johninKY said:
Expect transmission and rear axle bearing failure around 100K miles.
Transmission for this car is very expensive. Unless the owner can show
documentation the transmission has been recently replaced, I'm assumming
the car has more than 100K on the odometer, I would shy away from it.
Many svx owners are now swapping in impreza or forester transmissions
when their 4eat goes out. You get the benefit of a lower final drive
(4.44 in the forester) which will get you better acceleration and has
shown to lower transmission temperature (the main cause of failure)
Quite a few have put in a 5 speed (and 2 have gone with 6 speeds)
Rear axle bearings will fail if not greased and installed correctly.
FWIW - I have 2 svx's - both '92
One has never had a rear bearing fail and is currently at 215,000 miles.
The other had multiple failures around 100k - the repeat failures were
due to improper install technique and since replacing the hub along with
bearings have performed well. Currently at 158k.
I have replaced transmissions on both svx's. At 130k and 150k.
My advice is to visit
www.subaru-svx.net and ask if anyone there who is
local would test drive the svx with you. I am sure there will be someone
who would be willing to help - it is a very friendly community. They
will be able to spot a problem pretty quickly with the svx.
Other than that most of the common problems with the svx are fairly easy
to fix for a decent backyard mechanic.
