transmission

[Beav]

It doesn't take much build-up in the throttle body to cause problems.

If the missing still exists I'll need to ask: Does the missing only occur for a minute or two after starting the car after it has been sitting for an hour or more? Once running properly (I'm assuming it eventually does run properly) does it continue to do so, or does it have 'spells' of misfiring? If so, what type of driving seems to bring it on?

Generally if a coil causes misfire at idle it will misfire continuously. It's more likely for a bad coil to misfire under higher loads, i.e. accelerating, going up hills, etc.

[vkykam]

Vibration at 70mph could be one of these things as well:

- unbalanced tires
- bad CV joints
- bad driveshaft/u-joint

I wouldn't panic and think it's the tranny yet.

VK

[James Scott]

Beav, et al: I cleaned TB and IAC as suggested. I also replaced the PCV valve, cleaned the K&N air filter, replaced the temperature sensor, and sprayed the MAF sensor "electrodes" with electrical cleaner spray! When I fired it up, it seemed to run a little better, but it still did both malfunctions (1. Runs rough [engine stops sometimes when car stops for stopsign - about 3 times per week] for a few [5 to 10] minutes[about 80% of the time] when it has sat {sitten, satten??} for hours [not temperature sensitive!?] and/or 2. Car shakes [a little or at faster speeds alot more] or shudders which stops immediately if I back off the accelerator. This usually doesn't last more than a few minutes if I accelerate and deccelerate a few times [but about two weeks ago was so intense at higher (70 to 80) speeds that I thought I would have to park the car, with or without a diagnosis!]

Last Sunday nite [Monday 1 am] I decided it couldn't hurt to install the new O2 sensors. Monday morning I drove more than usual. It worked perfect! No # 1., No # 2., and it seemed to run smoother than it had for quite some time! Also, [I don't know if I'm going crazy, but it seemed like even the slow shifting had tightened up!?] I thought [hoped!] that "all was well" by some miracle.

Monday nite the shuddering was back moderately [not as bad as it had been]. It's now Tuesday nite, it has not gone #1. yet, but it keeps going #2. [but less than it had been].

I ordered a coil pack, [the long one], hoping that I could use it to try replacing each coil pack [one at a time] to find the culprit or eliminate that idea. How about that idea, men?

What about the earlier suggestion . . . . . Could it be a CV joint or drive shaft as suggested [could that be intermittent?]?

Could it be the trans or engine computer?

What about a failing crank [or cam] angle sensor or MAF?

Will my car go #1. in the morning?

I'm beginning to understand why alot of you guys put clever mind expanding quips at the bottom of your messages . . . . to transcend the neverending frustration of driving a car you love to drive, but which is almost (well really is) impossible [and very expensive] to fix!!!

Again, please help if you can! THANKS, Jim

[svxistentialist]

Hi James

You seem to have done a good bit to remedy the obvious things, and the plan with the coil is good, be careful you don't do damage or get a shock.

If the car is running rough when cold, besides the ignition possibility you are checking, a couple of other things might be wrong. You could have a bad injector. A good way to check this is to disconnect each in turn when the car is running rough. Disconnecting a good one makes it worse, disconnecting the bad one will make it less worse, so to speak

You could also have an air leak somewhere on a pipe or gasket at the induction side. This however might be inclined to show a code for the MAP sensor which has to compensate, so ignore this till you check out the ignition.

Oh, and if possible, I would take out that Tornado thing whatever it is, in case it is contributing to or causing your problem.

Don't forget also what Beav said about the car needing a couple of days to re-learn the correct settings for idling.

Best of luck,

Joe

[svxistentialist]

James,

Second thought. If your car is not now shuddering on start-up or when cold, you may have already cured the engine problem.

If it is shuddering at speed during acceleration, there are a number of transmission faults that could cause that, so you may have cured half the problem.

Best advice, run the car for a few days to a week. See what it does. If it maintains smooth running in the morning, you have probably cured the engine glitch.

