Ugh what a nightmare.

I just bought a 95 SVX with 95,000 miles a couple weeks ago.

So far I have had to replace both front ball joints, the rear right wheel bearing and have the driveshaft rebuilt. After these repairs, everything seemed great. It shifted smoothly, was fast, handled well. Just what I wanted.... until today.

I started noticing it revving way up as if in neutral when you'd try to go... at first just when you were starting from a stop. But by the time I got home, the car barely had ANY traction in the transmission. It was slipping badly in any gear. I almost didn't make it home and could hardly go uphill at all (20-30mph with a lot of patience).

And I've only put 500 miles on it since I bought it and already fear it is going to put me in the poorhouse... I assume I need a new transmission or do I have any hope with this one?

[Seraph]

Originally posted by Erik Johnson
I just bought a 95 SVX with 95,000 miles a couple weeks ago.

So far I have had to replace both front ball joints, the rear right wheel bearing and have the driveshaft rebuilt. After these repairs, everything seemed great. It shifted smoothly, was fast, handled well.

You should have had someone from here look at the car you were getting. Ball joints, and bearings do go out but I had a feeling that the car was driven pretty hard by the previous owner. I took such a bait once.

Which gears are you slipping? Also, in the past 500 miles you had did you flush your tranny fluid? Did you also drive it hard? There is a difference between driving a car hard and driving a car fast. I drive fast 80-90+ normally but I don't drive it hard (stomp on the gas at the lights.

Its slipping in all gears to the point where it will barely move. I have only really driven it on highway and in mountains. Fast, perhaps even hard; but I'm not drag-racing the thing. My XT6 puts up with worse... if this is all an SVX can take than what a piece of junk.

So do I have to replace the whole transmission? Or is this repairable? Why would the transmission just fail when it was working smooth and I certainly didn't drive it hard or fast today?

[wawazat??]

Originally posted by Erik Johnson
if this is all an SVX can take than what a piece of junk.

So you buy a used car w/95K on it and complain about having to replace things What did you expect?

Did you have it inspected as Lwin suggested? Did you test drive it at all? If so you would have heard the bearings and felt the ball joints being loose.

Sorry if this seems harsh, but it sounds like you bought a car that needed help and you either didn't know it or refuse to admit it to yourself. Either way, it's no fault of the car.

It sounds like your trans is gone. Get ready for a really big bill.

Todd

I am not blaming the car for the problems it came with (and unfortunately I bought a car that had to be shipped to me and didn't have the opportunity to drive it... but was assured by the seller that all was good).

But if a seemingly good smooth transmission just fails out of the blue, that is pretty spooky. The prior poster said that you cannot drive the svx
hard, which seems to sort of imply that the car isn't up to the task.

What would cause a seemingly good transmission to just fail? It was smooth. It didn't slip at all. It shifted quite nice, infinitely better then the clunky thing in my XT6. Then it starts slipping while driving slow in XMAS shopping traffic and within 10 minutes the car will barely move in any gear it slips so bad.

I had at least expected to be able to tell if failure was imminent. If they fail like this, how can anybody trust an OEM transmission? I certainly cannot own a car I can't trust to get me where I'm going. It doesn't matter to me how great the rest of the SVX is if the transmission strands me and leaves me bankrupt and from the other posts here, might just do it again and again.

I'd replace it with aftermarket... but I don't have the money to be buying any transmissions.

[Seraph]

I am going to go old school here.

<<But if a seemingly good smooth transmission just fails out of the blue, that is pretty spooky. The prior poster said that you cannot drive the svx hard, which seems to sort of imply that the car isn't up to the task. >>

Eric,

SVX is a very unique car. It's not a dragster or a muscle car. You can not slam on the gas every chance you have. Take care of the car and she'll not eat up your wallet. My first SVX took out a good 10k before I abandon her and got 2 more.

My first tranny too failed out of the blue(ish) too. But I heard it whine for a while. Perhaps it was doing that too in your car but you did not notice it since it was your first SVX.

