repaired. Unless this car is in absolutely near mint condition in & out, I'd look elsewhere. Ron

I believe the smoke is white. How many more miles do you guys think it could last before major repair?(130K now) And how much the range would that be to fix the white smoke and temp problem??

This is a very good point. Most of us probably feel sorry for any SVX we see in poor condition and want to diagnose the problems so it can be back o nthe road.

But unless this car is in fantastic condition otherwise, this sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. My car has 126k miles on it and the engine runs perfectly with no smoke of any kind. I've never even heard of an SVX with a cracked engine, or problems like this. So if it's been treated that badly, what else is it hiding?

I'd definitely stay away from the car if it's white smoke.

It probably is anyways, if you saw the car overheat. My guess is that there's coolant leaking into the combustion chamber. They would have topped up the coolant before you test drove it, and as the fluid level goes down, engine overheats. Or combustion gas gets into the coolant, and the air causes the overheating as well.

Either way, if it's a leaky gasket or a cracked block, it'll be mondo $$$.

Wayne's doesn't seem to be a bad deal. A few minor things to fix, but that's it.

BTW, Wayne, are you SURE your rack is leaking?

VK

fongangus,
By all means, buy an SVX. By no means, buy that SVX. If you know so little about what you're looking at, then you will probably get taken for a ride when you go to have it fixed. Look for a better car. In the mean time, read - about cars in general, and SVX's in particular. I'm not meaning to quench your enthusiasm. This particular learning process will likely be one of the most enjoyable you've had. :)

Buy a good SVX. They're out there. Post '94 is best, but a decent earlier car is a joy, too.

Steve