[NikFu S.]

Alright, so here's an update. I drove the car home after leaving it at the mechanic since last summer.

The car tried so hard to run well. I didn't have much trouble starting or driving it, though it didn't generate quite enough power to reach 40mph. She's a real trooper. Initially there was a massive cloud of fuel smoke, but after it ran for a bit that went away and no new smells were produced. Parked it in my garage and there is no real car smell, just stinky garbage in the waste bin.

So anyway, I know someone with a Forester and recently their vehicle has begun exhibiting the exact same problem as my SVX.

What's the common denominator? They relatively recently had their head gaskets changed.

Right now I am strongly convinced that whoever suggested the engine was reassembled incorrectly is on to the real culprit.

Currently I have the option of disassembling the motor myself and trying to ascertain how to put it back together correctly (something I have never done before and might screw up), or paying a different shop to take the heads off and tweak them however they may need to be tweaked. The problem I foresee is no one will be able to visually determine which part precisely is causing the issue, and this is where I defer to the experts here once again to point me in the right (and preferably very specific) direction.

In the meantime I will be watching all the valvetrain videos.