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  1. #11
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    1,520
    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    I can't just not drive this car. The roads were dry today, so no salt spray, but there was still plenty of hard packed snow. So I drove the 900 on summer tires to the nearby supermarket to get some groceries. At first I had to clear snow from the car as it was covered in about six inches of snow.

    This was yesterday I have been driving the 9-5 because it has winter tires on.


    Drove slow and got there without sliding. Roads were empty, temperature outside was 8 below zero (Celsius). After I come out of the supermarket and put my groceries on the Saab, I return the shopping cart to the corral, and as I return to the car there is a man standing there, kinda waiting for me. Odd, but rural Bavaria is extremely safe, so I wasn't alarmed. As I got closer to the car the guy asks me something in German, but with a thick, odd accent. I asked him to repeat and speak slowly as my German is Scheiße. He seems surprised and asks me if I am German, I say no, American. He then switched to a much better English, told me he's from Hungary (his Ford Focus next to my Saab had H plates), said he's a fan of Saab but they're rare and expensive in Hungary. He asked me if I wanted to sell mine, to which I told him yes but for 2,000 Euro (which is too much for a non turbo), which he kindly declined. He says he wants to buy a classic 900 in Germany, and will have the car trucked to Hungary. I wished him luck.

    Picture from tonight, car still snowy
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  2. #12
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
    Join Date
    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    1,520
    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Well, it seems we won't have a white Xmas here as today it was five degrees Celsius, and it rained all day, most of the snow around us has been washed away. So unless it dumps snow on the next two days we'll have a mushy Xmas.

    Tonight I took the C900 out for a drive in the rain, and those Pirelli Snowcontrol Series II tires are excellent in the wet! These tires inspire confidence. In the snow it is also very good. I like them better than the Michelin Primacy Alpins on the 9-5, but it's hard to compare two different sized tires on two different sized cars, so I won't. For a C900 however, the Pirellis are excellent. I recommend these tires, mine are sized 185/65-15.


    Some developments: I took the car to Saab Kellerman in Erlangen, and their Saab master mechanic took a look at the car. He was like a kid, smiling as he poked around my car, he said the 8v non turbo is his favorite Saab engine. Well, what he said about my shifting problem is that my engine mounts are good, my rubber shifting coupling is good, and my shifting bushings are good, so the problem can only be internal to the transmission, which is not a good thing to hear. He said I probably have some internal play inside the box that does not allow for precise shifts. His English was OK but not perfect, so I missed on all the proper technical terms. I told him I have been driving the car like this since May, for over 10,000 km, so he doesn't think I should worry too much about it, and should just be gentle changing gears. Ultimately to fix this I'll have to open the box and rebuild it, or install another transmission that is known to be good. I guess I'll just shift gingerly now.

    He also took a look at my oil leak, which I thought was the oil pump. Well, again he told me that no, that was not the problem. My oil pump has no leaks. I seem to have two leaks: one, from the cylinder head cover gasket. And another one from the power steering reservoir. He said either I have a hairline crack at the filler neck of the reservoir, or my reservoir cap is bad. He thinks the cap is bad as when it is installed it doesn't feel really tight, he said it should feel tighter. This car has mechanical lifters and it's due for a check/adjustment, so I'll bring the car in sometime in January and have him do the lifters, which will take care of the leak on the head cover gasket as he'll have to put a new one. On the power steering reservoir I'll have to look for a solution, probably buying a known good used power steering reservoir and cap, on the likely possibility that a brand new reservoir isn't available any more.

    He was very impressed at how well my 900 runs, leak and sloppy shifting aside...

    One thing I didn't mention to him as I had already looked into it was the fact that sometimes when I shift into fifth gear I go past the reverse shift lock-out mechanism without having to pull up on the lever. That is a classical problem on the C900 that is usually fixed by pulling out the shift lever and adjusting the reverse lock-out pin to 22mm +- 0.5mm. I pulled mine out to check its length but adjustment wasn't necessary as it was dead set at 22mm. The problem was elsewhere.

    Looking into the shift box, right at its very bottom, one can see on the left side a white ridge, which is the actual lock-out ramp. Pulling on the reverse shift ring the pin goes up and ove this ridge. The problem on my 900 is that this ramp, which is made of some hard plastic material (HDPE, phenolic, etc), is actually worn into a small crescent moon shape, hereby defeating the lock-out feature.

