hey,

i just bought an svx a couple of months ago here in California. It is a silver 1992 with 102,000 miles and only one previous owner. The tranny was rebuilt 15,000 miles ago. I am really proud of the car (it is my first!) but have noticed two problems.

1. When I get up to around 40 mph after a minute of driving from cold, there is a noticeable whine from the car under acceleration. It starts out as a grinding sort of low whine, then increases in pitch and loudness (to 55mph or so), so it sounds more like a mosquito- at higher speeds it is still present at a high pitch, but not so loud. Below 40mph the sound is not discernable. The noise is only present under acceleration- as soon as i lift my foot from the gas pedal it ceases. It seems only affected by the car speed, it does not change if i move from 4th gear into 3rd at the same speed.

I realise there may be more than one possible source of this sound, it seems the usual advice involves dealing with the throttle body. Is it recommended for someone like me, who has not more than changed a tyre before, to attempt to clean the throttle body myself? I am confident that i could, if i had clear instructions (being smarter than the average bear)...

2. The second problem is an intermittent cutting out of the engine. Without any warning, in a variety of situation; sometimes when pulling up to a stop sign, and once even on the freeway, the engine simply stops, and ALL the dash warning lights come on. I simply push the selector to neutral, and turn the key all the way off and on again- then it starts immediately. Generally this problem happens at low speeds. The first time it happened, the day after i bought the car, i was terrified. I thought i had bought a real lemon! I have learnt to deal with it, but it would be nice if it didnt happen at all!

Gabe
p.s. Does anyone know if there is a trustworthy SVX mechanic in, or around Santa Barbara CA?