Take careful note of when and how the shudder happens at speed. Try things like changing to 3, see if it stops or lessens. Post again to Beav then, and maybe the tranny problem will be easier to diagnose.

Joe

[James Scott]

NEW PROBLEM!

After 5 days of working "perfectly" at startoff (mornings and after work) . . . . Yesterday it began idling rough again (for a few minutes) after startup.YIKES! The engine problem is obviously alive and well!

The shuddering is mild to severe now - starting as low as 40mph and happening more severely at higher speeds 60 to 80mph. It stops when the accelerator is backed off. I guess it could also be an engine problem, but it doesn't idle low or roughly when placed in neutral when it starts to shudder. It doesn't do it all the time, but enough to feel the car (engine, trans, or suspension) will be damaged if it shudders (sometimes the whole car shakes!) too much or too frequently! It shudders more upon acceleration and does not occur going downhill and almost never on flat level with constant speed.

NEW PROBLEM! HOOOORAAAAY! Yesterday I went to rule out any out-of-balance problem contributing to this shuddering problem by having my tires balanced/rotated. They wouldn't touch my tires, citing a liablity they'd have BECAUSE MY TIRES WERE TOO WORN (on the inside edge [of the front tires mainly] esp. on the drivers side front tire)! The left front is severely worn on the inside edge BELOW THE DEPTH OF THE TREAD! (I balance/rotate front to back regularly [about 4 to 6k miles] meaning that most of this inside edge damage has occurred during this past 6k miles SINCE THIS SHUDDERING PROBLEM BEGAN AND WORSENED!!! (since the back tires show much less wear on that inside edge!!) WELL GUYS, is this possibly either a cause (alignment?) of the shuddering or a side-effect of the shuddering or unrelated???Again, PLEASE HELP!!!

By the way, I've ordered Pirelli 7000's (I believe?) to try another tire on my SVX (If it's still going when they get here!). They're charging $559. for 4 tires mounted and balanced (*Lifetime balancing) etc. Are these Pirellis a good tire for our SVX's?(noise esp.?) PLEASE LET ME KNOW BEFORE I MOUNT THEM> THANKS!

Needless to say I NEED MORE HELP> THANKS!!! Jim

[wawazat??]

I removed the P7000 Super Sports I bought before they had 20,000 milkes on them because they were so loud I thought I had a bearing failure!

Todd

[James Scott]

Thanks Todd for the info!

What are the best tires for our svx? Is the Yokohama AVS Db
225/50/16 the BEST? That's what I have now

What's your experience guys (and gals, of course)!??


Thanks, Jim

[LarryIII]

Jim,

The Yoko AVS dBs are the quietest and they have excellent dry and wet grip cornering. I think they perform very poorly in the snow and I do not know how many miles they last.

I think the Dunlop SP-5000-AS tires are just slightly nosier and are just as good in wet & dry cornering, and are much better in snow.

Good Luck.

[lee]

Originally posted by James Scott
...snip...Yesterday I went to rule out any out-of-balance problem contributing to this shuddering problem by having my tires balanced/rotated. They wouldn't touch my tires, citing a liablity they'd have BECAUSE MY TIRES WERE TOO WORN (on the inside edge [of the front tires mainly] esp. on the drivers side front tire)!...snip...

you most definitely have found something that will cause shuddering if the tires went that bad in just a few miles. Tie rods, ball joints, I don't know, but if it's shuddering like you described, I think it's not safe to drive....when I was 16 (yes they had cars then), a friend had a 62 Pontiac that did as you describe. We were cruising down the interstate one day on the way to school. Shortly after exiting, the tie rod end broke and we slid off the road - thank goodness it didn't happen at 70mph (which we had been doing just moments before).

[Beav]

As the vibration becomes more and more pronounced, the closer you are to having a blowout. Tires never "...just blew out!" from defects, they always issue a warning beforehand. If no warning is issued beforehand a blowout is caused by a road hazard.

