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I've got an OG 95 wagon 2.3t manual with about 110K on it. I got it very, very cheap, mainly because the engine rattles. Friendly MOT guy who seemed to know his SAABs said it was probably something about the lifters and not the cam chain like I suggested, but I really don't know. I've done the crank house ventilation thing and changed oil frequently for the year I've had it like the MOT guy said to do, but the rattle is not getting better, possibly because I have neglected to drive "like an Italian" like he also said to do. Lately it's been cold and i've heard a new bad squealing noise once or twice on cold starts, suspecting a bad bearing somewhere on the belt. Today leaving work I heard what sounded like a leaky exhausty noise from the cold engine. Minutes later I lost the temp gauge and got an immediate check engine light on the highway. After checking that the belt was still there and that the blower blew hot (in my mind this meant that the water pump was still working) I drove home and parked, and that's where she sits. I'll scan tomorrow night if I can find the scanner, but googling suggests the temp sensor, thermostat or both. Temp gauge has seemed on the low side lately, so that might indicate thermostat? I really don't know what to do with this car. It's worth practically no money, but drives well enough. Thermostats and temp sensors seem cheap, so I guess I'll change them, but that still leaves me with a car that rattles, with a number of other minor issues that add up to a machine I just can't love on a mechanical level. Engine swap, junkyard/trade, drive into the ground more or less as is or something else? /e/n
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Jan 13, 2015 22:33
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 06:58 |
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West SAAB Story posted:Was it a full rattle or noisy? Does or can down when it warms up? Sounds like a sludged pot of pain to me. May check in with actual advice later.. Can't think too much driving on poo poo roads. I'm thinking I might have overreacted at least a bit about the noise the car made at work yesterday, maybe because it was parked with the nose against a brick wall. Just now I started it up again in order to scan it. It sounds like it's been doing all year, not smooth like a healthy gas engine, almost but not quite like a diesel (this noise seems the same whether hot or cold). It's around freezing, and what I suspect to be a bearing for a pulley on the belt was making intermittent screeching noises. Full disclosure; i stupidly sprayed some degreaser in the engine bay in a misguided attempt to clean it up a bit a few weeks ago. I fear I may have degreased a bearing somewhere. It comes and goes, and only when the car is cold started, so I haven't managed to pin down what's noisy yet. I think I should rather fix it, whatever it is, if the car is to be driven. If the bearing seizes completely and is indeed on the belt, bad things are bound to happen even if it's just an idler pulley. The obd code is p0116, which indeed seems to be the engine coolant temperature sensor, which I take it is not really critical for driving the car, nor too difficult to fix? FWIW I've seen no signs of oil sludge, except a very little at the very top of the narrow "funnel" the the oil dipstick cap screws into. Hoses and oil pan seem alright. Invalido fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Jan 14, 2015 |
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Jan 14, 2015 18:22
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Thanks. I feel encouraged. So I did the Tom&Ray special and put a length of hose in my ear, prodding around a bit. It must have been a bit too warm because there was no screeching, but the top left idler pulley sounded rough nevertheless, so it's my prime suspect. If it's colder tomorrow morning I might try again, otherwise I'll chance it and order the pulley, a new belt (the current one looks less than pristine), a thermostat+seal and an ECT sensor. I'm pretty sure it's the long belt being an '00, but I'll make as sure as possible before I order. All the parts should add up to less than 100 USD, so it's worth the gamble if it lets me rattle around in this car for another year. Dropping the pan will have to wait until the next oil change is due at the very least. With my frugal driving habits that should hopefully be a few months at least. I suppose I'll need to buy or borrow a torque wrench for that too. It's a shame about the engine noise though. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably do some more things to the vehicle. Flush/change the transmission fluid, install an AUX in the stereo, get a new windscreen maybe... As it is, I just wanna keep it rolling a little bit longer, safely and at least somewhat reliably. In my mind I am already unfaithful with the Idea of getting a volvo V70, which I believe to be an objectively better car for a man with my vehicular needs even if I enjoy the little SAAB quirks as much as the next person. Economically speaking though, I guess it always makes sense to do minor repairs on a vehicle you already own. I also suspect my MAF sensor is a bit iffy; the idle is less than perfect and this summer during a heatwave there were some major stutters during hard acceleration just above 3000 RPM. Is it worth it to try and clean it, and if so is there a particular way to go about this?
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Jan 15, 2015 19:55
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So this morning I was in the parking lot trying to pin down the squeal again. A few spaces over was another guy, also with his head stuck under the hood of his 9-3. The comedy of the situation led me to comment on it, and we got to talking about the general crappiness of our automobiles. Turns out he has a junk SAAB he pulls parts from, and a friend who's "good with SAABs" and has junk 9-5's - a possible SAAB whisperer? He also listened to my engine and said it was definitely valve noise in his opinion, and was mightily impressed with my improvised click&clack stethoscope. We exchanged phone numbers and he said he'd call me about an idler pulley later. /just another SAAB story 
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Jan 16, 2015 10:51
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Roadside phone posting. So I ordered parts, they finally arrived, I tried to drive the nine miles to work in order to wrench in the big heated garage there. I lost the serpentine belt about half way, so I'm waiting for the boss to come give me a tow. Good thing I crept along the back road instead of taking the highway! Another good thing is that my family is not stranded here with me. I could mostly coast into a parking space and only ran the engine for about ten seconds without coolant circulation. I will probably have to run it another ten in order to get inside the garage. It's pretty obvious which pulley it was that seized from all the pulverized rubber next to it.
