help the Weasel!

#1 03-08-2005, 07:44 PM

I could use some senior SVX owners advice.. who may have dealt with this issue..heres the situation: my SVX has a moderate oil leak..but im not sure what it is.. as in engine oil or power steering fluid.. I leave some spots everday or when the car sits for more than 15 min it will leave some fluid..I checked all fluid levels and can find no tell-tale signs of loss..the only suspect is the ps fluid..it smells burnt and looks awful so I siphoned as much out as possible and replaced with atf..I should do it all but havent had the motivation to yet..when I drive the SVX hard on the freeway with many downshifts and such or high susatined speed 80+ mph for any given time over say 15 minutes the car will start smoking from under the hood as soon as I come to a stop..its so bad it will appear my car is on fire..the source is somewhere behind my engine block near the front diff and ps unit..the smoke smells of oil..not coolant mind you..again all fluids are not showing loss..yet the car leaks..when I got under her the other day I found some fluid dripping from the assortment of metal lines near the ps unit and front diff..the fluid blows around a bit and makes it look like its from the oil pan which it isnt..I will poke around there this weekend ..but would like some advice first to maybe shorten my search

sorry for the long read but I wanted to be as informative as possible..thanks guys & gals for any help!

blacknite · #2 03-08-2005, 07:54 PM

I Have My Svx For About 3 Or 4 Years Can't Remenber. But I Started With The Same Simptoms. I Tought It Was The Ps Preasure Hose. I Replace It. But No, After I Couple Of Months The Trany Went Out. I Found This Web Site And Did Some Research. I Learn That The Major Problem With The 92-93 Models Is Heat. And After A While The Fron Diff. Seal Wears Out And With The Oil Preasure Inside The Trany You Will Start Having Oil Leaking. Mine Started With Just A Little Bit Every Once In A While Until, !!more And More And More!!!! I Did The Trany Oil Filter Change Add The Oil Cooler. But Too Late. I Hope Thi Will Help You. Please Let Me Kow If You Have More Questions.......

#3 03-08-2005, 08:01 PM

I dont want it to be the tranny

its shifting fine and works as well as it should right now..and I got through changing the fluid out etc just recently..Im going to drive her more patiently and not promote this problem til I know what it is exactly

blacknite · #4 03-08-2005, 08:10 PM

Sorry To Sound Negative, But That Is How Mine Not A Problem At All. With The Trany. You Said That It Leaves Oil On The Ground, With Your Finger Smell The Oil. It Smell Diferent Than The Motor Oil. And Then If It Smells Like Trasmission Oil. Start The Car And Then Turn The Steering Colum From Lef To Right Several Times. And If You See Smoke. You Are Lucky!!!!! That Means That You Ps Hose Is Leaking.... Remember That Oil Under Preasure Will Look A Way Out. That Is Whay There Are Seals. To Make Sure The Moving Part Sticking Out Will Be Need To Be Lubricated, But We Need To Keep Oil Inside......

blacknite · #5 03-08-2005, 08:11 PM

How Far Are You From Vegas???

Electrophil · #6 03-08-2005, 08:23 PM

I have had this "on fire" thick smoking on both my SVX's. Both times I was lucky enough where it was the high pressure.side of the power steering lines. Of course, being that lucky costs about $300 each time at the Subaru Service Dept. But!! Mine did pressure clean everything and cleaned up the mess it made in the 2 months before I got it fixed.

#7 03-08-2005, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacknite

How Far Are You From Vegas???

Sparks, Nv... pretty far

#8 03-08-2005, 08:28 PM

I will identify the fluid this weekend for sure..its not the fresh tranny oil I put in..that stuff is nice and reddish..this stuff is dirty and rancid

Electrophil · #9 03-08-2005, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacknite

How Far Are You From Vegas???

Sparks is about 9 hours north of us. Just about perfectly across from Sacramento. All of a sudden we are getting all these Nevada SVX's. Where have you guys been hiding?

#10 03-08-2005, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophil

I have had this "on fire" thick smoking on both my SVX's. Both times I was lucky enough where it was the high pressure.side of the power steering lines. Of course, being that lucky costs about $300 each time at the Subaru Service Dept. But!! Mine did pressure clean everything and cleaned up the mess it made in the 2 months before I got it fixed.

a question tho? why does it do the smoke thing after a hard drive and not while normal driving..and the hard driving is without many turns..mostly straight line driving

#11 03-08-2005, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophil

Sparks is about 9 hours north of us. Just about perfectly across from Sacramento. All of a sudden we are getting all these Nevada SVX's. Where have you guys been hiding?

ive been hiding in 'lesser' cars for years..finally found 'my' car in the SVX

blacknite · #12 03-08-2005, 08:36 PM

Unless You Went To Grease Monkey Or Some Nice Shop. The Oil In Your Turbine Did Not Came Out, So New Oil Will Mix With The Old Oil. But Just Remember I'm Just Talking Base On My Own Experience I'm Just Letting You Head So You Will Do Something Before It Gets Worse. Don't Add Aditives To The Oil On The Trany They Suck!!!!.
And $300. Is A Lot For A Ps Replacement The Good Thing Is That They Clean Up Your System!!!!

I Move About A Year Ago From Denver. Like Vegas Weather!!!!!

blacknite · #13 03-08-2005, 08:40 PM

Weasel, Since You Are Driving Under High Speeds Tha Trany Will Generate A Lot Of Inside Preasure And If The Seal Is Bad The Oil Will Look A Way Out,and Since The Engine And Manifols Are Hot Will Burn The Oil And Produce Smoke That Is Why I Think Is Your Trany

blacknite · #14 03-08-2005, 08:42 PM

Electrophil, Where In Vegas Do You Live??? I Didn't Think There Is Another Member Here, Most People Are In Denver That Is Cool!!!!!!

Electrophil · #15 03-08-2005, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weasel 22

a question tho? why does it do the smoke thing after a hard drive and not while normal driving..and the hard driving is without many turns..mostly straight line driving

I really don't know..... But it did. I could drive 12 miles on secondary streets, and the 94 wouldn't smoke. I could jump on the interstate, do the same distance, and once I pulled off, people started dialing the fire department. It was hugely embarrassing how badly the 94 smoked. The dealership replaced the 2 main PS lines, and it fixed the problem.

This was just my car though. I would have it checked out to be sure.