96 Polo First Day Home

[SVX92-97]

Got the 96 Polo home late Friday Night, and took a couple photos of it yesterday after a wash and wax. Things didnt start off on the right foot when my buddy and I picked it up on Friday afternoon in Pennsauken, NJ. First off, it was down two quarts of oil. Seller only had a little less than a quart to give me, so stopped at nearby gas station and bought another quart. Then when we started on our way home after dropping off our one way rental I noticed the temp gauge going up to 3/4 and fluctuating between normal and 3/4 for awhile. Then when we were on the NJT it rose to between3/4 and totally hot. We exited the NJT at exit 6 and paid the Toll and at that point it had just entered the red zone, so we pulled over just outside the toll booth station off exit 6 heading towards RT130. We popped the hood and antifreeze was boiling out of the reserve tank and had run all down under the battery tray and of course onto the ground as well. My buddy took our two empty pepsi bottles and I found a half full gallon of wiper fluid in trunk and emptied that out, and went over to the toll station house to fill up. We also discovered that someone had left the right side radiator fan unplugged, so I think that was the problem, because the seller had just put a new radiator, thermostat and hoses in the car not long ago. We plugged in the fan and added about a gallon and a half of water and drove down to the next off ramp and were in Burlington, NJ. As we were at a four way intersection with a rite aid on our left, we heard a loud thumping and slapping sound coming from under the hood. Pulled over immediately into a nearby closed service station (it was now 6Pm on a friday afternoon with heavy traffic) and opened hood to see that the fan we had just plugged in was the problem. The blades from the fan were hitting the black tie strap that holds the rubber hose that runs up to the power steering tank area. We unplugged the fan again to stop it from doing this, and went across the street to the rite aid and borrowed a pair of scissors and cut the tie strap off, cause it really had no tension on the hose anyway, but was the culprit. That solved the problem and we were then on our way, but not before I bought a gallon of antifreeze, but was only able to get a quart or so in, maybe less. So basically the radiator was full of water. Got home Ok, temp was perfect the whole way back to CT. Next morning I checked the radiator, and some of the water had evaporated, so I then added about two quarts of antifreeze. Tranny fluid was also down a quart, which I took care of. Seller says last tranny and filter change was three years ago, so Im doing that next. All the fuel hose going and coming from the fuel filter are severly cracked and dry rotted as well. Car ran very well once I got the fluids and temp normal. I would say its well worth the $2,500 I paid for it. It has 158,750 miles on it. Looked it over yesterday, the rotors are spent, and pads squeal almost every time brake pressure is applied. I found a puddle of water under the spare when I went thru the trunk. After I washed the car, I checked the trunk again, and there was about a cup size amount of water there again. Any thoughts or ideas were its getting in from. Both main door windows are pretty scuffed, pads inside door must be severly worn or gone. Engine needs a nice steam cleaning for sure. Power steering switch leaks, and right side valver cover is pretty soaked with oil residue. Im going to be addressing all the mechanical issues for now. Oh, it has a weird starting sound, loud like an old truck, but idles nicely. Thanks to TomsSvx and Svxcess for their recommendation, and to TomsSvx especially for his time in inspecting it and changing the MAF sensor that was bad.

Dan

94 Legacy Touring Wagon 157k miles
96 Red Lsi 95k miles almost ready to hit the road
96 Polo Lsi 158k miles, Welcome Home!

[Crazy_pilot]

Well other than the fender, looks pretty good! Congrats!




Your wheels are backwards

[SVX92-97]

Crazy Pilot Thanks for the compliments. I know about the wheels being backwards. Seems like a common problem happening when most non svx people take their car for tire changes or rotation. There are like new Toyo Proxe 4 tires on it with 14k miles all highway. The car came with a Brand New Fender from Subaru in box, and a new corner light from subaru as well.

Thanks.

Dan

[svxistentialist]

Dan, congratulations, the car looks really good. I know you will enjoy making everything right.

As a matter of fact, backwards or not [ ] your wheels look like they have been redone. Not many SVXs around where the hubcap paint matches the wheels.

You say the transmission oil was down a quart? It seems like a lot, but anything is possible. If it needed that much, maybe check if you are losing ATF somewhere? The other thing to be careful about is you need to test for ATF level after the car has been driven at speeds over 12 mph to warm the oil, AND with the engine ticking over.

You probably already know this, but I only mention it because overfilling can cause problems you don't need like burst seals and so on from too high internal pressure.

Enjoy it, she looks like a well minded motor.

Joe

[TheKoP]

Congrats on the car! Glad to hear you made it back to CT safely. At least this one wasn't as much trouble as the other one.