Time keeps flying. More miles on the SAAB as a part time DD. It's been relatively well-behaved, however, the P1171 has started appearing on occasion again. Its been a real head-scratcher as I root around for a cause. Unrelated, I replaced a faulty APC/BPC valve. I also bled the brake system; the runoff was green-tinged, which is a new one to me.
I swapped in MAP and IAT sensors from another NG900 at a salvage yard. I reprogrammed the 4239919 ECU firmware to ignore the 2nd lambda sensor (HO2S). I checked the evap canister and vacuum lines to same for problems, added a hose clamp where plastic meets rubber. I cleaned out the IAC with carb cleaner. (When unpowered and removed, its gate is slightly open). If this is a vacuum system problem, I can't seem to find the leak.
Another area of suspicion is the fuel delivery system. Could the high LTFT and occasional P1171 codes be a faulty fuel pressure regulator, or perhaps clogged injectors? I checked the spark plugs (and did a compression test on each cylinder while I was at it), but they all looked good and had the 1.0mm gap I had set them with, with no obvious signs of running too hot or cold.
I finally got around to running a compression test on the engine with a borrowed gauge:
Cyl 1 : 117 PSI
Cyl 2 : 118 PSI
Cyl 3 : 113 PSI
Cyl 4 : 114 PSI
Tested at 8700ft elevation, coolant temperature was at around 140'F.
When reflashing the ECU last night, I disabled the 'automatic transmission' and 'rear lambda sensor,' in T5suite before reflashing, and then binary comparing the flashed ECU with the source .BIN file to confirm a good flash. Still, I saw something new for the first time last night, and again today:
A CEL/MIL indication. OBDII scanner reports no trouble codes, and yet the check engine light is unapologetically lit. If I stop the engine and then return the ignition to the 'on' position without starting, it lights solid and then blinks three times. Cursory searches suggest this is indicating a IATS failure, and yet watching the OBDII IATS PID, I'm seeing reasonable/believable values, so there's nothing obviously wrong with it. Sending the 'clear trouble codes,' command from the scanner does clear the CEL/MIL. I have no idea what could be the problem, nor why it's not providing a Pxxxx code.
Craigslist Saab 900 SE
Not much to report. I've been driving the SAAB off and on this summer. It's at 161K now. It's running on its stock ECU without trouble codes, has been averaging 25 MPG. Nothing immediately wrong until a few weeks ago, when I rotated the tires. I noticed with front right wheel off that the oil pan was resting upon the subframe. This was a failed engine mount, and so I ordered and replaced that a few weeks ago. With this mount, it's most noticable when walking right around engine brake / coast / accelerate change over point, no more with the something under the hood slightly lurching around. As usual, the old rubber part had given up life.
More recently, I closed a chapter in a saga that predates my ownership of this car. Under past ownership, it had suffered some sort of collision, more than likely with a moving truck tire, but possibly some other large immovable rubber object. It dented the rear right door and devastated the wheel arch in that corner.
At that time back in November or December, I thew some black rattle can down over the bare metal and missing paint to keep corrosion at bay. I purchased a 12.5oz can of SAAB scarabe green metallic basecoat paint with a vague notion of using it, but not plans. Half a year later, with summer rapidly coming to a close up here in the foothills, I threw together some plans...
I hammered and pried at the wheel arch as best I could. Honestly, this was one of the weaker areas of my efforts, but it would probably have required a slide hammer to have gone further, and I never quite got around to purchasing or borrowing one. There are other avenues I might have explored, but when your main tool is body filler, every problem starts to look like... a place to slap body filler. Even so, I must have applied and sanded six or eight times, and still didn't get the shapes as close as I'd've liked.
The last time I tried to refinish a fender, I was really dissatisfied with the results. I had failed to sand the primer before adding the basecoat, and it went downhill from there. This time, I wetsanded the primer down to 600 grit., and from there, wet-sanded the first basecoat layer and the clearcoat, up to 2000. I kind of screwed this up too, since I removed the masking after the first full wet clearcoat over the painted patch, and it had formed a ridge against the masking tape. At this point, I exhausted my 12.5oz of SAAB basecoat paint, so resigned to leave it an unfeathered patch. It still needs more buffing, but for now, it's sealed up with some fresh wax while the clearcoat hardens.
