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  #1  
Old 10-01-2001, 07:56 PM
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Low RPM issues (Pleas say it's not the tranny)

Well, after 3 long months of hard work and studying at school in Flint, MI, I had the pleasure of driving my SVX back to Sandia Park, NM...about 1,700 miles. Noticed a few minor things along the way that I would love to fix because they're annoying, but that I hope aren't too serious. First...when I'm below 2,500 RPM in ANY gear (except in first where I can be at any RPM) and I lightly accelerate, the car jerks through the acceleration until it reaches roughly 2,500 RPM. The jerks aren't rough, but they are obvious hesitations every time the car lightly accelerates under the stated RPM. Also, when allowing 4th gear of the tranny to slow the car from say 85 MPH, meaning I just let off the gas rather than brakeing, there is a quiet hum. It sounds kind of like a bearing going bad, but I know it's not because 1) I have 2 brand new rear wheel bearings 2) It only makes noise in the described situation 3) I put it in neutral when I heard the noise and it went away. So, anybody have any ideas on what may be going on? I'm gonna change the ATF tomorrow because it's about that time, so hopefully that will help. If anybody has any suggestions let me know. Thanks
Mat-1
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Time for my very own long list of mods:
92 SVX LS-L - Ebony Pearl - 2002 WRX 5MT trans w/STi gearset (rebuilt & installed myself ) - BMW E46 HID retrofit - Kenwood Headunit - Phoenix Gold 75x4 RMS amp - Alpine Type R 6.5" front components - Alpine Type R 6x9 3way rear speakers - 18"x9" Rota G-Force wheels w/225/40ZR18 Toyo T1R's - Mychailo's custom springs - Urethane front & rear sway bar bushings - KC exhaust (2.5" dual magnaflow) - Escaine seat swap - Removed Spoiler

I don't care if Subaru says it's STI...it will always be STi to me
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  #2  
Old 10-01-2001, 08:21 PM
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Re: Low RPM issues (Pleas say it's not the tranny)

Quote:
Originally posted by SVX10
Well, after 3 long months of hard work and studying at school in Flint, MI, I had the pleasure of driving my SVX back to Sandia Park, NM...about 1,700 miles. Noticed a few minor things along the way that I would love to fix because they're annoying, but that I hope aren't too serious. First...when I'm below 2,500 RPM in ANY gear (except in first where I can be at any RPM) and I lightly accelerate, the car jerks through the acceleration until it reaches roughly 2,500 RPM. The jerks aren't rough, but they are obvious hesitations every time the car lightly accelerates under the stated RPM. Also, when allowing 4th gear of the tranny to slow the car from say 85 MPH, meaning I just let off the gas rather than brakeing, there is a quiet hum. It sounds kind of like a bearing going bad, but I know it's not because 1) I have 2 brand new rear wheel bearings 2) It only makes noise in the described situation 3) I put it in neutral when I heard the noise and it went away. So, anybody have any ideas on what may be going on? I'm gonna change the ATF tomorrow because it's about that time, so hopefully that will help. If anybody has any suggestions let me know. Thanks
Mat-1

Sounds to me like tranny and differential dying but I am probably wrong. I had the jurking feelings as well as this humming (metallic constant) before my tranny went to heaven. Why don't you do a tranny fluid flush and see if there is anything wrong with that. That might be cheap way to see if your tranny is going south.

Lwin
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  #3  
Old 10-02-2001, 05:38 PM
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Hums, rattles and hisses... Oh my! The tranny isn't gone until the car stops moving. Turn up the stereo and forget about it. Of course changing the fluid can not hurt and maybe some anti-slip goop to thicken it up. Does the hum get louder when the transmission is hot or is it the same when it is cold? There is a carrier bear on the rear drive shaft but that is always turing even in neutral. How noisy, loud is this hum?
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Old 10-03-2001, 03:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by svx_commuter
Hums, rattles and hisses... Oh my! The tranny isn't gone until the car stops moving. Turn up the stereo and forget about it. Of course changing the fluid can not hurt and maybe some anti-slip goop to thicken it up. Does the hum get louder when the transmission is hot or is it the same when it is cold? There is a carrier bear on the rear drive shaft but that is always turing even in neutral. How noisy, loud is this hum?
You don't want to keep working on your tranny till it dies. When, it dies, it will make a loud thud. I had to replace the tranny mount as well since pretty much my whole tranny was screwed -- inside and out

