Already having problems. Any help would be great.

Hey guys. Well I have had my car for one day. I guess I will keep this short. Besides the battery being dead (possible bad alternator, not sure yet.), and the oil is just crap poopie dark brown, I am having what sounds like a really bad problem coming from the back end.

I was driving it to work today and it started making this slight fluttering noise, then bang, pop, bang, flup, bang, and finally like a rubbing noise that sounded like something was rubbing against the tire. When it banged I could feel it through the whole car, but it did not seem to effect speed, it also was not effedcted by bumpy conditions. It just happened. BTW this was on surface streets only doing between 35 and 45 MPH. Oh and the rubbing sound went away when I came to a complete stop. I wonder if it is something stupid like part of the thick wheel well plastic has seperated.

Also the back end does have a slight rumble to it if you could even call it that. I think it is unrelated to the problem I described above. The tires are old and are going to need to be replaced, so it may just be that, nothing I am worrying about right now.

On yet another unrelated issue. Is it possible to have a transmission "checked out", I just worry that with 109,300 miles, "Is my tranny a ticking time bomb?" Can they open it up and make sure everything is OK? Preventive maintenance? I do not know alot about auto trannys, just that when you pull the pan off the bottom it is just PACKED with gears.

Thanks in advance, hope I am not asking too many questions here. I tried to use the search function and did not really come up with anything.

- Kiteless (Jason)

[dcarrb]

Hmm... don't know what to say about the banging and rubbing from the rear end, absent more info, but the first thing you should do is look around back there and be sure something's not wrapped around the driveshaft or an axle. If that's all it is, you're in luck. As to the rumble, that could be wheel bearings going bad. They make a roar that gets louder with speed.

The best test of a transmission is driving: See that it shifts smoothly and properly. Next, check the the fluid. If it looks and smells burnt, that's bad. Fluid and filter changes are the best preventive maintenance. If your car doesn't have a supplemental ATF filter and cooler, these would be a good investment. I'm sure a trained eye can see internal indicators as to a tranny's condition, but don't know if the labor involved would be money well spent.

Good luck,
dcb

[ensteele]

I would agree. The first thing to do is get the fluids changed. Then do any of the other general maintenance and add the cooler and filter. I would be concerened with the sounds and it could be wheel bearings, but not enough info to go on. Tires of course are quite important as well. Good luck.

Hey guys thanks for the replies. Well I was sitting up here at work infront of my computer and it was just eating away at me. So in my slacks and button up shirt (business casual) I reached back behind the tire to feel the weel well guard, the plastic part. The plastic is much harder than the rubber so I was not sure if I would find abrasions (sp?) on it but I felt around anyway. It looks like they use some high strength plastic snap together rivits to hold the plastic weel well liner to the body and itr looks like at least one of them was missing. It just so happens that I had a bag of 6 inch nylon Zip Ties in the back seat (never know when you might need a Zip Tie. And I snugged that one down. It seemed to fix it, for now. I am going to take the tire off and inspect all of them this weekend if it does not do it again.

Yeah I think the back berrings are going to need to be replaced evem though the shady dealer claimed that he already did that. He also claimed that he replaced the battery and that is dead now. I have to use my little portable jump starter.

So I just spent about $145 bucks at Juffy Lube (Not sure of those are accross the whole country.) Got the synthetic blend. I think it was 10x30. Before they did that I paid for the engine flush because the oil was brown butt water, and then they did the oil change. Air filter it would turn out is a K&N so I will invest in the solvent and clean it when it needs it. topped off all the fluids and all 4 tires where a little low. When though it looks like there is a slow oil leak around the oil cap, kind of below it on the metal down there.

They connected some kind of computer on the battery and it said the battery is actually the problem. So when I go to the auto parts place to replace it I will have the test the alternator just to be safe.

No radiator leaks and the tranny fluid looks OK. But I am gong to get it flushed at my next oil change, maaaaaybe sooner. Oh and I had them throw on 3 new wiper blades because it is supposed to rain around here later in the week. Whew, so things are looking up for the new sled. As always I will keep you posted.

- Kiteless (Jason)

i always have to flush and renew all fluids when buying a vehicle even new. i have a trust issue with other people working on my rides. its so much better to do it yourself and give yourself a pat on the back knowing everything is in working order.

also i recommend the shift kit for the tranny from smallcar.com u will likey. it allows u to adjust the firmness of the shifts. can result in longer tranny life. less gear hunting means less heat. heat kills our trannys.

I am going to search around for this too, but sinc ei have your attention I thought I would ask.

Where do I buy the "cooling kit" or what ever it is call? What is the official name for it? How does it install? Can I do it or should I pay a shop to do it. I have a garage that I really like/trust. Can they install the "shift kit" for me? I assume it is not universal? Also, does anyone reccomend a specific kind of tranny fluid? I am sure many of these questions are redundant. Thanks all

- Kiteless (Jason)

[nordique14]

Not sure what is meant by "cooling kit". If you are referring to the kit Subaru made, it was to retrofit onto 92 (and 93?) models. Does not apply to your 95 model. If you are referring to an aftermarket transmission cooler, that is a very good idea. B&M makes a nice unit that fits well in our cars. A search will turn up the model number and many discussions on the best method of installation (cough...bypass...cough).

The smallcar.com shift kit is an easy install. If you can splice a wire, and remove a couple of bolts, it's a no brainer. Inexpensive and works very nicely too.

I think most people will recommend synthetic tranny fluid. Mobil1 or Redline high-temp seem to be the most popular.

-Matt

Hey thanks for all the info. Now that I have had the car a day and know where it sits (problems wise) I am feeling a lot better about my purchase. I am really miffed at the dealer I got the car from as he said that he did the breaks, replaced the berings and put in a new battery, and as far as I can tell he did not do any of those things!

But with the help of the folks here I am well informed and know more about what i am getting myself into.

Thank you al! You are cool!

[svxthc]

Well, what did you pay for it? You said you bought a warranty?

[Royal Tiger]

I'm not going to harp on your euphoria, but didn't you get a pre-purchase vehicle inspection? That would have caught the oil and any other clearly visable issues. It's $50 well spent before you buy a car. I have them pull the tires and do an underbody inspection. That caught a rebuilt Outback I thankfully didn't buy.

I can not help but look at this like an adventure. As I mentioned before I took the car for an oil change during my lunch break. While it was there they found a hose and could not figure out where it plugs into. I inspected it later on veeeeery carefully and I could not figure out where it is supposed to go. I took pictures and will post them here in a few minutes. I think it could be the cause of my check engine light coming on. Anyway, I will post more on that in a minute.

So I went to the auto parts store and they tested the battery and the alternator for me and he said the alternator is good and the battery is definately bad. He said there is a possibility the battery was defective and not old. Hard to say.

Then I drove it home and pulled the back left tire off and it looks like I am just missing the one plastic rivit thingy that helps to hold the plastic wheel well liner thing in place and I have a zip tie there. (Much respect to the zip tie).

During this process I notice that there is a freaking screw buried in the bak right tire. I just about lost it. So now I have to go get that hopefully patched, I am not ready to plunk down 400 dollars for tires quite yet. Feels like it is juuust slightly out of allignment too.

It's funny, it is still an absolute pleasure to drive. I plan on keeping this SVX for a long long long time.

OK I got some of the pics here on that hose. I am not sure where it goes. Actually I have no idea at all where it goes. Attached is the black thing that the hose comes out the bottom of. You can see how descriptive I am. That is why I wanted to attached pictures.

Here is a close up of the other end of the hose. This is the end I am trying to find a hole for.

And here is slightly different view of it.