The car looks okay from a distance, which was really the point. I'm pretty happy with the glossy finish I achieved, so that's progress, but obviously I need to keep practicing. Not too motivated to right now, it's a time sink. I can see why SOP with pros is just to strip and redo the whole door/fender/whatever.
More recently, I closed a chapter in a saga that predates my ownership of this car. Under past ownership, it had suffered some sort of collision, more than likely with a moving truck tire, but possibly some other large immovable rubber object. It dented the rear right door and devastated the wheel arch in that corner.
At that time back in November or December, I thew some black rattle can down over the bare metal and missing paint to keep corrosion at bay. I purchased a 12.5oz can of SAAB scarabe green metallic basecoat paint with a vague notion of using it, but not plans. Half a year later, with summer rapidly coming to a close up here in the foothills, I threw together some plans...
I hammered and pried at the wheel arch as best I could. Honestly, this was one of the weaker areas of my efforts, but it would probably have required a slide hammer to have gone further, and I never quite got around to purchasing or borrowing one. There are other avenues I might have explored, but when your main tool is body filler, every problem starts to look like... a place to slap body filler. Even so, I must have applied and sanded six or eight times, and still didn't get the shapes as close as I'd've liked.
The last time I tried to refinish a fender, I was really dissatisfied with the results. I had failed to sand the primer before adding the basecoat, and it went downhill from there. This time, I wetsanded the primer down to 600 grit., and from there, wet-sanded the first basecoat layer and the clearcoat, up to 2000. I kind of screwed this up too, since I removed the masking after the first full wet clearcoat over the painted patch, and it had formed a ridge against the masking tape. At this point, I exhausted my 12.5oz of SAAB basecoat paint, so resigned to leave it an unfeathered patch. It still needs more buffing, but for now, it's sealed up with some fresh wax while the clearcoat hardens.
The car looks okay from a distance, which was really the point. I'm pretty happy with the glossy finish I achieved, so that's progress, but obviously I need to keep practicing. Not too motivated to right now, it's a time sink. I can see why SOP with pros is just to strip and redo the whole door/fender/whatever.
Continued nice work! 
~Brandon~
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This is Bunny. Bunny has the following mods: BNR Supercars GT28RS TC - Mazdaspeed CAI - ACT Streetlite CK - Vibrant TIP - Extreme Turbo Systems TMIC - SLS Performance TP - Magnaflow CBE - James Barone Racing SSP & HSK - Cobb AP - Xcarlink iPod integrator - VG Sharkfin - RX-8 Wheels - Fiber Images CF Hood w/BCM accents
Replaced the stock/stage0 ECU with the retuned stage1 ECU again last week. Did the 300 mile round trip to Glenwood Springs and back on Friday. (If you're ever in Glenwood Springs, do eat at The Pullman, an amazing culinary establishment right next to Hotel Denver and the rail station. The brewpub on the OTHER side of the hotel makes a nice IPA, too-- didn't try their food though).
The SAAB is running really well. I had a blast driving I-70 through the sunny high mountains in moderate traffic in this turbocharged vehicle with the music cranked. The engine seemed to like it too, climbing and accelerating well even as MPGs climbed from the usual 23-25mpg up to 29mpg.
I'm at a point where it feels as though there's not much immediate to do with the car, at least until something goes wrong again, haha. There are some things I'd like to do because they bug me:
Shift linkage feels a little off, 5th requires a little hunting. Haven't realigned since replacing front right engine mount, so it's probably time to fiddle with it again.
Driver seat leather is cracked-- I either find a used SAAB 900 leather seat in good condition (unlikely), try to do some sort of makeshift repair, or just replace them entirely-- I could drop in the SAAB 9-3 black leather seats I've got sitting in my living room. Complicating factor: the 9-3 seat tracks are about two inches wider, so some sort of adapter plate is needed to put it in my earlier 900.
