Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

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Richard Moss
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Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:32 pm

Looking a lot like the old one, but so much better in almost every respect, here is my recently purchased Saab 9-3 2.0 SE turbo auto.

Bought cheap in Dubai because the hood mechanism was knackered, it had one Brit expat owner for the first 16 years of its life and a Portuguese guy for the next. Now it's mine. Locally supplied, full dealer service up to 200,000km (serviced every 5000km/3125 miles) and now has 207,000km on the clock (130,000 miles).

It has really good aircon, really useless seat heaters (useless because they'll never be used) and a rather "OMG that's hot" black leather interior. I got it for GBP 1500.

The hood problem was broken hydraulic lines (it has 5 hydraulic jacks and 10 hoses connected to a pump in the boot) and the last owner was quoted GBP 2500 by the ex-Saab dealer in Dubai to have all the hoses replaced. I bought a good used pump and hose set for under GBP 100 on ebay (including postage) and got it all up an running. I've added a steering brace to firm up the very floppy steering feel that these things have and also avoid their infamous cracked bulkhead problem, as well as doing a load of servicing stuff. They are also infamous for grot collecting in the sump and blocking the engine oil pickup, so I dropped the sump and cleaned that out.

A few vacuum hoses etc have been replaced after perishing, a good, used header tank replaced the cracked one and so far I've had 7 months of fun. The power easily overwhelms the abilities of the chassis, the ride is rough over uneven surfaces thanks to very low profile tyres, but it's pretty civilised as long as you don't hit the go pedal too hard :)

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Steering brace (better photos needed)

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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:42 pm

Dropping the sump requires most of the subframe bolts to be removed and the remaining one to be loosened. View from below with work in progress
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Grotty oil pick up.
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Grottier sump
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Clean :)
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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by CHR15E » Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:46 am

I've always thought they were a decent looking car.

My other half hasn't been impressed everytime I've showed her though. :D Though I like the ones with the silly bodykits.
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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Richard Moss » Sun Jul 29, 2018 3:08 pm

They're surprisingly small, it looks tiny compared to a Focus. It's an interesting rehash of a mk3 Cavalier.

The only real issue with it is the colour - my least favourite (after white). I'm hoping that it will turn out to be a reliable daily driver.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Charles827si » Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:14 pm

The 9-3 model is regarded as the first car in the world which gained the maximum rating at the Euro NCAP crash tests. The saloon had side airbag curtains. The convertible will be an interesting project for sure, will be reading this topic as it 'unfolds'.
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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:11 pm

I think Saabs are a bit of a "Marmite" car, had a 900i 5-dr for a while. Lovely car, no problems (except a voracious thirst!) but just couldn't get on with it.

Drove a 9-3 TDi about 15 years ago, again, nice enough but couldn't live with it daily.

Hope all goes well with yours, you obviously like them and get on with them and have sorted the usual problems already. :wink: :D
Cheers,
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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Richard Moss » Thu Sep 13, 2018 9:50 pm

The photos are thumbnails, click on them for the full size view.

I've fitted new tyres to the Saab because the old ones were 4 years old and had gone hard (the heat and UV do that here). The standard size is an unusual 205/50 R15, not easy to get hold of (only Dunlops available here) and I was worried that if I used the same again, I might struggle to find a replacement if I had a puncture. So I've gone up to 205/55 R15 which were the same price, and I stuck with Dunlops because they're decent tyres. They fill the arches better, ride better, grip better and are quieter. Result :)

The new tyres make it much nicer to drive

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Purely for aesthetic reasons, I also fitted 5mm spacers to try to eliminate that "tyres too small for the car" look that the 900 and 9-3 have. Because the wheels are held on with bolts (yuck) rather than studs and nuts (easier to use) I also bought some 5mm longer bolts which have the added advantage of being shiny, rather than corroded like the old ones. It's only an extra 5mm but, as they say, every little helps.

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Then, 10 days ago whilst driving home from work, the aircon compressor started making an awful noise and when I switched to ECON to cut out the compressor, it stayed active. I guessed that this meant a stuck aircon clutch and combined with apparent impending seizure (indicated by a slipping serpentine belt which had started to smoke) I knew that I was heading for trouble. Then one of the hoses blew (due to overpressure?) so with out side air temperatures at 47C I had a warm drive home.

I looked at the engine bay and thought "bugger, that's going to be a sod of a job" and decided that I wouldn't mess about, I'd fit a new compressor. Prices ranged from £83 to £750 so I settled on a cheap one from Rockauto.com - £200 including shipping from the USA for compressor, receiver dryer, expansion valve and gasket set. That arrived a couple of days ago and so I had no excuse, I had to do it.

