new SVX owner, couple of questions...

[Nevin]

Hi there, my name's Nevin. Howdy everyone. *waves*

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of my car yet, but yesterday afternoon I bought a black '95 LSi. It has 106k, the tranny shifts great, put it up on the hoist and there's no rust on it anywhere!

Anyways, just wondering if there are any common problems that these cars have? I've heard that the trannies, wheel bearings, and brakes are the most problematic areas. I work at a tire shop and we service cars all the time too, so I figured I'd hook it up to the tranny flusher and put in some Amsoil synthetic ATF and throw an aftermarket tranny cooler in to help it out. BUt yeah, are these things reliable? Anything I should be on the lookout for? Is it true that the bottom end is forged from the factory?? I'm not looking to do much to the car as I want a reliable daily driver, but I think it will be just fine with some tint, lowering springs, and maybe I'llfab up an intake for it...

Also, I was wondering what the wheel pattern is. Is it 5 x 4.5"? I thought I saw a picture of a member's car that had some RX-7 wheels on it. I have an extra pair of these rims laying around, and I would LOVE to paint them gunmetal, throw some new tires on, and go roll! Also, would 245 series tires be too wide to fit in the wheel well?

ANywyas, sorry for all the noob questions, but any answers are welcome!

I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow night!

[Nomake Wan]

The sun visors droop, inevitably. The wires which feed the vanity lights in the sun visors wear down and short, inevitably.

The wheels are 5 x 114.3, same as the RX-7 and 300ZX and lots of other sporty cars. Did I mention STi? I'm lookin' at you, Bwana... Also, stock size is 16x7.5.

That said, I bought mine after it had been abused severely. After replacing what was outright broken, the car has been an absolutely solid performer and incredibly reliable. It made a cross-country trip with a worn-out brake caliper and went through one of the hottest parts of California without grenading.

The SVX is a Subaru. I think that's all I really have to say?

[AlcyoneDaze]

I wouldnt really count them as common problems, but after 15 years some of the sensors are ready for replacing. The original knock sensors are probably cracked, and the driver's side one is a bear to get to. The O2 sensors go bad too, they're $100 a pop for the Bosch units.

My MAF sensor went as well, so when you custom make your intake, don't use an oiled air filter, use a dry filter like an AEM cone style. Oh, and don't switch to synthetic oil, only dinosaur for this beast

Rust really won't be a problem unless she was abused, I was reading in the R&T guide that they coated the undercarraige with zinc and engineered good draining to avoid moisture building up anywhere, so the SVX resists corrosion hardcore

All-around tinting is gonna run you $200-300 - the car has ten panels of glass! You can get a good lowering spring or coilover setup from the motorsport warehouse, not an option for me in the boondocks as she's too low as it is!

[Nomake Wan]

Oh yeah. Water Temperature Sensor. Don't know if it's common, but if you have strange problems and a check engine light and the code says it's malfunctioning...

Just go into the dealer and ask for a Water Temperature Sensor off of a 95 Legacy. They're the same, but the Legacy part is cheaper. No joke; they're the same Part # and everything.

[bwb3]

Please don't power flush the tranny! Could be the kiss of death, loosening up a bunch of junk. Just drain, change filter, add fluid and the cooler, run awhile, repeat the drain and new fluid.
Gene

[nonSTOP_service]

I had the kids at Super Lube power flush my 208k mile tranny lol. It went from shifting rough to smooth as sex. If you're worried about flushing your tranny, a re-man might be in order.

As for these cars being reliable? Well mines got 200+ thousand miles on it and all I have to worry about is a couple of warped brake rotors, a wonky 02 sensor, and a fussy CD player.

Personally I wouldn't lower the car, it's low as it was designed to be, it'll still glide on the highway and be able to clear that pesky ihop driveway bump.

Though...

Originally Posted by AlcyoneDaze

All-around tinting is gonna run you $200-300 - the car has ten panels of glass!

This is assuming he gets the tint professionally done, which if you can lay some stickers and smooth some bubbles, you'd realize is a waste of time and money. What I will suggest is if you really want those multi-pane windows to stand out, use a slightly different tint on the inner and outer side windows. When we redo mine, I'm going to use a nice gold tint on the inner windows, and a silver on the outer ones. If it works out anything like what we did to my pals RX, it'll be pimpin.

[SA SVX]

Car looks nice, congrats and welcome to SVX hell/heaven. Did you take off all the rims and remount? one set of the directionals is on backwards, I think the rears, any pros know for sure,,, im still a newb too.

[SVX_MY_BABY]

Originally Posted by SA SVX

Car looks nice, congrats and welcome to SVX hell/heaven. Did you take off all the rims and remount? one set of the directionals is on backwards, I think the rears, any pros know for sure,,, im still a newb too.

Yes the one with the "L" belongs on the left side. That would be your front one.

[Nevin]

Well, thanks for the heads up, but since I swapped rims, I don't think I'll be losing any sleep at night over it!