Replacing, and upgrading most suspension parts

[glaze148]

Hi All,
I have a 92 Silver. I may be shipping it to the NE, and will have a daily 1/4 mi. trip back and forth up a VERY bumpy dirt road to access my rental house.
I'm a new owner, and have zero mechanical abilities. I paid $5000 for it, and it runs nicely, and is very clean. I'm planning on a new timing belt, and all that goes with that job. I have 82,500 mi on it. One mechanic suggests waiting till 90,000, get the service and do the belt then,so it will be on schedule. By all indications, it should drive ok till then.
So, back to the suspension question. I'm willing to invest a total of about $4000, { with belt, and service}to get it to a strong level mechanically.
At this point, it already makes a number of rumbling and low volume popping sounds. I'm fussy about noises.One experienced mechanic said to just leave it alone until, and if it goes really bad. He said even if I put money into it, it may not result in real improvements.
Any thoughts?
Thanks, Steve

[JaySVX]

The SVX has a non-interference engine. You could let the timing belt go until it snaps, and it would not damage the engine, just pop a new one on and your ready to go again.

Randomly throwing money at an SVX gets really expensive, very quickly. I would suggest if possible having someone who is very familiar with the car check it out for you. They'd be best suited to identify strange sounds. Regarding suspension, I'm not sure where you really want to go with it. You could go with something stiffer, which will make your bumpy ride bumpier. The stock suspension should hold up for some real abuse though, just check it out every once in a while, though you should notice pretty quickly if something actually does go wrong.

Congrats on the new purchase, they're really great and comfortable cars.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by glaze148

I have 82,500 mi on it. One mechanic suggests waiting till 90,000, get the service and do the belt then,so it will be on schedule.

Hi Steve, welcome to The Club.

If you figure 12,000 miles a year, you are NOT on schedule, you are 7.5 years overdue!!
Time, heat, and mileage all wear out things like hoses, belts, gaskets, boots, etc.
The sooner you get it to a good mechanic, the better.

Jay is correct in that the 3.3 is a non-interference engine.

If its making "popping sounds" have it checked out by someone who takes strange noises seriously!
Tom

[glaze148]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

Hi Steve, welcome to The Club.

If you figure 12,000 miles a year, you are NOT on schedule, you are 7.5 years overdue!!
Time, heat, and mileage all wear out things like hoses, belts, gaskets, boots, etc.
The sooner you get it to a good mechanic, the better.

Jay is correct in that the 3.3 is a non-interference engine.

If its making "popping sounds" have it checked out by someone who takes strange noises seriously!
Tom

Sorry, I meant the 90,000 mile service. I did have it checked out before purchase.It runs beautifully. Clean oil etc. I have decided I would do the belt, etc just in case it was not done at 60,000. Do you think I should do the timing belt and a major service before I get to 90,000? I was told if the belt fails, it will just stop running, and I could do it then. What do you think about bouncing around a lot on a very bumpy dirt road every day.Of course I'd drive slowly.
Thanks a lot,
Steve

[dennyo]

You could always do sway bar bushings and links and balljoints.They are relatively easy.New struts and mounts might help as well.Good luck.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by glaze148

Sorry, I meant the 90,000 mile service. I did have it checked out before purchase.It runs beautifully. Clean oil etc. I have decided I would do the belt, etc just in case it was not done at 60,000. Do you think I should do the timing belt and a major service before I get to 90,000? I was told if the belt fails, it will just stop running, and I could do it then. What do you think about bouncing around a lot on a very bumpy dirt road every day.Of course I'd drive slowly.
Thanks a lot,
Steve

Hi Steve.
I believe you said 90,000.
You are correct in that if the timing belt breaks, it will not damage the engine...
The engine will stop, as will the power steering, and shortly after, the power brakes
The "rumbling and popping" noises would be of concern to me.
It could be very worn axles, bent driveshaft, a ring and pinion needing oil...

I would check it out before it got expensive, or dangerous.
I am actually trying to help.

[budbaer]

I'm kind of in the same spot with mine. Luckily mine is not steering related, it's just sway bar end links. My steering is tight, it just sounds like s**t. I don't know of too many SVX specialists on your side of the continent, but there has to be at least one. Ask Earl who keeps his herd healthy. As far as the timing belt goes I say fix it before it fails. It won't hurt the car if it fails but it might hurt your mental wellness. How much fun would it be to be 200 miles from home and stranded at the side of the road with a 4000 lbs paperweight.

