New here, and wanted to get a few things out of the way..

[Scott]

Hi all, I introduced myself in another thread, but had a few questions as well, so I figured I would ask in a new thread, rather than clutter up the other one.

First of all, I've had the car since last Sunday. I already love it. I've always wanted an SVX, and am thrilled to finally own one. I made the 70 mile drive from Lakeland back to the Melbourne area without any problems at all. I feel that this car will be everything I want out of a daily driver car, and I think I got a sweet deal on the car. But still, it's 15 years old, so it isn't perfect. As such, I have a few questions.

1. I'm about 6'3" and 210lb or so, and I'm having a bit of a tough time finding a truly comfortable driving position. I have the seat moved most of the way back, with what I consider a moderate decline for the back of the seat. I have the wheel telescoped all the way towards me, and when I sit fairly straight up as I usually do, it's not bad, but the steering wheel being so low starts to get to me. Any suggestions on a better driving angle for me to adjust to?

2. The clock on the dash seems to be dead. Is there a way to try and reset it, or do these kinda just croak off over time?

3. I'm getting a real bad exhaust rattle. I'm fairly certain it's the heat shield, but I'm not 100% yet. Is this a common problem? The only other thing I can think of is that it would be the resonator.

4. The car needs a paint job. How expensive is the Pearl White going to be? Is it a tri-coat?

5. After a long (20+ miles) drive, when I turn off the car and get out, I get a faint whiff of burning oil. The car doesn't smoke, the oil was recently serviced by a mechanic, and doesn't seem to be at any risk of overheating. Again, is this something I should just expect from a car of this age.

Anyway, here's some more about my new toy.
It's a 1992 LS-L
Pearl White/Black w/ gray leather
91,000 original miles. All stock.
The car mechanically, seems to run great, and was well worth the money I spent.

Here's some pics..








And just for good measure, here's a couple pics of my S2000. I'll be beginning the turbo setup in the next couple weeks.





So anyway, thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer. If there's any Florida members on here, I sure would like to meet up sometime and talk shop.

[Crazy_pilot]

Congrats on the SVX. She looks nice.

Spiffy Honda, I like the carbon fiber. There's one a few houses down from me, stock as far as I know.

[sicksubie]

Sounds like a tight car altogether. I hope that the Jewel CD was included in the price btw . The rattle could be a heat shield if you look under the car there are several heat shields from the exhaust manifolds all the way back to the 2-in/1-out cat.

[sicksubie]

As far as the seating goes I feel your pain. I am 6'1'' ish almost 6'2'' and the driver seats are not the greatest for me either. Over the winter I installed brand new seats out of an '03 WRX into my silver svx. The comfort and support is sooo much better. And since I was already doing a little cutting and welding to the rails just to get them in, I went a little further and customized it so that it fits me perfectly. There were a few people who thought what I did was dumb, but oh well. If you are one of the people that think that wrx seats are a downgrade you can follow the same steps that I did, but with some leather Forester or Legacy seats.

[Ron Mummert]

I have the wheel telescoped all the way towards me, and when I sit fairly straight up as I usually do, it's not bad, but the steering wheel being so low starts to get to me. Any suggestions on a better driving angle for me to adjust to?


Be aware that there's a lever under the steering column that adjusts the wheel up & down.


Ron.

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by Ron Mummert

Be aware that there's a lever under the steering column that adjusts the wheel up & down.


Ron.

Just to clarify for the new guy, there are two levers to adjust the up/down. The one that you can see adjust for all the way up and back down to your preset. The one that you can't see lets you lock it in at any position. It is a small hidden paddle under the steering column, back where it goes under the dash. The first time it may help to crawl down under the column and look up.


As for the oil smell, just keep a close eye on your fluids (engine, trans, steering) and let us know which one is leaking. We'll help narrow down the spots to look.

[ensteele]

Welcome to the site.

I had my pearl painted and the paint alone was around $850.

If you want to touch up your drivers seat, there is a product that you can put on it that makes it look like new. It makes it match the rest of the leather. Mine looked worse than yours and now almost like new. Great product.

[Nomake Wan]

Originally Posted by Scott

2. The clock on the dash seems to be dead. Is there a way to try and reset it, or do these kinda just croak off over time?

3. I'm getting a real bad exhaust rattle. I'm fairly certain it's the heat shield, but I'm not 100% yet. Is this a common problem? The only other thing I can think of is that it would be the resonator.

5. After a long (20+ miles) drive, when I turn off the car and get out, I get a faint whiff of burning oil. The car doesn't smoke, the oil was recently serviced by a mechanic, and doesn't seem to be at any risk of overheating. Again, is this something I should just expect from a car of this age.

