Starting/Running/moving failure

OmegaSVX · #1 03-12-2012, 04:54 PM

Ok so I'll start at the beginning because it seems a little different than what other people on here have posted.

I'm about to part out my SVX unless you guys can help me out here. My husband is a mechanic and both of us are completely baffled by this car.

I bought the car 3 months ago. About 2 weeks went by fine, and then I would randomly loose forward movement. basically I'd be maintaining speed and the RPM's would jump from 2000 to 2500. and immediately come back down, stay at 2 for a while and jump again. This intermittent problem continued and I assumed the transmission was weak. I have no clue if this is related or not to my 'now' problem.

So last week, we were driving on the expressway and the car completely lost power. The car was idling, but had NO forward movement and the RPM's wouldn't move when the gas was pressed.

We pulled over and noticed the car was really low on oil, so we put oil in it and were on our way... for about 30 seconds.

The car lost poser again. EVERY time the gas was pressed the car would stall out. So we put it in drive and let it roll along, idling. That worked for a little while but people were walking faster than we were driving. So call in the tow truck...

We were able to keep the car idling until the tow truck got there.

So... we go to start the car in the driveway and the engine will crank, but wont fire up.

We've tested EVERYTHING... literally....

but lets hear what yall think. maybe you've thought of something we haven't, or have had something like this happen... it just feels like Sudden SVX Death Syndrome.

PLEASE help.

1986nate · #2 03-12-2012, 04:57 PM

Did the check engine light come on during any of this?

OmegaSVX · #3 03-12-2012, 05:42 PM

No, No check engine light at all during any part of this.

1986nate · #4 03-12-2012, 05:48 PM

What year is your SVX?
How many miles are on it?
Any modifications that you know of?
How low on oil was it when you had to add oil? (how far up the dipstick and how much oil did you add?)
And do you know of any maintenance that has been done?

OmegaSVX · #5 03-12-2012, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1986nate

What year is your SVX?
How many miles are on it?
Any modifications that you know of?
How low on oil was it when you had to add oil? (how far up the dipstick and how much oil did you add?)
And do you know of any maintenance that has been done?

it's a 92 with 170k miles

no modifications that I know of other than the radio, and the idiot who tried to make the 4wd a manual switch option that was supposed to change the 4wd bias at the flip of a switch... it was obviously done wrong, so that whole mess was removed and corrected back to stock setup.

the oil was just under the low mark, I know the valve covers are leaking oil... that was next on the list. It's not burning oil, and the compression is good.

maintenance- oh man... when i got the car it was leaking every fluid except gas.
The tranny fluid was flushed
new radiator and coolant
oil change/filter
fuel filter was original to the car- so that was changed,
New ABS pump - original was leaking bad

During the diag process- plugs on the passenger side were pulled and checked - one had gas all over it the other 2 were black. Those 3 have been replaced with new ones, but i haven't gotten to the other side yet... obviously, everything is in the way.

could this be crank position sensor? bad ground?

We were able to get the car to fire today with A LOT of persuasion. trying to start it, hit the gas repeatedly, it chugged and chugged and then fired up and died immediately. - that does not happen every time though, most of the time it cranks and cranks and pumping the gas doesn't do anything

1986nate · #6 03-12-2012, 10:41 PM

Alright, I'm thinking that the timing is off. You can check the timing cam to cam by removing both side timing covers. They are each held on by four 10mm bolts. These can be removed without removing anything else. This will allow you to see both cam sprockets. These cam sprockets have a small line on the outer portion of the wheel which is the timing mark. Turn the crank by hand (22mm on a breaker bar) clockwise until one of the cam sprockets timing marks is straight up (there's also a mark on the rear timing cover to help line up). Then look at the other cam sprocket to see the position of the same mark. They should both be pointed straight up at the same time. If not, the engine is out of time. With the lack of maintenance and not knowing if the timing belt was ever done, there's a chance that it has stretched out too far for the tensioner to keep proper tension on the belt.

gbianchi · #7 03-15-2012, 04:36 PM

any chance a fubared TPS would be culprit??..........G

1986nate · #8 03-15-2012, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbianchi

any chance a fubared TPS would be culprit??..........G

Doubtful with these extreme symptoms. TPS may cause a dead spot or 2 where it won't accelerate smoothly, but that's about it.

oab_au · #9 03-15-2012, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaSVX

it's a 92 with 170k miles

During the diag process- plugs on the passenger side were pulled and checked - one had gas all over it the other 2 were black. Those 3 have been replaced with new ones, but i haven't gotten to the other side yet... obviously, everything is in the way.

could this be crank position sensor? bad ground?

