My SVX Died for Good!

[Cappy]

Looks like she's dead for good this time. The fuel line rusted through, and to replace it I'd have to rip off the exhaust system - which will break more than a couple of parts, drop the rear axel, take out the back seat, etc, etc. The deal GUESSES the final bill will be close to $2000, and with 177,000 miles on her...well it's just not worth it, I guess. She's been a good car, and Lord knows I've put a lot of cash into her over the past three years, but this finally killed her. Engine's strong, Tranny's rebuilt and running fine, I have the chip (v4) in her, and she did 15.0 in the quarter mile last year, so my heart is breaking. I even treated her to clear corners, new-style grille, and custom wheels. All for naught. Anybody need a nice red '94 that will blow you up if you try to drive it? Seriously, I hate to haul her to the junk yard.
Cappy

[odepaj]

Originally Posted by Cappy

Looks like she's dead for good this time. The fuel line rusted through, and to replace it I'd have to rip off the exhaust system - which will break more than a couple of parts, drop the rear axel, take out the back seat, etc, etc. The deal GUESSES the final bill will be close to $2000, and with 177,000 miles on her...well it's just not worth it, I guess. She's been a good car, and Lord knows I've put a lot of cash into her over the past three years, but this finally killed her. Engine's strong, Tranny's rebuilt and running fine, I have the chip (v4) in her, and she did 15.0 in the quarter mile last year, so my heart is breaking. I even treated her to clear corners, new-style grille, and custom wheels. All for naught. Anybody need a nice red '94 that will blow you up if you try to drive it? Seriously, I hate to haul her to the junk yard.
Cappy

Open up the acces panel for the fuel pump and run rubber fuel lines, so you can cut out the metal lines and bypass all the "dropping of the tank". That's what I was gonna do on my pearly but then decided just to re-do everything with metal lines.

Im sure you could probably find someone here on the forums that would do the work for less for you even (if you wanted to stay with metal lines). It's really not a hard job, just time consuming because of everything that has to be dropped.

Good luck with whatever you do!


Dustin

[bcpianoman]

If man built it, man can fix it. It's not that bad. Even if you don't want to go to the time, trouble and expense to fix it, someone here will. Don't junk it. If you don't want to fix it, offer it for sale here. It will find a good home I'm sure.

[svxfiles]

What dustin said is actually correct.
We know where they rust, and you can at least as a temperary measure by pass the steel lines from the top of the tank to the hard lines in the back, under the seat on the drivers side of the car, as long as you use FUEL INJECTION LINES AND CLAMPS!
do you have a garage, or a lift?
Tom

[ensteele]

If there is a will, there is a way and We are here to help you!

Where have I heard that before?

[Cappy]

I DO have a garage, but no lift. I've done SOME mechnical work on her, including replacing the radiator, servicing the transmission, changing headlights, changing plugs and wires, installing the "chip", replacing fuel pump & replacing the pcv valve and knock sensors. How does this rate compared to these jobs? It just sems like suce a daunting task, but I'm willing to give it a try, if you think it doable for a shadetree wanabe mechanic like me. I live around Atwood Lake in Northeastern Ohio (near Canton). Would a regular mechanic do a fuel injection hose job like this, or would he also tell me he could not for liability reasons, like the dealer did?

[bcpianoman]

Just think of the pride you'll feel if you fix it yourself. Bring an ailing SVX back to good health with your own hands is something you'll go to your grave remembering. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Whatever it is, it'll pale in comparison to how you'll feel every time you drive it.

I don't have the knowledge or skill to help but I know you can count on other members here. Go for it!

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I DO have a garage, but no lift. I've done SOME mechnical work on her, including replacing the radiator, servicing the transmission, changing headlights, changing plugs and wires, installing the "chip", replacing fuel pump & replacing the pcv valve and knock sensors. How does this rate compared to these jobs? It just sems like suce a daunting task, but I'm willing to give it a try, if you think it doable for a shadetree wanabe mechanic like me.

I'd put in the same PITA catagory as changing the fuel pump.
First, is there any SOURCE OF FLAME IN THE GARAGE?!
Second Drain as much fuel as you can!
Third, open all the windows doors sunroof and gas tank door and drain as much fuel from it before you start.
Fourth, NO SMOKING and drain as much fuel as you can.
Fifth, remove the back seat bottom and lay the seat backs flat.
Sixth, roll the trunk carpet out of the way, and remove the fuel pump cover plate.
Seventh, find out which line or lines are leaking, where.
Eighth, Use only high pressure fuel injection line, not fuel line, and only high pressure fuel line clamps, not hose clamps, and double clamp each end. ie; two clampe per connection.
Route each line to follow the stock steel line and zip tie them genorously.
More later.
Don't try this at home.
Not responsible for any resulting fireballs!

[YourConfused]

I would also suggest putting zip ties around the fuel line where it may come into contact with any part of the car. It takes a while for something to rub through a good zip tie. Then again you could buy some braided stainless fuel line and not wory about it. I think stainless line is about $15 a foot so that's a little less than $2K.

[ensteele]

Originally Posted by bcpianoman

Just think of the pride you'll feel if you fix it yourself. Bring an ailing SVX back to good health with your own hands is something you'll go to your grave remembering. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Whatever it is, it'll pale in comparison to how you'll feel every time you drive it.

I don't have the knowledge or skill to help but I know you can count on other members here. Go for it!

And you would keep another one of these great cars on the road.

[Cappy]

I was thinking of using the braided stainless lines - that's probably my best bet. OK you guys talked me into trying it. It'll have to be outdoors, since my garage is located under part of the house & a fire would not be cool - not to mention an explosion. Guess I should also unconnect the battery, huh? The manual says to keep the gas filler cap ON when changing a line...I guess that would reduce some of the fluid spills. The fuel gague shows empty...wait a minute - that could mean I've still got 6 gallons in there on an SVX! I suppose I'll syphon the tank first. I know how to remove the back seats, since I had to disconnect the wires under there when I changed the fuel filter. So I also should first of all disconnect that wire as well & run the car 'til it stalls, just to make sure there's little or no pressure in the line. You're right, it IS a great feling to do a job on your own car. I had an '85 Audi 4000 that I wasn't afraid to work on ANY time. Thanks for the encouragement! I'll let you know how it goes.

[Hondasucks]

Hmm... $2000 to fix, vs. $40,000+ for an equivalent newer car (Not that anything comes close to the uniqueness of the SVX for 40,000 though)

I know what route I'd take. $2000 is a lot of money, but it's still cheaper than a new car.

[ensteele]

And some other work done by the owner would be cheaper as well.