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Old 04-21-2010, 07:57 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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The SVX and You

The SVX and You

by YT

I need to vent something that has been on my mind lately.

To pre-tense this a little I am sick and tired of hearing a commercial on the radio or TV that uses the phrase "now more than ever" Seriously?? Did you wipe your ass with $100 bills before the recession??

Ok to the point. I have been reading the forums for years now and have seen many members come and go. We are in the middle of the "young" crowd migration and a lot of older members are less frequent. This not a bad thing,as diversity amongst us is what brings us together. But with it the realization that the cars are losing value becomes aparent as the "young" crowd typically has a lower budget. With that being said please take the next couple points to heart before buying an SVX.

1. It is a 16 year old car. It is going to NEED maintenance that may or may not have been kept up on by the previous owners. GET USED TO IT!!

2. Head Gasket failures are becoming more and more common. I have not noticed any particular year, mileage, abusive owners, or any other factor contributing to the cause of failure more than AGE. If you are buying an SVX, expect this repair within the next 3 years at least.

3. The transmissions are FINE! The 1992's did have a string of things wrong with them that caused a premature failure. These have essentially been phased out by remans. Seriously at this point, you need to realize that automatic transmissions from the late 80's are not going to last a hell of a lot longer than 100K especially if they are not maintained and serviced regularly. If you are buying an SVX with the original trans, be skeptical but at this age, it is likely going to be an issue. If you get one with a rebuilt trans, be skeptical but make sure it is serviced often and properly.

4. You are not going to make a 400hp SVX w/ a couple hundred bucks. It is not a modifier's car. It is a fabricator's car to modifiy. You are not gonna find parts on JC Whitney or Summit Racing that will bolt on. EVERYTHING is specialty for this vehicle. Some of us have done our best to convert commonly used parts from other vehicles to adapt to the car. BUT this doesn't mean it is going to be cheap or easy. If you want real performance gains, you will need $10k as a good start.

5. The wheels bearings are not bad by design. Example: I race my 1992 silver w/ 160K on the ODO. It has the factory wheel bearings in it. These are some of the things that are called REGULAR MAINTENANCE. It is possible to deal with a hub that may be out of round. In these select few cases the hub needs to be replaced to fix the issue. Again, it is not the bearing's fault, it is a bad hub. As long as they are installed properly, they will last a long time

6. Exhaust systems are going to rust. You are talking about 16 year old tubing here people. It sees extremely hot temperatures, water, salt, you name it. They are only going to get worse. STOP trying to patch it, have it replaced in sections if you cannot afford to replace the entire exhaust.

7. Rubber, it dries out. Engine mounts, transmission mounts, differential bushings, exhaust hangers, control arm bushings, swap bar bushings... These things are going to fail. You own an old car, get used to the idea.

8. Oil Leaks, its a Subaru... its going to happen. FIX THEM! I have seen undercoating wiped off of the bottom of some of the cars that come into the shop because the oil simply breaks it down. It is not helping anything.

9. Services, you want to fix you cam seals after reading point #8. Do you know when the timing belt was changed? Do you know when the water pump was changed?? Are those idlers from 1990 really still good?? These are not questions you need to ask. When taking the timing covers off do the following. Replace the cam seals, cam plugs, crank seal, water pump, thermostat, thermostat gasket, water pump gasket, timing belt, timing belt idlers. This will save you money in the long run because it takes at least an hour to get to any of these to repair on their own. Labor=$ Save money by spending it wisely.

10.This may be the most important of all. It is a 1992-1997 CAR!! Doesn't matter if it is a Subaru or a Ford. It will need maintenance, it will need repairs, and it will need them sooner than you want to believe.

So for you that own them. Start taking care of them and stop *****ing about how expensive they are to have, or sell them to someone who will. For those of you buying them. This will help you be aware of what you are buying into and hopefully guide you in the correct direction with your decision.

I will offend people by making this thread, I hope I enlighten the majority

Tom
 

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