Lwin
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Current SVX: NONE
Previous SVXes: •1994 LE Barcelona Red 107k • 1992 LS-L Pearl White 143k • 1994 LSi Bordeaux Pearl 220k • 1992 LS-L Ebony Pearl 184k • 1992 LS-L Liquid Silver 145k • 1992 LS-L Liquid Silver 102k • 1992 LS-L Ebony Pearl 123k
Other current cars:2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Black
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  #5  
Old 10-03-2001, 11:57 AM
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quiet hum

The hum is really quiet. I don't know if it does it when it's cold because I'm driving below 25 MPH when the car is cold...I don't hit the interstate until well after it has warmed up. I don't even hear the noise at regular highway speeds. But, driving cross country made me feel the need to push the limit and travel between 80 and 85 the whole way. When I let off the gas in that range I hear a quiet hum. BTW, the 80-85 MPH cruisin was good for a $115 ticket in Texas. My first one...damn! I guess that's better than the MI police catching me on my 135 runs (those were rare). Anyway, synthetic fluid is going in today. Thanks for the recommendations and diagnosisisisis (however the hell you spell it). I'll let you all know how things turn out.
Mat-1
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Time for my very own long list of mods:
92 SVX LS-L - Ebony Pearl - 2002 WRX 5MT trans w/STi gearset (rebuilt & installed myself ) - BMW E46 HID retrofit - Kenwood Headunit - Phoenix Gold 75x4 RMS amp - Alpine Type R 6.5" front components - Alpine Type R 6x9 3way rear speakers - 18"x9" Rota G-Force wheels w/225/40ZR18 Toyo T1R's - Mychailo's custom springs - Urethane front & rear sway bar bushings - KC exhaust (2.5" dual magnaflow) - Escaine seat swap - Removed Spoiler

I don't care if Subaru says it's STI...it will always be STi to me
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  #6  
Old 10-03-2001, 09:54 PM
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Mat,
Sorry to hear about your ticket as well as your trans problems. What a downer. Glad the long road trip went well. Good to be back home? Take care and keep us allinformed about the trans. BTW ours is currently having the transfer clutches replaced under warranty - WOO-HOO.

Todd
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  #7  
Old 10-04-2001, 12:31 PM
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Angry GRRRRRRR

Well, I was hoping to have a happier reply to the last post, but today I got home and there was smoke coming from the engine bay. I parked, opened the hood, and it was coming from under the car by the transmission. Now, definately a bad sign, but I'm not real worried yet becuause the tranny is shifting smoothly and doesn't act up unless I'm driving at high speeds. Is it possible that I have too much tranny fluid? The ATF dip stick on my SVX has always been impossible to read because when it looks like the fluid is at full, there isn't even enough of it to shift into gear. I'll take a picture of how it reads later today and post it. Anyway, a friend suggested that the stutter might be from the TPS. Where is that and how can I check to see if it is OK? Thanks.
Mat-1
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Time for my very own long list of mods:
92 SVX LS-L - Ebony Pearl - 2002 WRX 5MT trans w/STi gearset (rebuilt & installed myself ) - BMW E46 HID retrofit - Kenwood Headunit - Phoenix Gold 75x4 RMS amp - Alpine Type R 6.5" front components - Alpine Type R 6x9 3way rear speakers - 18"x9" Rota G-Force wheels w/225/40ZR18 Toyo T1R's - Mychailo's custom springs - Urethane front & rear sway bar bushings - KC exhaust (2.5" dual magnaflow) - Escaine seat swap - Removed Spoiler

I don't care if Subaru says it's STI...it will always be STi to me
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  #8  
Old 10-04-2001, 04:54 PM
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Re: GRRRRRRR

Quote:
Originally posted by SVX10
there was smoke coming from the engine bay. Thanks.
Mat-1
I am cocerned about your situation. Smoke is not good as you know. That has to be very hot to get smoke.