    The picture below illustrates this, the white piece on the left of the shift box can be seen with the crescent wear pattern (it's a bit dirty in there, I know it). I am not sure if that plastic piece is replaceable (I think it should be since it is a wear part...), but on its unavailability I'll have to either adjust my shift pin to be longer than 22.5mm and hope it doesn't somehow interfere with something else, or to replace the shift box, and hope to get one that isn't worn... has anyone faced this problem before, is that plastic piece replaceable?
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  3. #13
    Ray
    Saab Fan
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    03 Dec 2012
    Location
    Laois Ireland
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    7
    Saab(s)
    1999 9-3 2.0i 2001 95 2.0t
    A really nice looking SAAB.

  4. #14
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Quote Originally Posted by Lennie View Post
    A really nice looking SAAB.
    Thank you Lennie!

    Well, after talking to the Saab mechanic at Kellerman and being told that basically I will need another transmission to shift correctly I have been on the look out for used transmissions. I have found a shop 1 hour away from here that specializes on Saab 900s, they have transmissions from 250-450 Euro, depending on mileage and whether it has Type 6 or Type 7 primary gears. My car has Type 6, but I think I'd like Type 7 for lower rpms on the Autobahn. I'd gain some gear height at low speeds, but I think the first gear in this car is low enough as it is, a bit higher won't hurt. Besides I don't think I'll ever have this car fully loaded with passengers and luggage. I also found someone 1.5 hours from here selling a B201 engine with a 5 speed transmission, Type 6 primary, for 125 Euro, was taken off a crashed 900 with 135,000 km. As much as that's a good deal I have no use for the extra engine, and would have to find a place to store that lump. Anyone got any suggestions?

    Well, today I went out for a drive (again), and it barely feels like winter as you'll see from the picture below. No snow to be seen anywhere. Temperatures have been reaching 39-42 degrees in the day, and close to 32 at night, and we've been having rain and drizzle all the time. It hardly feels like winter anymore, it's more like fall without the amber and red leaves. The temperature has been so warm the farmers are working the fields again, trying to get a quick harvest in the middle of winter...

    On a forestry road near home






    Guess who came along for the ride?








    I like the photogenic wood piles left all around the countryside. I wonder if people just get wood from these piles for free. They're always by the road and no one is watching them, and I never see wood for sale elsewhere, but I also never see anyone getting wood from these piles.


    Moosey got in the picture again


    Another thing that is sprinkled all over the Bavarian countryside are these crosses. There is sually just one single cross, sometimes they're rough stone jobs, other times they're visibly part of some old ruin, in this case they were three wooden crosses. First time I see three of them together.


    Finally, almost home and in very little light left I found this huge pile of wood, must have been four times higher than the Saab. Unfortunately the field right across it was extremely muddy and I had to climb on some logs to take the picture. It doesn't do justice and doesn't show scale very well.
    Last edited by rpiereck; 31 December 2012 at 20:42.
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  5. #15
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
    Join Date
    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    1,520
    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    I just found this picture of another Saab that is very similar to mine (same color and all), and now I'm having ideas... blacken the chrome strips, lowering springs, dark sids turn signals, perhaps clear corners? This is one sweet looking 900! I always thought of white as a very bland color, but this is nice!
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  6. #16
    Dave T.
    Super Moderator Dave T's Avatar
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    03 Aug 2010
    Location
    near Seattle, Washington
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    1,515
    Saab(s)
    1999 9-3SE (2013-2015), 2005 9-3 (2005-2013), 1990 900 (1990-2003)
    Quote Originally Posted by rpiereck View Post
    ... and now I'm having ideas... blacken the chrome strips, lowering springs, dark sids turn signals, perhaps clear corners? This is one sweet looking 900! I always thought of white as a very bland color, but this is nice!
    Chrome strips blackened: up to you. The turbo did not have it blackened on the bottom

    Lowering springs: good, as long as not too extreme.

    Turn signals: NO! The orange and white underneath is a Saab classic! The whites light up when turning, which is not found in other cars and now illegal in some countries, which is why the 9-3 lack them.

    If you are restless, look for some SPG wheels or fog lights.