The edge wear you have could be caused by a tire defect, a result of a road impact or from a bad alignment, whether due to worn parts, bad adjustment or normal wear and tear.

It seems that you really need to have a pro look your car over. It's a good thing to be able to do your own maintenance, but sometimes it's also good to have a knowledgeable, trained person to double check things. Sometimes it can end up being less expensive in the long run, versus 'fixing' things that weren't bad to begin with.

[Ron Mummert]

Originally posted by LarryIII
Jim,

The Yoko AVS dBs are the quietest and they have excellent dry and wet grip cornering. I think they perform very poorly in the snow and I do not know how many miles they last.

I think the Dunlop SP-5000-AS tires are just slightly nosier and are just as good in wet & dry cornering, and are much better in snow.

Good Luck.

I would respectfully disagree with Larry's "very poor" snow performance comment. While I wouldn't want to do Larry's famous "S" curve at 70mph in 6 inches of slush, I found them adequate to get me around in pre-plowed hilly suburban streets after a 5 incher. They're not touted to be a snow tire anyway.

Ron.

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by James Scott
NEW PROBLEM!


Needless to say I NEED MORE HELP> THANKS!!! Jim

Hi Jim

Sorry to see you are still in bother. I had this stressful series of problems when I got my car first. The good news is, when you diagnose and fix the problems, they generally stay fixed, and you can expect trouble free running.

However, first things first. Your rough running is back, but ignore this for the moment till you fix the tyres problem. It's an inconvenience and a worry, but the other thing could cause an off-road or out of body experience.

You need to track the car, [4wheel laser set-up], and can't do that without good even tyres, so you are correct in looking for these first.
No experience of Pirelli, but the number of posts here and on Yahoo! complaining of noise, I would steer clear of them. The ones I am using for nearly two years are called Sava Rapidex R2. They are inexpensive and quiet, with good wet grip, which I prize above snow use. We don't get a lot of snow here. My idea on snow, you should put on chains, or use winter tyres. When I was a rally fan, the wisdom was snow M&S and Intermediates use a different rubber compound for the job. It is asking too much of a tyre that can handle the weight and power of the SVX on tarmac to also work in snow.
I have no idea if you can get Savas in the States, but my advice would be same as Todd's, go for Yokohamas.

Don't track it yet!. Next step is see what is worn in the steering or suspension. Take Beav's and Lee's advice here. Go to a Subaru dealer, get them to check your suspension. Something is loose/worn/broken. They will know what to look for, tie rods etc.
Fix this first, new bushes, balljoints, whatever it needs. Remember you won't have to do this for a long time again, and it will save you money on even tyre wear, maybe even save your life. Chances are it will fix the shudder.

Almost forgot. Make sure the tyre fitment guys balance the wheels. If alignment is part of the price deal, make sure they understand you need 4-wheel laser alignment and that they have someone there competent enough to do it properly. If you later have to replace tie rods or ball joints, you will have to get it done again. This is why I said don't bother with it after fitting the tyres. Only let them at it if it's free and part of the tyres deal. Better yet, tell them you would like them to do it for you later after you replace the loose/damaged suspension components.

Get that lot done, and you can then tackle the misfire.

Joe

[svx_commuter]

I have faith in the tire ratings at tirerack.com. I have Yoko AVS db on the SVX and Goodyear Aquatread 3 on 91 Leg and 97 OBS. The GY (also quiet and handle well, 80k tire) are much better in the snow but not available in SVX size.

[James Scott]

Thanks for the advice guys! I cancelled the Pirelli's and ordered more Yoko's (what happened to her, anyway?). I intended to mount the new AVS Db's on Saturday, then align on Monday morn so I wouldn't go long with bad alignment, BUT you make a good case for pursuing the suspension inspection even sooner!! I didn't interpret Beav's comments that way myself - - - - - I'm glad you showed me the light!!!

THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUING HELP AND NEEDED ENCOURAGEMENT!!! Jim