I guess you have a stock radiator? Drain it, pull it out and check for blockage. I used either, starting fluid to check mine and flowed real easy. Mine also had road dirt stuck in the fins at the bottom of the radiator. Cleaned that that out too. Actual my senior neighbor Smitty volunteered. What a great guy!

Yes the dip stick is very hard to check. After you pull the stick out it coats the inside of the tube and can give a false high reading. Wait about five minutes between taking readings.

Try draining about a pint out of the trans, take a reading, keep lowering the level until it gets to the bottom of the stick. This is a way to check where you are at. Watch out! That fluid is hot.

I have noticed that when the torque converter is not locked up the tranny makes the most heat. So if one is always on and off the gas and under heavy accel and up hills it seems to just build the heat up. I have noticed mine does not cool off until the torque converter locks up. Were you driving hard before pulling into the drive?

The engine heats up pretty fast but the tranny takes about a half an hour to reach operating temperature while driving.
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  #9  
Old 10-04-2001, 05:33 PM
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Thumbs up Think the smoke has been figured out

Thinking back to the transmission fluid change, when draining the fluid some got onto the cat right by the plug, and the heat shield and everything in that general area. For now I am assuming that the smoke was just the remaining fluid burning off. I hadn't been driving hard at all before gettin home, so there's no reason for it to heat up like that. The radiator is fine, I'm sure, after running up to 800 miles around 80 MPH stopping only for gas and having the temperature guage remain just below the halfway point on the temperature guage. I also have a secondary cooler. I'm not real concerned about the heat right now. I think I may have made a premature complaint...I'll have to report back after I drive some more to see if the smoking stops.
Thanks, though. If things don't stop smoking I'll definately take into account what you've said...I don't want you to think I've completely dismissed what you've said.
Mat-1
__________________
Time for my very own long list of mods:
92 SVX LS-L - Ebony Pearl - 2002 WRX 5MT trans w/STi gearset (rebuilt & installed myself ) - BMW E46 HID retrofit - Kenwood Headunit - Phoenix Gold 75x4 RMS amp - Alpine Type R 6.5" front components - Alpine Type R 6x9 3way rear speakers - 18"x9" Rota G-Force wheels w/225/40ZR18 Toyo T1R's - Mychailo's custom springs - Urethane front & rear sway bar bushings - KC exhaust (2.5" dual magnaflow) - Escaine seat swap - Removed Spoiler

I don't care if Subaru says it's STI...it will always be STi to me
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  #10  
Old 10-07-2001, 01:52 PM
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smoke .... i got that every once in awhile , after changing to redline
hitemp synthetic, seems that the viscosity of synthetic is slipping our some cracked seals in my oil pan,( looks liek they are coming out of the bolts ont he pan??!)


rarely, but sometimes(especially driving on mountain inclines)

the fluid hits the exhaust and smoke comes pouring out.
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  #11  
Old 10-07-2001, 02:09 PM
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No mas

There's no more smoke, and the tranny has been acting fine since the fluid was changed and since I am driving under 75 MPH now, so as long as it stays good, I'm not gonna worry about it. I've been babying it alot more lately, too...keeping RPM's under 3500 if I can. I figure there's no point in running it up if it's gonna ruin the tranny. So, thanks for all of the suggestions. I will keep them in mind if things go wrong. Until then I'm just gonna enjoy the working transmission. If it goes out, it may be time to garage the SVX, ride to work on the bus, and start saving for a manual...but hopefully that's way off in the future...at least far enough off that i'll have a second car. Untill then...
__________________
Time for my very own long list of mods:
92 SVX LS-L - Ebony Pearl - 2002 WRX 5MT trans w/STi gearset (rebuilt & installed myself ) - BMW E46 HID retrofit - Kenwood Headunit - Phoenix Gold 75x4 RMS amp - Alpine Type R 6.5" front components - Alpine Type R 6x9 3way rear speakers - 18"x9" Rota G-Force wheels w/225/40ZR18 Toyo T1R's - Mychailo's custom springs - Urethane front & rear sway bar bushings - KC exhaust (2.5" dual magnaflow) - Escaine seat swap - Removed Spoiler

I don't care if Subaru says it's STI...it will always be STi to me
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