reviving my SVX

[kwren]

just thanks
Take care,
Keith

[halistan]

WOOT! Spent all day sunday (with several long intermissions to do other things as I found them to be done around the house) but at any rate, I did get Samantha up and running again.

I did exactly what you guys suggested and it worked like a charm, so thank you so much. The best part is, I took my old battery (bought 1/03) back to wal-mart and they gave me a new one for $9 (including tax), can't beat that I had the receipt still in the little baggy on the side of the battery. I took it in just so i could get the core charge and the guy said that particular battery had a 108 month warranty so i was like, sweet, but didn't give it another though. I figured with the pro-ration on it (it had been over 5 years after all) i wouldn't get much. But when he went to look it up in the system, he couldn't find it. Apparently wal-mart took the battery out of the system and he couldn't find it. So what he had to end up doing was giving me a credit for what i paid for the old one (since I had that handy little receipt) and put it towards the new one. When it was said and done, $9...so i paid the man and ran like a thief in the night.

After I got home, i unplugged the injectors, changed the oil and filter, then put in the new gas, and turned it over a few times to get her lubed up. Then, after a couple of turns. I reconnected the injectors and she started right up. For the first 10 minutes or so, it was a little rough. She spit out all sorts of smoke and kept sounding like she was going to die, but she didn't. I turned her off, took her off the jackstands and backed her onto the driveway and let her run for a bit longer. After 10-15 minutes, she was running like she'd never been sitting at all. I drove her around my house a few times and the rotors are still covered in rust, but they are slowly recovering.

Now that I have her running, i need to find a good mechanic to track down where that damn leak is. I've been thinking its the rear main seal, but it could be the front one. If thats the case, well i'm screwed (long story) but it'd be easier to replace the engine i think than deal with that.

If anyone knows a good mechanic in Dallas (that knows anything about SVX's) that could help me fix a leak, or replace an engine, please drop me a line. I'd appreciate it.

[TomsSVX]

place a piece of cardboard under the car and let it run for 20minutes. Then shut it off and pull the cardboard out to look at whether it is leaking from the front or the back.

Tom

[halistan]

Wee, see, the problem is that not much of the oil actually drips onto the ground. What has been happening is that it makes its way down to the passenger side exhaust header and drips on it. This, then burns the oil and makes smoke come up through the engine bay. Although, from getting under neath the car, it looks like the oil is mostly coming from the front. I can send pics if you care to take a look? I'll take it and do an undercarrage wash, then let it run a while and get under (after its cooled of course) and take some pics.

[TomsSVX]

thats a good idea although it does lead me to believe your front seals may need replacing

Tom

[halistan]

I've done the cam seals already....i can't do the front main seal though Here's why...go get a drink, this is a long story....

A few years back, in 2002, i and Master Kuo, replaced my timing belt. All went well for our first time doing it and everything was great...for like 6 months. Later on, i found that two things were starting to happen that became a HUGE issue. First, the bolt holding the crank pulley, came loose, and at the same time, the crank pulley seperated. By the time i figured out what was going on (i'd been hearing a weird sound for a few days but couldn't figure out what was going on) the bolt had come loose enough to make the crank pulley wobble and in the process it broke the little metal key in half...vertically, up the middle. So, instead of it being a half moon shape, i have 2-quarter circles.

Kuo and I took it all apart, intending to replace everything but we got stuck when it came to the part where we were going to replace the key. The back half of the key got wedged in the crank sprocket and we couldn't get it out and we couldn't get the sprocket off. We worked on it for 2 days at his friends garage with no luck.

What we finally had to do was bust out the trusty old JB weld and glue the key back together. Now, i know it sounds crazy, but it worked and its been working for 6 years and roughly 100K miles now lol.

That still leaves me with my original problem though. I can't get that stupid sprocket off to change the front main seal behind it. So, if that is what is leaking, i'm a tad screwed. Got any ideas on how to fix it? The engine has 250k+ miles on it, and i thought it might just be easier/better long term to buy another engine and put in it. What are your thoughts?

[TomsSVX]

if you want to take it off. Get a 8x1.25 metric tap. Tap the two wholes on the crank sprocket. Is two bolts that are 8x1.25 using a flat two point puller. Should work out perfectly

Tom

[halistan]

That key is wedged in there pretty darn good. But its worth a try i guess. I've changed the timing belt so many times on that thing that i could pull it apart in just a couple of hours.

Where do i get said tap? Is that something that most auto stores will loan you, or do I need to purchase it? if so, any idea how much it'd cost?

Also, what if (big if, but just in case) it doesn't want to come off. Do i have any other options? I considered just cutting the darn thing off and putting a new sprocket on it, but i wasn't sure how hard that would be to do.

[TomsSVX]

a good tap will cost about $10... assuming you have a handle for it

Tom

[halistan]

I don't have one, guess i'll buy that too.

[TomsSVX]

well give it a try... be sure to get a steering wheel puller two, or any other two point flat puller

Tom