2.) Have you checked all of the fuses? If the clock is dead and you notice other things not working (for instance, are your dome and door lights working?), it's likely that a fuse is blown. Also check the wiring in your sun visors for good measure as through use the wires seem to get frayed easily. Common problem I heard about a lot here. When my clock went, it was the 10A fuse in the engine bay marked "clock" that blew, and it took the door/dome lights with it. Hope that helps.

3.) At 1500 RPM? If so, it's a resonator in the exhaust system most likely (it could also be a heat shield as you say) and the only real way to cure it is to do something with the exhaust. There are tons of suggestions about exhaust, way too many to list. SVXfiles is apparently the resident exhaust system genius here, though, so hit him up for more info.

5.) Mine does that too. I'm not sure if it's normal, but mine does it too. '92 with 79k miles, brand new oil. Maybe a thorough cleaning of the engine will prevent burn-off.

Best of luck with the car. The more I repair mine (I'm jealous of the shape yours is in, compared to mine) the more it makes me grin. They're just an absolute blast to drive.

[ensteele]

As far as the oil smell, that is because the engine is hot and it doesn't take much oil in the engine compartment to make it smell like that. Most of them I have been around are just like that. Remember, this is a HOT CAR!

[Scott]

Thanks for all the great info.

As for my clock issue, it's the weirdest thing. When I fired up the car this morning, the clock worked perfectly. I was out running a few errands, and in between two of my stops, it stopped working again. It must be something with the clock itself, as all the other electronics are working smoothly.

And for the steering wheel adjustment, I'll have to look for the "hidden" lever. I found the one that says lift, and it just pops the wheel up, then i push it back down and it locks just like Hocrest mentioned. But anwyay, I'll go check that out right now.

Once more to everyone, thanks for helping out this newbie. My plans for the next week or two include flushing and putting in all new fluids, and hopefully installing a B&M transmission cooler. And if I have the time, I may try to seafoam the engine to flush out 15 years worth of build up carbon deposits.

EDIT x2: The hidden lever on the bottom of the steering column worked perfectly! My driving position issue is now alleviated. Thank you all so much. Also, the Jewel CD belongs to the previous owner..haha!

[Dza]

About the clock issue, is it possible that you are not yet aware of the illumination button on the end of the signal arm? When you put on the headlights, the clock, temp readout, button panel, etc are not illuminated until you press the button, and can be hard to see when not lit up. Just a suggestion since you said it works at times.

[Scott]

Hmm...I'll have to check that out tonight when I get out of work.. I suppose it's possible I hit the button once or twice when activating the turn signals. Thanks!

[Bailey]

I have the opposite problem with the seat position- I am 5" 2" and I cant seem to find a good position for being close enough to be able to reach the accelerator without having the steering wheel in front of the speedometer, etc. I am living with it. I DO have an advantage when at an ATM - I dont have any problems sending and receiving things through the low , small window opening. I've tried the telescopic adjustment of the steering wheel , but I think my car may be missing some of these adjustments, it seems to be all or nothing when it come to this adjustment.

I love my car ('96 L) note: a co-worker who I woudnt have suspected of being remotely interested in cars stopped me in the parking lot today and said he had been waiting to see who was driving the SVX and that he knows they are awesome cars, as fast as vettes, fantastic AWD, etc. It shocked and amazed me and it made me smile all day.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Bailey

I have the opposite problem with the seat position- I am 5" 2" and I cant seem to find a good position for being close enough to be able to reach the accelerator without having the steering wheel in front of the speedometer, etc. I am living with it. I DO have an advantage when at an ATM - I dont have any problems sending and receiving things through the low , small window opening. I've tried the telescopic adjustment of the steering wheel , but I think my car may be missing some of these adjustments, it seems to be all or nothing when it come to this adjustment.

I love my car ('96 L) note: a co-worker who I woudnt have suspected of being remotely interested in cars stopped me in the parking lot today and said he had been waiting to see who was driving the SVX and that he knows they are awesome cars, as fast as vettes, fantastic AWD, etc. It shocked and amazed me and it made me smile all day.

There's three adjuster things for the steering wheel. The one on the left side of the column is just to move it up and out of the way for easier entry/exit. The long lever is for the telescopic stuff. And there's a little lever underneath the column, right in the center, that adjusts the up and down. Stick your head under there, or just feel right down the center and you'll find it.

edit: Oops, i didnt real the whole thread...someone already said this.

[Dominus]

That's weird. I'm 6"4" and have never found the car uncomfortable. Maybe its the way I sit. People say I sit too close to the wheel but that's the way I like it.