<<Then it starts slipping while driving slow in XMAS shopping traffic and within 10 minutes the car will barely move in any gear it slips so bad.>>

You should stop driving it for now till you fix it.

<<If they fail like this, how can anybody trust an OEM transmission? I certainly cannot own a car I can't trust to get me where I'm going. It doesn't matter to me how great the rest of the SVX is if the transmission strands me and leaves me bankrupt and from the other posts here, might just do it again and again.
>>

Yes you can trust the OEM tranny. My second SVX (check in locker) had over 120(or was it 140)k on the clock and still had original tranny without any cooler and it's my best shifting SVX I've owned/driven. However, if you do not take care of the SVX, it will create a dent in your wallet at unfortunate times and it will keep you stranded on the side of the road.

I hate to be the prick saying this. SVX is not a honda. They are not too reliable but they are great if taken care of. Parts are not cheap. They are not too expensive overall but they are on the expensive side of Japanese car market. Unless you really love them to death, they may not be for you if you want to drive it hard and expect the tranny to last long.


I don't mean to preach but after 3 SVXes, I can tell which oil smells like what under the hood. All 3 of them under there (diff, tranny, engine) smells differently. Also, I can tell the sounds between the noise the bearings make, noise tranny makes and noise diff makes before they die. Bearings make a roar -- kind of like waterfall kind of deal. Tranny makes a soft whine. Diff makes a metal whine like a jet following you. In the future, I'd rely on the people here to check out the SVX before I go out and buy it. It's better if the person who is checking out the car had replace/rebuilt the tranny. He/she will know the feeling that you can not easily forget. Oh when your diff dies, your car will jump like a horse and you can kill your engine mounts that way.

[Alycone]

Then it starts slipping while driving slow in XMAS shopping traffic and within 10 minutes the car will barely move in any gear it slips so bad.

I had at least expected to be able to tell if failure was imminent. If they fail like this, how can anybody trust an OEM transmission?

My second tranny failed in under 30 miles because the coolant lines became completely blocked. After 150k the tranny had been replaced by someone too lazy to flush the lines, so they blocked up again in a few thousand miles. I don't think 150k is a bad lifespan for a transmission, I hope my current one lasts as long.

When Seraph said the previous owner might have driven the car too hard, I assumed he meant doing things like aggressive downshifting, switching to R at 30mph, towing a trailer, amateur rallying....things beyond stomping on the gas when the light turns green.

Looks like you got a car with some serious mechanical probs, sorry.

[Seraph]

Originally posted by Alycone


switching to R at 30mph

I accidental did that one in a rental car. Scare the living crap out of me.

Had the exact same symptoms happen to my car. From a stop, it might catch slightly and then when it tried to shift it couldn't find any gears. Try doing completely manual shifts as in from 1 -> 2 ect and see if you can narrow it down to a specific gear. Hate to tell you but atleast for me, it meant (2) rebuilds and replacement of the third gear clutch. (First shop didn't *specialize* in tranny's, so they rebuilt it but didn't charge us I believe and told us take it to a real transmission place). Once I got to manual shifts, I could get through 1st and 2nd but, since I later found out the clutch was gone, going to third was like kicking it into neutral. Hope this helps and I'm sorry to hear about the problems. My bill ended up being about $3500 I believe. I don't know if that's high or low, or avg, but I suppose it's somewhere around the area it'll cost... But I think for another 1500 you can drop in the manual which is a lot more dependable. If I'm wrong, someone, please correct me. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

-Mike

[Seraph]

Yepp

If you find a place to rebuild the tranny, get a good place.

I first went to AAMCO oakpark. They sucked. Tranny broke within 1000 miles. They rebuilt it. It broke again 700+ miles later. It was slipping to begin with. I was pissed. I called another AAMCO in Libertyville. They fixed the diff. Charged me more. Diff broke a week later. I called all other AAMCOs and every one of them said they can not fix the SVX tranny/diff. I called AAMCO HQ and told them I am going to take it to Subaru Dealer (something I shoud have done since it costs the freeking same). AAMCO HQ faxed me a letter saying the first AAMCO will pay for the cost at the dealership. Cost the exect same. Fixed. That's about 3 months downtime. Took another one week to get the very first AAMCO to pay.


