Barnyard Find SVX Restoration

[WhatIsThisIDont]

I took it in for inspection today and we put it in the air. The left outter tie rod has some play in it, so I have an inner and outter ordered. The oil leak is ridiculous, so I'm going to give it a quick hose off for the next time I'm in and keep it decent until I can fix the leak. My lug nuts and studs are worse for wear, so I'll replace those, too.

My steering rack is also quite beaten, so that's made the list.

In the spring, I plan on have the engine yanked, rebuilt, and then do the rack while it's out. Until then, it only has to put up with me for about 6 months.

On a brighter note, I'm now running on 4 brand new Yoko Ice Guards

[WhatIsThisIDont]

So in three weeks on a shoe string budget and parts from my legacys, the SVX is just about ready for daily duty for a while.

I found that my PCV valve is clogged and shooting oil into the intake, so that made the list.

Bouncing temperature was fixed with a thermostat and cap. Now the needle won't go past 25%. I found both fan connectors have some shade tree engineering done with the wiring, and a temp sensor is also on the list. Outside of that, I'm stumped on this issue. Any ideas?

It runs well, but I'm only getting around 13mpg at the moment. Thinking a coil is arching, since I'm not getting any codes.

Since I'll be working on my wagon over the summer and I don't trust myself with the SVX entirely, I'm looking into having the motor yanked and redone in the summer. I think I've been bitten by the SVX bug, and bitten hard


TL;DR: Coupe should be ready to DD in Erie.

Thanks for all your help so far, guys. I wouldn't have made it this far without you guys!

-Randy

[WhatIsThisIDont]

The list continues to grow:

I just drove it 200 miles back to school this week. It ran decently on the way, but was a little lacking. anytime I give it gas on my little run today, the car just completely fell on its face. Revs dropped when I gave it gas while under 2k rpm, and wouldn't be anywhere near normal until it filibustered its way back above 2k.

Though I did get a CEL for about 10 seconds the other day, so I pulled that tonight and found a code 37, which should be a left 02 sensor, which makes sense.



Chances are I'll have to do that repair while I'm up here with limited tools. My plan is to spray it with some PB Blaster once a day for a bit before I do the job. Any tips or tricks on getting these things out?

As always, thanks guys.

-Randy

[Blacky]

You might want to try cleaning the MAF sensor too if you haven't done that yet. It could improve the mileage and driveability.

[WhatIsThisIDont]

Originally Posted by Blacky

You might want to try cleaning the MAF sensor too if you haven't done that yet. It could improve the mileage and driveability.

That was my first thought, and I busted out my trusty can of MAF cleaner and it got slightly better, but it still leaves something to be desired in the power department.

I opened it up on the highway going home tonight from dinner and it downshifted, but just made some noise with some surging.

It made me so sad to get passed by some Civic and there was nothing I could do about it lol

[redlightningsvx]

Check your ground from the trans to the firewall. Had a simiar issue with the 92 I had where you would hit the gas and it would fall on its face then go.

[WhatIsThisIDont]

Originally Posted by redlightningsvx

Check your ground from the trans to the firewall. Had a simiar issue with the 92 I had where you would hit the gas and it would fall on its face then go.

I actually hadn't thought of a ground issue. I'll take a look at it tomorrow. Was your issue just a matter of corrosion where the wire connected?

[1986nate]

Congrats on the purchase. I've been away from the forum a bit, but I'm north of Meadville and work up in Fairview. And always have stashes of parts and parts cars. There are a few others in the area as well. This summer I'm hoping we can get together a few times. That one was on craigslist for quite awhile if I remember.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by redlightningsvx

Check your ground from the trans to the firewall. Had a simiar issue with the 92 I had where you would hit the gas and it would fall on its face then go.

AND the second most important ground wire, the one that goes to the intake manifold right by the FPR nipple.

[WhatIsThisIDont]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

Congrats on the purchase. I've been away from the forum a bit, but I'm north of Meadville and work up in Fairview. And always have stashes of parts and parts cars. There are a few others in the area as well. This summer I'm hoping we can get together a few times. That one was on craigslist for quite awhile if I remember.

It was on Craigslist for quite a while. I saw it when I came to school for orientation in July and almost forgot about it when I saw it for sale again in September. Those ad pictures made it look far better than it was lol.

I'm all for a meetup when things warm up. My coupe has seen many better days, but I'm still in love with it and what I hope to make it.

Originally Posted by svxfiles

AND the second most important ground wire, the one that goes to the intake manifold right by the FPR nipple.

I'm thinking grounds may be an issue. I went outside yesterday to get a glimpse of the ground under the ignitor, and I can see it's all kinds of corroded. Whenever I quit being a baby and face the cold (Whenever it's somewhere above 25F), I'll start redoing the ground connections.


AND I think I found my temperature problem. Both fans are hotwired through an empty slot in the fusebox and both seem to be on full blast whenever the key is in the car. I'll have to pull out the soldering iron out to tackle that one this summer.