The ride feels like it would benefit from a suspension refresh. I would really like to replace the shocks as well as all the rubber bushings. Maybe Koni shocks, the next time that they are on sale? Otherwise, polyurethane bushings.
Would consider upgrading the brakes, there are two obvious low-cost possibilities. One, retrofit 97-98 model year (slightly larger rotor) brakes onto my 96. This isn't necessarily very expensive, given all the local self-service auto boneyards with relatively whole NG900 SAABs. This may be overkill, though, and so first I'm more inclined to try the stock brakes with EBC Yellowstuff pads, which is what the SAAB forum people seem to like and recommend.
A week or two ago, a crack appeared in the windshield overnight, behind the rearview mirror and trending right. I can only guess it took a rockstrike on the very edge, through the rubber molding. There's not really a visible rock chip, but it seems to start at the top edge of the glass. I'll eventually have to replace the windshield, but hopefully not before next spring. Fingers crossed, it hasn't been a visibility issue so far, but the crack will likely continue to grow in some direction.
Not sure what else to say. I'm throwing a lot of miles toward the SAAB, especially with about 7K (but 11 months) left on my 36K/36mo Mazda3 bumper-to-bumper warranty. May consider winter tires for SAAB, probably not before Nov-Dec timeframe. (Have serviceable snows for civic and mazda3).
The SAAB is running really well. I had a blast driving I-70 through the sunny high mountains in moderate traffic in this turbocharged vehicle with the music cranked. The engine seemed to like it too, climbing and accelerating well even as MPGs climbed from the usual 23-25mpg up to 29mpg.
I'm at a point where it feels as though there's not much immediate to do with the car, at least until something goes wrong again, haha. There are some things I'd like to do because they bug me:
Shift linkage feels a little off, 5th requires a little hunting. Haven't realigned since replacing front right engine mount, so it's probably time to fiddle with it again.
Driver seat leather is cracked-- I either find a used SAAB 900 leather seat in good condition (unlikely), try to do some sort of makeshift repair, or just replace them entirely-- I could drop in the SAAB 9-3 black leather seats I've got sitting in my living room. Complicating factor: the 9-3 seat tracks are about two inches wider, so some sort of adapter plate is needed to put it in my earlier 900.
The ride feels like it would benefit from a suspension refresh. I would really like to replace the shocks as well as all the rubber bushings. Maybe Koni shocks, the next time that they are on sale? Otherwise, polyurethane bushings.
Would consider upgrading the brakes, there are two obvious low-cost possibilities. One, retrofit 97-98 model year (slightly larger rotor) brakes onto my 96. This isn't necessarily very expensive, given all the local self-service auto boneyards with relatively whole NG900 SAABs. This may be overkill, though, and so first I'm more inclined to try the stock brakes with EBC Yellowstuff pads, which is what the SAAB forum people seem to like and recommend.
A week or two ago, a crack appeared in the windshield overnight, behind the rearview mirror and trending right. I can only guess it took a rockstrike on the very edge, through the rubber molding. There's not really a visible rock chip, but it seems to start at the top edge of the glass. I'll eventually have to replace the windshield, but hopefully not before next spring. Fingers crossed, it hasn't been a visibility issue so far, but the crack will likely continue to grow in some direction.
Not sure what else to say. I'm throwing a lot of miles toward the SAAB, especially with about 7K (but 11 months) left on my 36K/36mo Mazda3 bumper-to-bumper warranty. May consider winter tires for SAAB, probably not before Nov-Dec timeframe. (Have serviceable snows for civic and mazda3).
Another two months of relatively smooth sailing. Switched to Castrol EDGE synthetic 10w40 engine oil. I've a dirt driveway that enters a dirt road. The county runs a grader over the road, sometimes leaving a ridge of dirt and rocks at the end of my driveway. When it seems especially bad, I do get out there with a shovel, but I simply hadn't had a chance recently.
Well, anyway, while backing out and passing over this irregularity, I'm used to hearing the middle mudflaps drag, and that's usually it. I back over it slowly usually. This time, I backed over it at a moderate pace instead. There was a ker-clunk and the engine died. Sure enough, when I investigated, I found an eight foot long and four inch wide trail of fuel because the fuel filter (mounted along the front side of the fuel tank, approximately under the rear right passenger door) had been ripped off its mount and then the pump-to-filter supply line had been ripped open.