  7. #17
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
    Join Date
    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave T View Post
    Turn signals: NO! The orange and white underneath is a Saab classic! The whites light up when turning, which is not found in other cars and now illegal in some countries, which is why the 9-3 lack them.
    Yes, I am torn between the white Carlsson look and the classic orange on top. I actually like orange on turn signals, and a pet peeve of mine is red rear turn signals on some cars; it looks cheap! As for the white lights illuminating on a turn, my C900 doesn't have them. None of the Saabs I ever had (all three!) had them, although I heard some do.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave T View Post
    If you are restless, look for some SPG wheels or fog lights.
    For wheels I got my Ronal Silverspokes, they have my summer tires on. The current wheels have winters. My 900 has the old style bolt pattern so the SPG wheels don't fit. This is old school here!

    I have a set of Bosch fog lights that I am still to mount, I went to a local store and bought hardware to mount them, but ended up being the wrong size. I'll probably go by there tomorrow and get the right hardware.
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  8. #18
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
    Join Date
    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Life has been crazy here, my six month old is keeping mom and dad extremely busy, some days I am having dinner at 10 or 11 pm... being a dad is definitely a full time job!

    Today however I managed to take some time in the garage to install the Momo Saab Sport three-spoke steering wheel I got on eBay a while back. I had been putting off installing the wheel because I didn't have a 22 mm socket. But then this morning I remembered I had one of those cross-type lug nut wrenches that have two standard and two metric sizes, one of them being 22 mm! So I removed the Nardi wheel, and less than five minutes later I had the Momo wheel installed. Easy Peasy! Since I didn't have a socket I couldn't get it to the recommended torque, but I am not driving the car until Sunday morning when I'll be headed to the Auto Skills Center on base to change the oil and fix a small rust spot on the body (winter taking its toll!), and then I will properly torque the nut, as well as install a small bead of blue loctite on it for good measure.

    Crappy cell picture, better pics come later.
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  9. #19
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
    Join Date
    24 Jul 2011
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    Ansbach, Germany
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    1,520
    Saab(s)
    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    The winter has reared its ugly head, and road salt has taken a toll on my car. On the left body panel right behind the passenger door there was an ugly rusty boil underneath the black rubber piece, with a nasty looking brown streak of rusty water leaving its trail on the white body color.


    Today I wanted to assess the damage and do my best to at least slow down the decay, and plan my next move to fix this for good.

    I put the car on a low lift, pulled out the black piece (stuck on with double sided tape), and found out the culprit is a factory installed hole on the body panel. Come on Saab, do I need unused holes on my body panels? With a flap wheel and a drill I removed as much of the original rust boil as I could. Unfortunately I found out the rust was pitted heavily, with one area going through the metal (1/4"to the top right of the factory square hole you can see a rust hole).


    After cleaning the rust as best as I could with available supplies I sanded the area, cleaned it with some denatured alcohol, and put three coats of primer on it to keep air and salt away from it. I then covered it with gaffer tape to keep salt away from it on the way home. Arriving home I covered all the holes with plastic packing tape as a tough weather proof barrier to keep moisture and salt on the outside of the car where it should be.


    Arriving home I started researching the proper and final rust repair. I could either cut away the metal and weld in a new piece, or I could just go with a filler media, much like Bondo. I am electing to go the Bondo way, because a) my welding skills sucks, b) the car really isn't worth that much, and c) I will be using the Bondo to cover up small depressions where the rust pitted through, and those areas will get covered by the black rubber trim piece in the end. So what I will do is remove all visible vestiges of rust with a Dremel, then apply some naval jelly to really get rid of corrosion. After that it's a few coats of primer, then factory matched Cirrus White paint, Saab color code 153B.


    I imagine however that this is not the only hole that has rusted, just the one that was the most visible because of the ugly brown stain it caused. So my project for this car this year will be to remove all the black rubber trim around the car, fix whatever rust I find, and re-install the trim pieces with plastic barrier covering those pesky holes. Such are the joys of owning and daily driving a 25 year old car!

    As a bonus for having read all this, here is a picture of the car this morning, it was extremely foggy, and the car camouflaged well against the white surroundings. Thanks goodness for rear fog lights!
    Last edited by rpiereck; 17 February 2013 at 16:33.
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

 

 

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