I am not saying AAMCO is bad. My current car was done by previous owner around 130k at AAMCO in NJ. It now has over 200k and tranny is still going great. Fluid is still bright red. Diff is dead but diff is a seperate unit

L

[SVXRide]

This thread reminds me of my "research" prior to buying my SVX - what did I find after little more than 30 minutes of searching the web? Wheel bearings, transmission, brakes are the three main "issues" with SVXs. Knowing this, I made sure that I extensively test drove the one I ended up buying in addition to having it checked out by a Subaru dealership (definitely worth the $100) and getting the paperwork showing that it had had its transmission rebuilt and had a good maintenance record. Given that it had 173k on it when I bought it, would I have bought it without going through what I did - not a chance.

Seraph and Todd's words are solid - the SVX isn't a Honda, but it is a car you will fall in love with and find ways to "forget" how much $$ you've spent on it.

Decide which path - with SVX or without SVX you want to travel and move on.
-B

Thanks to all for the helpful words. I may have another chance to fall in love with the SVX. Santa was very kind after hearing my woes and suddenly I can afford to replace the transmission. Any recommendations? It seems there are a number of after market transmissions... does anyone recommend those over the OEM one? I'd be tempted by the 5speed manual, but the wife would hate that.

It sounds like rebuilding is a possible (but not necessarily reliable?) option. What have others done? What warnings or advice is there from those with experience. Sounds like AAMCO is a
definate nono.

Thanks again for your responses. Now go eat some Xmas cookies.

[Seraph]

AAMCO could be good. It depends on the experience of the guy who is working on your car.

like I said, my current svx's tranny is still going strong. (knocks on wood). I was told that the same dealer that worked on my tranny screwed up another svx I recommanded. Also, I know a 92 OEM tranny that had over 120 (or was it 140k) on her and shifts very smooth. So I think it's all luck IMO. I could be wrong. Take it with a grain (uh... make that bucket) of salt.

So I guess it's all luck. If you can and if your wife can drive a stick, go with stick. I still need to do some saving for that mod and when I switch, I am going to go all out and work on the engine too. But that's my story.

As for the advice, talk to your dealer. See if they have a good track record with SVXes. Most dealers will not. Also, I heard that Level 10 does a great job on SVX trannies. But they are in PA or NJ. Do a quick search for Level 10. You can even have the new tiptronic sp?? shift from them.

Well, good luck with your SVX and I wish you many years of happiness. Most of my friends and my family thinks I am nuts. I think I am too. But like I said, I'll always need/have a SVX in my garage even if I win a 100 million dollar lotto tomorrow. I had driven/owned a good deal of cars in my short life. SVX fits me like a glove.

[SVXRide]

Check this site using the "search" button - use "automatic transmission" and other releated key words. Your best bet may be going to a Subaru dealership and getting one of their remanufactured transmissions - make sure to get a credit for your "core" and that you get the warranty in writing.
-Bill
p.s. make sure to add a good trans filter (PermaCool) and an aftermarket cooler.

I am a newbie so i am in a learning stage. I bought a 92 about 3 weeks ago. It is in Ma. so i am flying out Mon to Ma. to drive it back. The weather in Ma. and holidays has made me wait until now. I paid for the car whithin 3 days and have not even seen it yet. Cant wait. So much for that . There was a svx trans. shift kit on ebay a few days ago. They say the reason the svx trannys fail is because they slip to much during shifts. They said and old trick that some svx owners use is to remove the dropping rsistor located behind the battery. There shift kit plugs into the dropping resistor some place and controls the tranny shifting. They state that removing the dropping resistor makes it shift to hard and the stock tranny does not shift hard enough. Said removing the resistor alone makes it shift with to much shock . After reading all the post about trannys they do make sence to me. The stock trans slips tp much creating heat and wearing out bands and other things. Guys, What do you think? I have not seen any post about the dropping resistor. Jim Stanley