I managed to cut the holed end off the hard plastic line and get it back over the barbed end of its fuel filter banjo bolt hardware, and the car was able to start, but it was dripping fuel regularly. Still, this was enough to get my car out of the street, back up hill and into my driveway. I made an attempt to properly seat the hard plastic line on the metal barb it attaches to with heat, but this seal did not hold.
Faced with the specter of shelling out $75 or so for a OEM 18" hard plastic fuel line with fittings, I decided to go on a tour of SAAB 900s at upullandpay's Denver and Aurora salvage yards. I "almost" had a good line twice-- the first one started out okay, but was leaking by the time I had separated it from the fuel filter. The second one looked good, but then I discovered someone else had taken the fuel pump and simply cut the line off the check valve assembly on its opposite end. Fun fact: the salvage yards drain the fuel tanks, but don't bother with the fuel lines or filters. I got to get doused in gasoline I think on three separate occasions, removing 1/2-pint volume fuel filter.
Finally, after heading to Aurora, I managed to find an intact fuel line and get it out in one piece. (Picked up some other goodies, including Honda civic parts including wheel well liners as well as that stupid $90 OE new airstream valve only found on '99 and '00 D16Y8s, and then some trim bits to replace recently broken ones on the SAAB) Getting home, I used the fuel pump to drain the tank of its remaining 4.5 gallons, disconnected as much as I could, and then dropped its support belts. I had to use wrapped wire to secure the check valve to the pump itself, a plastic tab intended to do same broke (as they are prone to do, with age). Still, finally, it was all back together, running, and not leaking a drop.
Gods, I hope it's a long time before I need to go anywhere near working on a fuel line or fuel tank again. Just a toxic potentially flammable PITA.
Also: if any of you wonder why I haven't lowered my speed3, or the mazda3 before it, or my civic-- THIS IS WHY. I don't have enough ground clearance as it is. u_u
Well, anyway, while backing out and passing over this irregularity, I'm used to hearing the middle mudflaps drag, and that's usually it. I back over it slowly usually. This time, I backed over it at a moderate pace instead. There was a ker-clunk and the engine died. Sure enough, when I investigated, I found an eight foot long and four inch wide trail of fuel because the fuel filter (mounted along the front side of the fuel tank, approximately under the rear right passenger door) had been ripped off its mount and then the pump-to-filter supply line had been ripped open.
I managed to cut the holed end off the hard plastic line and get it back over the barbed end of its fuel filter banjo bolt hardware, and the car was able to start, but it was dripping fuel regularly. Still, this was enough to get my car out of the street, back up hill and into my driveway. I made an attempt to properly seat the hard plastic line on the metal barb it attaches to with heat, but this seal did not hold.
Faced with the specter of shelling out $75 or so for a OEM 18" hard plastic fuel line with fittings, I decided to go on a tour of SAAB 900s at upullandpay's Denver and Aurora salvage yards. I "almost" had a good line twice-- the first one started out okay, but was leaking by the time I had separated it from the fuel filter. The second one looked good, but then I discovered someone else had taken the fuel pump and simply cut the line off the check valve assembly on its opposite end. Fun fact: the salvage yards drain the fuel tanks, but don't bother with the fuel lines or filters. I got to get doused in gasoline I think on three separate occasions, removing 1/2-pint volume fuel filter.
Finally, after heading to Aurora, I managed to find an intact fuel line and get it out in one piece. (Picked up some other goodies, including Honda civic parts including wheel well liners as well as that stupid $90 OE new airstream valve only found on '99 and '00 D16Y8s, and then some trim bits to replace recently broken ones on the SAAB) Getting home, I used the fuel pump to drain the tank of its remaining 4.5 gallons, disconnected as much as I could, and then dropped its support belts. I had to use wrapped wire to secure the check valve to the pump itself, a plastic tab intended to do same broke (as they are prone to do, with age). Still, finally, it was all back together, running, and not leaking a drop.
