[NiftySVX]

These are some of my favorite things I have seen people do to SVXs (and others, as well)

1. Stop leak.

Stop leak works. It stops fluid flow. It stops fluid flow in small passages, it stops fluid flow in valve bodies, in vane pumps, and in coolers. Also, it destroys water pumps, and is impossible to clean out of radiators, transmission coolers, and power steering coolers. NEVER, EVER use stop leak.

2. Retrofitting a R-12 system to 134a. Always a bad decision.

This works for awhile, but the refrigerants work at different pressures so it will never cool as well as it is supposed to, because the R-12 compressor is not designed to run the pressures that are optimal for 134a. The oil carried by 134a and freon are not compatible and attack each other, the hoses, and o-rings. Also the desiccant which dries the refrigerant is different from 134 to 12. If it was as simple as using the different refrigerant, the engineers would not have wasted their time using different expansion valves and compressors.

3. Non oem spark plugs in a japanese vehicle

I have had many cars brought to me with misfires because the owner "upgraded" to bosch 4 ground double throwdown-whooptie-do plugs. It's also fun to pull those out and find one or more of those grounds missing, because everyone likes their combustion parts to double as metal grinding machines.

4. Non-oem air filters.

These are such a gimmick. Okay, everyone has seen the thing at autozone with the ping pong ball. Yes, an aftermarket air filter flows way more air than the stock one, like I bet one for an SVX would flow 1.5 times the air of the stock one. However, the stock air filter already flows way more air than the throttle bodies so.... yeah. Don't see the point. Also, for the best efficiency, your air needs to be as cool as possible, so removing the box, (which serves the purpose of drawing cooler air from outside the engine compartment) to replace it with a cone air filter makes you loose power. Now you're getting hotter air, and as explained earlier you're not getting any more air. If you want to get more air in your engine, you need to force it into the thing.

5. Butchering wheel bearings

The wheel bearings are very sensitive in this car. Don't press them in. Use a hubster, and pack them by hand. Also, commonly overlooked is the sealing surface on the axle cup. If it has a groove, it must be replaced or care must be taken to ensure that the seal lip rides on a different part of the machined surface or the seal will allow contaminates to enter the sealed bearing area and destroy it. Also, Torque the axle nut, and do it with the wheel on the ground.