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  1. #21
    Saab Enthusiast XLR99's Avatar
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    18 Nov 2014
    Location
    Medina, OH
    Posts
    113
    Saab(s)
    '04 9-5 Aero Wagon, '90 900
    Not a whole lot of progress this week.
    I did get a couple care packages from RockAuto:

    Got a gasket set, head bolts, air filter, trans seals, and some other stuff.

    I planned to put new boots on the axles, and regrease them with RedLine grease. I think these were some kind of cheap reamanned axles though. There's no circlip on the outer CVs to remove them from the axle, and the inner tripods appear to have bearings that aren't held captive. I'm guessing if I pull the tripod out it will shower needle bearings everywhere. I also noticed that the inner drivers are round, and the OEM Saab axles on Eeuro (at $375 a side ) are hexagonal shaped.

    I'll start looking around and find a pair of OEM ones at Pull-a-part or epay to re-boot.

    OK, off to change the radiator on the other 9-5.

  2. #22
    Ray
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    16 Dec 2015
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    8
    Saab(s)
    '98 9000, '03 9-5 Aero
    I noticed on Saabnet that there are a couple of guys parting out 9-5s. I sent them emails for a mirror motor, and both responded. Steve is at svineis@capefearsafety.com and Russ is at modularinstalls@gmail.com. As mentioned before, Goldwing is also an excellent source, and their parts are usually about half of list with a 1-yr / 10,000 mile guarantee. FWIW, when I do CV boots, I have found that the cheap boots aren't worth the money because they die too soon. Not sure of the brand for the higher quality. I also saw a nice testimonial for a company called raxles.com. They don't have a listing of cars on their web page, but they appear to cater to live customers, not just e-business.

    Back to the radio question on my 9-5, I decided the double-din is easier, especially after I called enfig and they said the single din mounting brackets are special order and will take more than a month. Going with the Kenwood DDX593 ($350) from Crutchfield. It's a new 2016 release and appears to have better connectivity with android phones than earlier models.

  3. #23
    Saab Enthusiast
    Join Date
    19 Jul 2015
    Location
    Charlottesville, VA
    Posts
    218
    Saab(s)
    1997 NG 900 SE
    About CV boots/axles, I have also found replacement boots to be of lesser quality than OEM. And I'm surprised to learn the replacement axle assembly has no circlip. I prefer replacing boots before they lose all the grease rather than the assembly. If the outer joint goes bad, I'll replace the joint only with a new boot. But it has to have a circlip for that to happen.

    Sent from my C6725 using Tapatalk

  4. #24
    Saab Enthusiast XLR99's Avatar
    Join Date
    18 Nov 2014
    Location
    Medina, OH
    Posts
    113
    Saab(s)
    '04 9-5 Aero Wagon, '90 900
    @Whooray - I really, really like that Kenwood! Bookmarking for later reference.
    $350 is not much more than people have been spending on Nexus installs, and less than many of them. The only functionality it would lose would be the GPS, but it would be much more plug and play. Please put up some notes when you do your install!
    I saw those recent ads, sent them messages. If Steven lived closer, I'd be trying to drag his whole car home to drop my new engine in. Nice looking car.
    My dad lives in the Boston area where Saabs are pretty thick on the ground, and has used this project as an excuse to go junkyard cruising this weekend. Keeps him out of the bars .

    @Southsaab, I concur; honestly it seems like it's hard to get good quality parts for anything anymore. I've made a quick 'boot care' step part of my 5k mile maintenance; I shoot them with some silicone to keep them from drying out.

  5. #25
    Saab Enthusiast XLR99's Avatar
    Join Date
    18 Nov 2014
    Location
    Medina, OH
    Posts
    113
    Saab(s)
    '04 9-5 Aero Wagon, '90 900
    OK first update in awhile. I've been pretty de-motivated lately, for a number of reasons. My son shamed me into finally getting the subframe out while it was 55 degrees. In Ohio. In January.


    The subframe was almost ready to drop, apart from one of the steering rack bushing bolts being frozen into the bushing. I cut out the upper lip of the bushing as best I could, and started pulling it through with a pickle fork.

