Sad to Say... My first REAL post is a bad one...

Hello everyone,

Today was a heartbreaking day for me. I'll tell you the story, but let me warn you it's a sad one. I went over to my girlfriends house and we were planning on taking the "pimp car" (my svx) to the movies. It was me, Brandie, and her friend. Her friend was sitting in the back passenger seat, and Brandie sat in the front passenger seat. Well, we got about 2 blocks away and her friend made a comment about the "shocks." She said they sounded like ****. I listened and heard a very new sound. It was a kinda rubbing/grinding sound... like someone dragging cardboard down the street or something. (not a good description at all) So I pulled into a parking lot and we all get out of the car. We go around, and guess what?? We see the back end of the car is sunk down a little and when tiffanie (the friend) gets in the car it sinks WAY down. Tiffanie is not THAT fat lol. But the noise we were hearing was the tire rubbing against the actual body of the car, the little area directly over the tire. so we took another car, and after the movie I VERY SLOWLY drove the poor svx home. All I could think was how much this sucks. I thought about the SVX.NET forums and thought I could ask anyone if they had any ideas what might be wrong, so here I am, teary eyed and scared sh!tless. If any of you have any idea or theory please let me know what you think, I would really appreciate it. Thanks a million guys.


Allen

[249SVX]

Originally posted by SVXtremist
Hello everyone,

Today was a heartbreaking day for me. I'll tell you the story, but let me warn you it's a sad one. I went over to my girlfriends house and we were planning on taking the "pimp car" (my svx) to the movies. It was me, Brandie, and her friend. Her friend was sitting in the back passenger seat, and Brandie sat in the front passenger seat. Well, we got about 2 blocks away and her friend made a comment about the "shocks." She said they sounded like ****. I listened and heard a very new sound. It was a kinda rubbing/grinding sound... like someone dragging cardboard down the street or something. (not a good description at all) So I pulled into a parking lot and we all get out of the car. We go around, and guess what?? We see the back end of the car is sunk down a little and when tiffanie (the friend) gets in the car it sinks WAY down. Tiffanie is not THAT fat lol. But the noise we were hearing was the tire rubbing against the actual body of the car, the little area directly over the tire. so we took another car, and after the movie I VERY SLOWLY drove the poor svx home. All I could think was how much this sucks. I thought about the SVX.NET forums and thought I could ask anyone if they had any ideas what might be wrong, so here I am, teary eyed and scared sh!tless. If any of you have any idea or theory please let me know what you think, I would really appreciate it. Thanks a million guys.


Allen

First, welcome to the board.

To me it sounds as if the springs are tired, really tired. The springs are what hold the car up. Well, I guess the struts do help a little. But the first thing I would start with is the springs.

Here's a very helpful link that was given to me just in case you decide on getting parts.
http://www.subaruparts.com/diag/?model=2

Good luck.

[MoreIBNR]

I would be surprized if it were your springs as Eddycat has told me that he never had to replace springs in any Sube.

First thing I would check is the strut mounts. I've seen them rust through. When they do, the spring breaks through and rests on the body.

If it is the springs and the mounts, it's going to cost you some dough.

[Mr.Pwrlite]

This may be simple , but possible. Make sure you have the correct tire sizes on your SVX. The factory recommends 225/50/16.
I never had to change any of my struts at all within my 5+ years
of ownership. ( I think this is a good time to find some wood to knock on)

Thanks everyone, my dad and I are checking it out, and we don't have an owners manual. We were wondering what the stock tire size is? When the car first came out what were the factory tire sizes? if anyone knows it'd be much appreciated. Thanks.

Allen

Ah geez nevermind that last question, Mr.Pwrlite already answered that question for me. Thanks.

[dromano]

Originally posted by SVXtremist
Ah geez nevermind that last question, Mr.Pwrlite already answered that question for me. Thanks.

FYI, there is a plate attached to the driver side door opening with the tire size & tire pressure specs. The fun begins........

[svx_commuter]

I tend to agree that is most likely a rusted out strut mount. Hope it turns out okay. "pimp car"? Oh yeah! Mine had that nickname for awhile until it became"Baby". Seems it gets a lot of attention.

[dromano]

Originally posted by svx_commuter
I tend to agree that is most likely a rusted out strut mount. Hope it turns out okay. "pimp car"? Oh yeah! Mine had that nickname for awhile until it became"Baby". Seems it gets a lot of attention.

I think "RICE ROCKET" is nice.

[wasions]

. . . what year is your SVX? Has it wintered on salt-covered streets?

Just because the dear departed Eddy said he hasn't replaced any springs - doesn't mean they can't go bad. I would think a break would be more likely than wearing them out however - unless they'd been improperly heat-treated (it could happen). My guess though, would be either the shock mount or the spring mount on the shock body (they're coil-overs). It would probably be cheaper to replace the strut than to weld on the body. Hope it's not rust.

Best of luck to ya.

Steve

Steve, it's a 1992 SVX, and I'm pretty sure it's been on a few salted streets. I can't be for sure though because this is only about my third month owning the car. I think it came from California? Not sure, It would probably do me good to find out. Anyways, thanks for the help all, I really do appreciate it. This really is a great place.


Allen

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by SVXtremist
Steve, it's a 1992 SVX, and I'm pretty sure it's been on a few salted streets. I can't be for sure though because this is only about my third month owning the car. I think it came from California? Not sure, It would probably do me good to find out. Anyways, thanks for the help all, I really do appreciate it. This really is a great place.


Allen

Allen,
You can still do a "lemon check" for about 20 bucks. It's usually done to check before a purchase, but, it's nice to do to get the history of your car. I mean, here I am in Kentucky, and found out that my car came from Tennessee via Pennsylvania -- it's just nice to know where your car's been. Also, if you go to the Subaru of America website, and register (click the "Contact Subaru" at the top of the page) you can get information on what was done to your car "recall" wise and any work that was done under warranty.

Meanwhile, if you need info from the service manual, and it doesn't consist of TOO many pages, I'll try to scan them for you. I think I've already scanned the front strut replacement procedure. Just e-mail me.

dromano,

That's just what I tell people that call my car a "rat car" or a "rice burner". Nope, it's a "Rice Rocket". It's stuck with some of them that have given up insulting it after having been passed by it.