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Jan 28, 2015 08:11
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I finally had some time to wrench on the SAAB, and everything is right with the world again. I had mail ordered the wrong belt (cheaply) and had the buy the right one locally (dearly). The thermostat was indeed hard to get to and I bled a little, but after removing the battery and a radiator hose it wasn't too difficult with the right kind of socket extension.I haven't tested neither the old thermostat nor the coolant temp sensor to see which was as fault, but everything seems to work with both of them replaced. Now to re-learn for the umpteenth time how to set the date and time...
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Feb 3, 2015 06:22
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Why is it cranking slowly and only once if it's the fuel pump? I'm not much of a mechanic, but it sounds like a dying battery or possibly a bad starter motor. Did it act exactly the same when you tried to jump it?
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Feb 5, 2015 07:03
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My in-law has a 2004 9-3 that I am somehow mechanically responsible for since I know at least something about cars. The driver's side seat belt has stopped reeling in and I've got a replacement belt ready. I can't find any youtube video or forum post describing how to best remove the B-pillar trim without breaking things. I don't have the Haynes manual either, in case there's any info there. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Aug 8, 2016 12:38
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Thanks a lot! Yes, driver's seat belts are quite dear at the junkyards, apparently they're no good. The car also has a defunct CD changer from what I've been told, and those cost a bundle too. I'll probably try to sort out an AUX jack instead if that's indeed the case.
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Aug 8, 2016 16:46
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I replaced that PS pump seal on my in-laws' 9-3 a couple of years back, it seems a common failure. IIRC engine oil was getting into the PS system causing the reservoir to overflow. It took a few half liter bottles to flush out all the oil and get a pure-ish PS fluid remaining. That car has had all sorts of issues since then, but not steering related thankfully.
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Feb 26, 2019 10:06
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GD_American posted:FYI in case any of you had Turbo X dreams- the rear springs are not in stock anywhere. In the world. Yes, I checked. On three continents. That sucks. I thought I'd try to help out with some googling in swedish, but that didn't turn up anything OEM. However, when I checked the nationwide junkyard network (https://www.bildelsbasen.se) and input a number plate from what I think is a suitable 9-3 xwd aero (is that even the right car?) I found using image google, a bunch of rear springs from disassembled cars turned up. Unfortunately I can't seem to post working links to that site, but it should be possible to navigate it using auto translate and the images. edit: the site has a british flag that turns some of it into english, but it's not great, lots of swedish remains. Do these look right or did I mess up?  
Invalido fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Jun 13, 2019 |
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Jun 13, 2019 15:52
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GD_American posted:I can get junkyard springs, but they’re a dice roll. I don’t know if they’ll be in any better shape than mine (which aren’t broke, but do have 130k miles on them). I hear ya. JY parts are perfectly fine for certain things, less so for other things. I got home from work and searched some more, might could be there are new springs to be had after all. Do you know the parts number you're looking for?
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Jun 13, 2019 21:54
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These guys seem to have what you're looking for (or at least they claim they can get it from somewhere else and sell it on, accepting no returns because of this) https://shop.speedparts.se/en/prod/saab-oem/bakfjader-13.html Unless they're full of poo poo they should be able to ship two springs to the U.S. for $235 or thereabout - shipping alone is about a hundred. There's a bunch of non-genuine SUPLEX brand springs for cheaper from the usual German getting places, but I guess you don't want those.
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Jun 14, 2019 13:07
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SAAB thread lives! Have a sweet 9000 camper I found while browsing SAABs (why do I lust for a 9000?)
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Jun 26, 2020 19:30
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I saw a SAAB 90 in the wild just the other day, blue and kitted out like a rally car, really clean looking. This made me happy. I've had a 99 and a 9-5, but the one I irrationally lust for is a 9000 aero. The last and best "real" SAAB according to some - I don't think I've ever even sat in one so I wouldn't know. Seeing as I live in Sweden buying one would be easy and owning one would be somewhat doable, but still too stupid.
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Jun 3, 2023 18:16
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that 99 looks super clean - they really do look good from certain angles while others are less flattering IMO. It's difficult to see clearly because of the reflection in the rear window, but even the headliner looks intact where it's folded over the trim inside the C-pillar. This is usually rotted away on the survivors I see every once in a while, presumably from UV light I guess? If I'm not mistaken the GL means it has the 5-speed gearbox which has a reputation for being pretty fragile, so worth really trying it out well if you end up test driving the thing.
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Jun 6, 2023 11:00
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 06:58 |
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I have been told the 9000 is the best and SAABiest model of them all. You should do it so I can live vicariously through your SAAB experience.
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Oct 3, 2023 10:32
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