Gods, I hope it's a long time before I need to go anywhere near working on a fuel line or fuel tank again. Just a toxic potentially flammable PITA.
Also: if any of you wonder why I haven't lowered my speed3, or the mazda3 before it, or my civic-- THIS IS WHY. I don't have enough ground clearance as it is. u_u
chromal wrote:Dip the rejoined-but-leaky barb-to-hardline In boiling water? I heard about the "blowtorch + boiling soup can of water" approach, all I tried was an electric heat gun.
just ignore me, I may have been in a 'state' when i posted that, I didn't read the post and was referring to the picture where you have it primed,
Didn't realize you already painted the car, you did a great job!
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The SAAB's still truckin'. Tonight I drained out the coolant, replaced the engine thermostat, and swapped the coolant expansion tank with one in better shape. New Zerex g-05 coolant. The driver door lock mechanism is giving me trouble, so I may additionally be removing door cards to grease in-door mechanisms soon.
update:
Ultimately removed the driver side door card. There's not a lot of great access to the interior of the door, though I greased what I could see with some spray white lithium grease, and also re-torqued the latch/lock mechanism (losened then tightened again). This last step seemed to unbind something and the lock seems to be working smoothly again.
Drove the SAAB down to Broomfield and back on an errand. Happily, the air conditioning repair a year ago still seems to be holding its own.
There are a lot of little implications to going from a stuck-open thermostat to a working one, beyond the obvious one of engine oil viscosity. One is that on a cool day the engine ECU will run the fuel mix in open loop until 155'F or so, and almost any amount of coasting would drop the coolant below that temperature. Another is that on a warm day, the AC condenser coils and the intercooler are stacked in front of the radiator and themselves become hot with a continually heat soaked radiator. Obviously the heater works better, too.
Long story short, the car seems to be running well, particularly in response to the thermostat refresh. This was one of those slowly worsening problems, basically, it wouldn't close fully, and it took cold February weather to make it plain what was wrong.
update:
Ultimately removed the driver side door card. There's not a lot of great access to the interior of the door, though I greased what I could see with some spray white lithium grease, and also re-torqued the latch/lock mechanism (losened then tightened again). This last step seemed to unbind something and the lock seems to be working smoothly again.
Drove the SAAB down to Broomfield and back on an errand. Happily, the air conditioning repair a year ago still seems to be holding its own.
There are a lot of little implications to going from a stuck-open thermostat to a working one, beyond the obvious one of engine oil viscosity. One is that on a cool day the engine ECU will run the fuel mix in open loop until 155'F or so, and almost any amount of coasting would drop the coolant below that temperature. Another is that on a warm day, the AC condenser coils and the intercooler are stacked in front of the radiator and themselves become hot with a continually heat soaked radiator. Obviously the heater works better, too.
Long story short, the car seems to be running well, particularly in response to the thermostat refresh. This was one of those slowly worsening problems, basically, it wouldn't close fully, and it took cold February weather to make it plain what was wrong.
upullandpay is doing some kind of cross-promotion with a local area radio station. "Buy one, get one of equal or lesser value, free." It was pretty ugly, though-- the place was as crowded as I've seen it, and there were no wheelbarrows available, so I had to mostly concentrate on small high-value stuff I could carry out with my tools.
Today's haul:
(2x) SAAB Trionic 5.5 ECU
(2x) Coolant expansion tank + cap
(2x) MAP sensor
(2x) IAT sensor
(1x) APC valve (boost controller)
I also found an un-cracked interior trim piece to replace the one that I cracked when taking the driver side door card off a few weeks back.
Price paid: About $75.
While I'm all for keeping a spare around, I may list extras of these on SAAB forum classifieds or ebay.
Today's haul:
(2x) SAAB Trionic 5.5 ECU
(2x) Coolant expansion tank + cap
(2x) MAP sensor
(2x) IAT sensor
(1x) APC valve (boost controller)
I also found an un-cracked interior trim piece to replace the one that I cracked when taking the driver side door card off a few weeks back.
Price paid: About $75.
