TSG's Unified Fleet Thread

[thesameguy]

Well, no word from the seller on a time for tomorrow, so maybe it's off. Never know with weirdos selling cheap cars.

Also, USPS DOUBLE BUNGLED my damned package.

[thesameguy]

I went and looked at that cheap 9-3 this morning, and possibly against better judgment, I pulled the trigger.



It was disgusting when I picked it up - I'll share some pictures later, but it's very clear that it sat for a long time. There were two consecutive non-ops on it, so at least two years. Spent a lot of time cleaning it this afternoon to get a sense of the situation... good news is that it cleans up pretty good!

It's still a mystery mechanically, but it did make a 40 mile drive without incident. No weird noises, no leaks. Definitely needs a mountain of work, but it (so far) is all stuff I would be doing anyway to prep it, so the upshot is I didn't pay for things I'd need to replicate.

Step One is going to be doing some recon on the mechanical side, then I'll get to actually fixing stuff. With a $760 entry price, I feel like I should be fine executing my mission even as I generate a four-figure parts order.

[CudaMan]

A sub-$1k car that looks that good and drives? You've already won.

[thesameguy]

Hopefully. The 9-3 is a collection of expensive repairs, you just hope you find the right intersection of price and needs. Like a lot of high line cars, I suppose. So far, things seem pretty good. Plugged the VIN into thesaabsite.com - it appears to have every option available in '01 - HOT, dual power seats, OnStar, 6-speaker audio, "sport chassis", the whole nine yards. Good place to start. The interior cleaned up really nicely - a couple broken things, but no sign of actual damage or abuse.



The car must have been parked under a tree, because *every* crevice is filled with piles of dead leaves & such. Like this, everywhere:



Took a long time to vacuum everything and clear out gutters and such of caked on dirt. Oh, and lots of spiderwebs and lots of spiders.



I am not a fan, but it's better than rodents so I won't complain. And nothing ugly on the underside, either.



All four almost-new tires are totally dry-rotted and wrecked, so they gotta be replaced:



So, I got to work today. Step One was check fuel pressure and do a compression test. Fuel pressure is a rock-solid 39psi at idle which is good stuff. Compression seems a bit disappointing - 145psi +/- 2psi across all four on a warm engine - but it's consistent so maybe just a broken-in engine. Plugs looked good cold and still after warming up (nice even tan color) and are the correct NGK plugs, so that's positive. No glaring warning signs.

I decided to pull off the whole front section of the exhaust to give me maximum room to work, and, honestly, so I could vacuum the back of the engine.



I was not looking forwards to reaching in there... I've found two black widows so far so I didn't want to risk finding a third the hard way. I know I'm gonna have to deal with this craptastropiece:



That is the oil separator that's supposed to bolted to the back of engine zip-tied sideways to the strut brace, and some insane mishmash of hoses and check valves. I have no idea how something like this could happen.

With the exhaust off, it was only a couple minutes to get the oil pan out so I knocked it out. These cars are susceptible to sludge in the oil pan like Toyotas and Audis, so given the signs I thought it best to check. Happily, it looked really good in there:



Only thing to speak of was a collection of particles swimming around down there:



I suspect it got a bit crusty from sitting for so long, and when the guy I bought it from changed the oil and I put some miles on it some of the buildup got loosened up. But, no sludge and still no real warning signs.

Even compression, no sludge... Next step is figuring out why the car has an intermittent harsh shift. The motor mounts don't look bad so my next plan is a fluid change. It does look pretty nasty. I'll probably try a fluid replacement while it's up in the air. I'm in pause mode while I wait for the first delivery of parts - things I need to put the oil pan back on.

[thesameguy]

Also -

The reason I was able to get to work on this 9-3 is because I finally got everything for the Aero wrapped up -



As always, in doing detail work like this I found other flaws in the body which will now aggravate me, but nothing is going to change, and it looks super from a couple feet away. In a way, I'm glad the bumper got damaged - I really like having it in perfect shape.

Also fired up the 3D printer over the weekend for the first time in many, many months. I made an enclosure for the device ("combi adapter") used to program Trionic ECMs. Turned out exceptionally I think:



I'm not doing anything that I'd expected to with this device - the flexibility and quality and durability just isn't there - but I am making quick work of otherwise difficult and annoying things.

[dodint]

Shiny!

[thesameguy]

It's real pretty when it has all its parts.

[thesameguy]

Decided I might as well get working on the transmission fluid change. It's definitely happening, and I'm hoping that by working over several days I can get a bit more old fluid out that I would otherwise. These pan-less transmissions are a big PITA, I tell you.

Old fluid out is gross.



I use a big measuring cup so I can track exactly how much comes out, giving me a good place to start on how much goes back in. I drained from the regular drain plug, but also removed the two banjo bolts from the oil cooler. Got just shy of 5 quarts out, so even a single drain should be productive.

I did trace and label the ports:



On Volvos with the same transmission, a good method is to let the transmission pump out a quart at a time via the cooler lines, but they're in better places on those cars. I don't think that method would work very well on the Saab. Too bad, it's easy. So, I'll do this 5 quart drain twice, replacing the sealing washers on the cooler hoses and drain plug on the second pass and call it good. Or, as good as it's gonna get.

While doing this work, I may have determined a contributor to the harsh shift behavior:



VERY NICE! I had to place my third parts order in three days. Makin' it rain... Saab parts.

While I was down there, I snapped this:



All the suspension parts do look to be in good shape. They may fall apart once put back into service, but right this second there isn't a big reason to suspect them as a problem.

In theory, with the O-rings, PCV system, and transmission mount that are en route plus swapping wheels 'n' tires from the parts car and a fluid refill this car should be roadworthy. It'll need some miles to determine other needs... which hopefully are few or none... and then I guess knock out the couple remaining items - filter change, cooling system, AC system, and maybe a gratuitous fuel pump.

[thesameguy]

Got the tiny first round of parts in... three O-rings and some Loctite 518. It was underwhelming.

But, it was enough to put the oil pan back on, so that's good. One O-ring for the oil pickup tube two O-rings for the turbo oil supply pipe. Check out the strainer on the pickup tube:



Some weird stuff in there.

No weird stuff here.



It's back together now, so hopefully there's no weird stuff in there. IDK.

I spent some time on Mouser's website Sunday night, and ordered some TE Power Timer terminals:



It's not particularly exciting, but it means at long last I can expertly repurpose all the fuse and relay holders I've scavenged from Saabs. I'm sure that will come in handy!

[thesameguy]

So the latest work-related vehicle to come into my life is a 2001 Xterra. I'm on the periphery of this - I didn't source it and I'm not responsible for keeping it, but I did end up with the dubious task of picking it up, and subsequently getting repairs done. The thing is a real POS - it looks good enough, but it's been mechanically ignored so it's riddled with issues. Unlike the 528i and the Santa Fe, I feel absolutely no responsibility here to "make good" on my recommendation, because this thing was not my recommendation. So it's getting serviced by Professionals.

I just picked it up from the shop, where they:

1. Put two new tires on, because the front two were alignment-worn bald - $330 parts, $30 labor
2. Put two new calipers on, because the front right one was seized - $390 - $290 parts, $100 labor
3. Put two new ball joints on, because idk - $690 - $190 parts, $500 labor

It's been a long time since I've looked at a professional repair bill on an old car, but JESUS CHRIST how does anyone afford this crap? Definitely lends clarity to why someone would happily take on a $250/mo car payment. Just making this thing brake straight cost four months of payments.

Sheesh.