We were able to get the car to fire today with A LOT of persuasion. trying to start it, hit the gas repeatedly, it chugged and chugged and then fired up and died immediately. - that does not happen every time though, most of the time it cranks and cranks and pumping the gas doesn't do anything

This sounds like it is flooded with gas.
Leaking Injectors?
Fuel Pressure Regulator vacuum hose off?

Harvey.

Green1995SVX · #10 03-15-2012, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaSVX

Ok so I'll start at the beginning because it seems a little different than what other people on here have posted.

I'm about to part out my SVX unless you guys can help me out here. My husband is a mechanic and both of us are completely baffled by this car.

I bought the car 3 months ago. About 2 weeks went by fine, and then I would randomly loose forward movement. basically I'd be maintaining speed and the RPM's would jump from 2000 to 2500. and immediately come back down, stay at 2 for a while and jump again. This intermittent problem continued and I assumed the transmission was weak. I have no clue if this is related or not to my 'now' problem.

So last week, we were driving on the expressway and the car completely lost power. The car was idling, but had NO forward movement and the RPM's wouldn't move when the gas was pressed.

We pulled over and noticed the car was really low on oil, so we put oil in it and were on our way... for about 30 seconds.

The car lost poser again. EVERY time the gas was pressed the car would stall out. So we put it in drive and let it roll along, idling. That worked for a little while but people were walking faster than we were driving. So call in the tow truck...

We were able to keep the car idling until the tow truck got there.

So... we go to start the car in the driveway and the engine will crank, but wont fire up.

We've tested EVERYTHING... literally....

but lets hear what yall think. maybe you've thought of something we haven't, or have had something like this happen... it just feels like Sudden SVX Death Syndrome.

PLEASE help.

Though I don't have anything noteworthy to say, I wanted to thank you SO much for posting a well thought out, coherent post about your car's issue. So often people come here looking for help and post vague questions with poor spelling. Thanks!

cthommes · #11 03-16-2012, 12:35 PM

Wasn't there similar symptoms posted up recently and the culprit was an internal failure of the Fuel Pressure Regulator, causing raw fuel to be sucked into the intake via the vacuum line?

Or was that on another car group? Either way, should be easy to check if there's fuel in the vacuum line to the FPR.

oab_au · #12 03-16-2012, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cthommes

Wasn't there similar symptoms posted up recently and the culprit was an internal failure of the Fuel Pressure Regulator, causing raw fuel to be sucked into the intake via the vacuum line?

Or was that on another car group? Either way, should be easy to check if there's fuel in the vacuum line to the FPR.

Yes pretty rare on an SVX, but it is very rich, so that can be a cause.

Harvey.

OmegaSVX · #13 03-16-2012, 04:13 PM

Everyone, thank you for all your suggestions but the winner of the day is Nate.

My husbands first thought in this was that it was a clogged cat. His biggest downfall is thinking the simplest answer CANT be the right one.

So we drilled 2 holes in the pipe right before the 2 to 1 cat. Fired RIGHT up.

idled high for a bit, but came down after a minute or 2.

so- problem fixed! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

now, anyone know where i can get wheel bearings, a front diff and rear CV's? lol

OmegaSVX · #14 03-16-2012, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green1995SVX

Though I don't have anything noteworthy to say, I wanted to thank you SO much for posting a well thought out, coherent post about your car's issue. So often people come here looking for help and post vague questions with poor spelling. Thanks!

Thanks! lol. I really want to save this car, and it really came close to being parted this week, this was my last chance to save it, and I couldn't risk being vague, for the sake of the car's life. I LOVE this car. I bought it for $500 with the intention of fixing it and re-selling it.... but now... not so sure....

1986nate · #15 03-16-2012, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaSVX

Everyone, thank you for all your suggestions but the winner of the day is Nate.

My husbands first thought in this was that it was a clogged cat. His biggest downfall is thinking the simplest answer CANT be the right one.

So we drilled 2 holes in the pipe right before the 2 to 1 cat. Fired RIGHT up.

idled high for a bit, but came down after a minute or 2.

so- problem fixed! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

now, anyone know where i can get wheel bearings, a front diff and rear CV's? lol

Local parts store should be a good source for wheel bearings. I think others have also got them from Amazon and ebay.

Are you looking for just a stock geared front diff? And what's wrong with the current one? It may be a better option to do a "4.44 swap" using a trans and rear diff from a 96-98 Legacy GT, Outback or Forester. A 5 speed swap is also an option if you enjoy shifting through gears.

And rear axles hardly ever go bad, so finding them from someone parting one out is a pretty safe option.