Research via Saab forums actually showed that it was perhaps not as bad as I thought, despite the compressor hiding beneath the exhaust manifold, turbo, PAS pumps and (seemingly) a million pipes and hoses. I forgot to take photos during disassembly, so I've got reassembly ones, shown backwards :)

First, I removed the right hand undertray (not shown) and then the plastic spalshguards in the wheel arch, the intake resonator box and its associated support panel.
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Up top, I removed the trunking between the turbo inlet and the filter box, then the box and airflow meter itself, to give easy access to the serpentine belt which is VERY close to the chassis leg (827 owners will be familiar with this issue)
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I released the belt tension using a couple of 1/2" socket extensions, braced against the convenient strut brace. Maybe that design was intentional, perhaps just lucky coincidence.
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I then removed the turbo air hoses, radiator hoses and relocated a few wires and I also took out the headlight to give better access. Then removed the manifold pipe, including the blown hose, and sent it off for repair. It needed to come out anyway, to remove the compressor.
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Fixed:
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Underneath, I undid the 3 bolts holding the compressor and with all that trunking and hoses out of the way, it was easily dropped down from below the exhaust manifold. Bunging the new one back in was a piece of cake and it was pre-filled with PAG oil, so one thing less to worry about.
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All radiator hoses were replaced as I went (I didn't fancy having to dismantle everything again) and after getting the car back in one piece, I sprayed everything with degreaser and hit it with the pressure washer.
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I ordered replacement belt tensioner and idler pulleys but they haven't arrived yet so I'll have to replace them at a later date. That will mean that the filter box will have to come out again - I'll do that job when it's cooler.

This is the manky old compressor. The pulley was no longer true and had at least 5 degrees of wobble. It seems ok other than that but I wasn't going to mess about trying to patch it up when a new one cost just £83.
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I got it regassed and leak checked by an aircon specialist. Regassing in progress- success. No leaks and nice cool air. It's always only just been powerful enough to cope with the local temperatures, but I think that it's a european spec car.
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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by SJG » Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:47 am

I've missed your repair reports Richard!
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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by scoobyh123 » Fri Sep 14, 2018 7:47 am

Looks to be a good job jobbed Richard! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Manalishi » Sat Sep 15, 2018 6:14 am

Saab. Nice cars when they work. :) But any Saab convertible is a future classic!
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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:10 am

SJG wrote:
Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:47 am
I've missed your repair reports Richard!
Stick with me - it's a European car in a hostile environment, so there will be more to come. :)

I'm still working on the issue of it over-boosting and I'm reasonably sure it's down to a faulty boost bypass valve. These high output turbos use the bypass valve to bleed air away from the wastegate control, conning it into thinking that it's only producing half the boost that it is actually making, so that it will pump up to around 15psi.

According to my boost gauge (and my backside) it's spiking to over 20psi and hitting the boost cut. Disconnecting the electrical plug on the boost control valve drops it back to default settings of around 8psi and makes it much nicer to drive, but does bring on the check engine light. My fault code reader seems to confirm my diagnosis, so I'll be shopping again soon.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Bjorn Again (another Saab convertible)

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Feb 06, 2021 8:02 pm

Manalishi wrote:
Sat Sep 15, 2018 6:14 am
Saab. Nice cars when they work. :)
To be honest, that is a very fair comment.

It's been a long time since I updated this thread and quite a few repairs have been completed on the way.

That replacement compressor failed, so had to be replaced by a "replacement replacement" and then one of the flexible hoses failed. Coupled with relocating from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi, I had to just park it up for a while. I eventually got a replacement hose made up and all is well now.

Before that, the whole aftermarket dump valve setup was removed and replaced with second hand original parts, returning it all to normal - giving a 10psi boost which is, quite frankly, plenty.

The hydraulics for the hood mechanism are holding up nicely, although at least one of the hood jacks has a weep so I need to top up the hydraulic fluid every few months (no great hardship).

The polythene spacer inside the balljoint on the gear selector cable failed, meaning that getting any gear involved a bit of fiddling - not a problem when driving an automatic, but awkward for getting started as the engine will only start in P or R. An aftermarket brass replacement from Ebay.com did the job but, like everything in the engine bay of this car, involved a load of dismantling before I could even get to the bloody thing. It should last forever, now.

The driveshaft CV boots all failed - so required the front suspension to be dismantled to replace them all, during which time I found one suspension balljoint worn out due to the boot failing and the grease escaping. they are, of course, not replaceable individually but have to be sourced as part of a complete lower suspension arm (not too bad at about 25 quid via the internet). Of course, guess who ordered the right hand one when he needed the left - leading to a delay of a week or so? :roll: On the plus side, both sides got done :lol:

Quite a few minor things have needed doing but with no dealer network and no (affordable) supply of aftermarket parts here, I am largely dependent upon the internet. Ebay (UK and US), UK companies Parts For Saabs (new parts) and Rawsaab (used parts) have been an absolute godsend, as have the awesome (and I use that word in its true sense) Rockauto.com from the USA who supply many new parts for my Jeeps and this Saab at (mostly) cracking good prices. Quite simply, I'd be stuffed without the WWW. Shipping company Aramex get the stuff here within about 4-5 days on the whole.

I tend to buy stuff in anticipation (eg CV boots) knowing that their time will come and minimising down time as a result. The timings for oil and air filters can be predicted pretty well and many other jobs just need generic parts (relays, wiring, nuts and bolts) and some creativity.

This has been my daily driver for months now - 45 miles each way, hood up in the morning in the (frequent) dense fog, hood down in the evening sunshine - and other than some trouble starting (traced to corroded contacts on the power lead to the starter motor), it has been performing nicely, averaging 32-35mpg at 70 odd mph. It's ****ing quick, too :shock: The heated seats have been used a few times on the colder mornings, too.

It is also, quite possibly, now the only one in the country - so it does get noticed, even if it is the worst possible colour. It does feel small, though, when surrounded by Landcruisers and Patrols.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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