[glaze148]

Originally Posted by budbaer

I'm kind of in the same spot with mine. Luckily mine is not steering related, it's just sway bar end links. My steering is tight, it just sounds like s**t. I don't know of too many SVX specialists on your side of the continent, but there has to be at least one. Ask Earl who keeps his herd healthy. As far as the timing belt goes I say fix it before it fails. It won't hurt the car if it fails but it might hurt your mental wellness. How much fun would it be to be 200 miles from home and stranded at the side of the road with a 4000 lbs paperweight.

Funny about the paperweight.
Thanks

[glaze148]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

Hi Steve.
I believe you said 90,000.
You are correct in that if the timing belt breaks, it will not damage the engine...
The engine will stop, as will the power steering, and shortly after, the power brakes
The "rumbling and popping" noises would be of concern to me.
It could be very worn axles, bent driveshaft, a ring and pinion needing oil...

I would check it out before it got expensive, or dangerous.
I am actually trying to help.

Hi,
Point taken, and I most certainly realize that you are trying to help.
Thanks much,
Steve

[glaze148]

Originally Posted by JaySVX

The SVX has a non-interference engine. You could let the timing belt go until it snaps, and it would not damage the engine, just pop a new one on and your ready to go again.

Randomly throwing money at an SVX gets really expensive, very quickly. I would suggest if possible having someone who is very familiar with the car check it out for you. They'd be best suited to identify strange sounds. Regarding suspension, I'm not sure where you really want to go with it. You could go with something stiffer, which will make your bumpy ride bumpier. The stock suspension should hold up for some real abuse though, just check it out every once in a while, though you should notice pretty quickly if something actually does go wrong.

Congrats on the new purchase, they're really great and comfortable Iars.

Thanks,
i do love the car. If I could figure out which Coast I'm going to live on, I could get to a good mechanic.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by glaze148

Thanks,
i do love the car. If I could figure out which Coast I'm going to live on, I could get to a good mechanic.

Lets do the math.
You are on the coast with nice weather,
tan chicks in string bikini's,
no rust on cars,
tan chicks in string bikini's,
The Govenator,
tan chicks in string bikini's,
something, something...
What was my point again???

[Crazy_pilot]

The stock SVX suspension is pretty tough and will handle abuse pretty well. I beat the living snot out of mine on the snow track (think ruts, potholes, bumps, and the occasional not-quite-on-the-ground moment, all done more sideways than forwards with one or the other pedal on the floor) and its held up just fine. The only thing I've broken is the front sway bar end links. The left one has play in it so bad I'm a little worried, and it clunks and thumps like you wouldn't believe.

[SVXRide]

Checking the bushings for the front sway bar is extremely easy once you take the tire off of the car. You'll know almost immediately if the bushing is bad, as it will be torn up/hanging out of the bracket
Fairly simple to replace and you'll feel the difference.
You might also want to check the sway bar end links, as they can loosen up where they bolt to the strut. Once loose, they will move up and down in the slotted hole in the strut bracket, making a clunking noise.
-Bill

[It's Just Eric]

to avoid confusion...the rumbling and popping noises are coming from your motor, or the suspension components?

also...when you do the timing belt..go ahead and replace the water pump, front seals, lower cam seals, and valve cover gaskets. If thye arent leaking yet, just because of their age, they are probably going to soon. that being said, you can hold off untill 90k miles to do this

for the suspension...if your traveling rough roads, the stock suspension is probably just what youll need. Id go ahead and replace the sway bar bushings with polyurethane ones..not so much for any performance gains, but just because, once again, they are probably close to the end of their lifespan..and traveling rough roads could do them in. The whole set for front and rear can be had for roughly 35 bucks, and the install is easy enough to do in the driveway

While the wheels are off, you should just shake things up a bit, see if you can track down any loose thinggs that need to be tightened, or replaced

[glaze148]

Originally Posted by It's Just Eric

to avoid confusion...the rumbling and popping noises are coming from your motor, or the suspension components?

also...when you do the timing belt..go ahead and replace the water pump, front seals, lower cam seals, and valve cover gaskets. If thye arent leaking yet, just because of their age, they are probably going to soon. that being said, you can hold off untill 90k miles to do this

for the suspension...if your traveling rough roads, the stock suspension is probably just what youll need. Id go ahead and replace the sway bar bushings with polyurethane ones..not so much for any performance gains, but just because, once again, they are probably close to the end of their lifespan..and traveling rough roads could do them in. The whole set for front and rear can be had for roughly 35 bucks, and the install is easy enough to do in the driveway

While the wheels are off, you should just shake things up a bit, see if you can track down any loose thinggs that need to be tightened, or replaced

Your post is much appreciated
Steve