While I'm all for keeping a spare around, I may list extras of these on SAAB forum classifieds or ebay.
Spent some time last weekend working on the SAAB. I had picked up some EBC Yellowstuff 4000 pads for both the front and rear brakes, and the weather and my schedule left a nice opening to finally refresh the brakes on all four corners.
The job was relatively straightforward, aside from one of the rear rotor mount screws was seized and stripped its philipshead. I wound up using a dremel tool to cut across the stripped screw head and getting it out with a large flathead screwdriver. The rotors all went to a local NAPA auto parts, where they machined all four rotors for $40. Rotors back on the car, I installed the pads and new brake hardware, flushed the brakes.
Upon first drive, it was obvious the EBCs were very good brake pads, strong initial bite that only gets better as you lean into the pedal. Now, I can lock the wheels and kick in the ABS when doing a panic stop. Couldn't, before. I suspect the last brake job the prior owner did was at a franchise brake shop that put pads on that didn't meet OE spec. The EBC goes beyond OE spec, and the contrast is amazing. The SAAB's brakes feel and work a lot more like my MS3's, now. It's a huge confidence booster in the twisties and mountains. The EBCs produce a lot of dust, and I don't mind at all.
Unfortunately, I did discover that there's some considerable rust on the rear right shock-to-body mount. I picked most of that away (undercoat, at least one layer of body steel below) with my bare fingers. Uncorrected, this shock may eventually punch through the body here. It's a common malady, even on Colorado SAABs, from what I've seen on the forums. Fixes, after removing rust, range from washers+JB weld to welded-in patches. It's a big job, though, and will necessitate the removal of the rear suspension's shocks from the vehicle. Well, that's a problem for another day.
The job was relatively straightforward, aside from one of the rear rotor mount screws was seized and stripped its philipshead. I wound up using a dremel tool to cut across the stripped screw head and getting it out with a large flathead screwdriver. The rotors all went to a local NAPA auto parts, where they machined all four rotors for $40. Rotors back on the car, I installed the pads and new brake hardware, flushed the brakes.
Upon first drive, it was obvious the EBCs were very good brake pads, strong initial bite that only gets better as you lean into the pedal. Now, I can lock the wheels and kick in the ABS when doing a panic stop. Couldn't, before. I suspect the last brake job the prior owner did was at a franchise brake shop that put pads on that didn't meet OE spec. The EBC goes beyond OE spec, and the contrast is amazing. The SAAB's brakes feel and work a lot more like my MS3's, now. It's a huge confidence booster in the twisties and mountains. The EBCs produce a lot of dust, and I don't mind at all.
Unfortunately, I did discover that there's some considerable rust on the rear right shock-to-body mount. I picked most of that away (undercoat, at least one layer of body steel below) with my bare fingers. Uncorrected, this shock may eventually punch through the body here. It's a common malady, even on Colorado SAABs, from what I've seen on the forums. Fixes, after removing rust, range from washers+JB weld to welded-in patches. It's a big job, though, and will necessitate the removal of the rear suspension's shocks from the vehicle. Well, that's a problem for another day.
LOL, I won't say the car hasn't been needy, but mostly its been peripheral things (knock on wood). Pretty much everything that I have done with it has been at the rock-bottom cost necessary to do it right, though pragmatically, that means some fixes have been kind of open-ended projects. Mostly, this works because it's not my only car, so I can manage issues with it without much pressure.
I can't quite put my finger on why I like this SAAB.. It's weird that a 17-old SAAB would be one of my most comfortable and amusing rides.
I can't quite put my finger on why I like this SAAB.. It's weird that a 17-old SAAB would be one of my most comfortable and amusing rides.
-
RX-7 Chris
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that is a nasty spot for rust and it does look like an easy spot to fix. Is it like that on both sides?
1984 RX-7 GSL-SE [size=84]My restomod project[/SIZE]
1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL flat black w/ white interior, 2 dr fastback, 390 thunderbird, C6 auto, 2500 rpm high stall converter, shift kit, AC, Holley 750 cfm
[size=100]RIP 1983 RX-7[/SIZE]
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