    We were able to pull the bushing out by lowering the subframe in stages until it was free. So then we had this greasy, rusty thing on the floor:

    Here's the offending bolt/sleeve:




    The gorilla only broke one of the sway bar bracket bolts, which was also a PITA to drill out. I get the feeling everything on this car will be a monumental struggle.


    So, back to removing that sleeve. We started off low key, trying to slot it with a dremel cutoff wheel:




    And split with hammer and chisel:




    We ended up using the last of the cutoff wheels. I figured that he would be able to knock the sleeve apart, but after lots of pounding and cursing, we decided to go nuclear. A few thousand degrees of heat, one small fire, and a ruined locknut (forgot to remove it before lighting the torch), and:




    Current status:




  6. #26
    Ray
    Saab Fan
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    16 Dec 2015
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    8
    Saab(s)
    '98 9000, '03 9-5 Aero
    Wow! That's a lot more work than taking the subframe out of a 9000! Were you taking it out to repaint is and replace bushings, or is this just a way of torturing yourself?

    I know what you mean about not being motivated - I had some weird health issue in November, and my Dr said to not do anything strenuous for 90 days. Since then, I have had my indy put in a starter motor, flush my brake fluid, and replace a radiator hose - all of which I should have done myself. I did have a steering issue where I had about 1.5 inches of free play in the steering wheel, and it was driving me nuts. I took the car to a former Saab mechanic, and he checked out the front end and said it was fine. The only thing he could think of was a "flat spot" in the worm gear of the rack. This on a car with only 5,000 miles. I knew it wasn't the correct diagnosis, but the tie rods and ball joints and bushings were all good. The Indy looked at it and found that the pinch bolt where the steering column meets the shaft of the rack was loose. Tightened the bolt and flushed the steering fluid - all done.

    Still haven't done the radio yet, but after I pay my taxes......

  7. #27
    Saab Enthusiast XLR99's Avatar
    Join Date
    18 Nov 2014
    Location
    Medina, OH
    Posts
    113
    Saab(s)
    '04 9-5 Aero Wagon, '90 900
    LOL, well, we were kind of bored with no football to yell at the TV today, so...

    Yes, the bushings are shot. My son ripped a couple centers out by hand. We'll wire wheel and paint it like on the other car. My OCD is causing this to be much more of a project than just an engine rebuild, obviously. More of a limited restoration.

    This is the second one I've done, and it's easier without the engine, trans and axles in the way. However, this car probably never had the underbody washed, so everything is more crusty. Interestingly, less surface rust on the body itself than the wagon, though.

    I'm a bit limited in my ability to crawl under cars and hammer on things at the moment, so it's a bit more challenging trying to teach him finesse, rather than "Nick rip bolt off car!!!" cro-magnon style work. I was pleased that he didn't cut the subframe in half with the dremel, and only broke the one sway bar bracket bolt.

    And, uh, that's a bit scary about the steering . I'll take new shorts for $300, Bob....
    Glad it got sorted though!

  8. #28
    Ray
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    16 Dec 2015
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    8
    Saab(s)
    '98 9000, '03 9-5 Aero
    The steering thing was more of an irritation than scary because the car still went straight. It was a bit of an entertainment to wiggle the steering wheel back and forth while driving and have no reaction by the car!

    It's great to work with your children on cars and see how they respond to the concept of mechanics. My son's reaction is to drive until it breaks and then text Uber. That's why I gave (read: sold at a discount) my 9000 to my daughter, because she is In To It! Today she called because she was diagnosing the failed windshield washer, and she took off the cover to the "aquarium" and found the broken hose, and then she was working on the solenoid that controls the lock mechanism for the gas flap. So refreshing to have a child that doesn't expect things to be handed to her! Maybe that's the legacy of Saab: reliable transportation that empowers young adults to learn about mechanics! So good for parent- child relationships, too.

  9. #29
    Saab Enthusiast XLR99's Avatar
    Join Date
    18 Nov 2014
    Location
    Medina, OH
    Posts
    113
    Saab(s)
    '04 9-5 Aero Wagon, '90 900
    That's awesome that your daughter just dives in and troubleshoots for herself! I'm trying to get mine to both be self-reliant as well.

    OK brief update. I've done, well, not much, to the car in the past few weeks. The high point was getting a few care packages from ebay and eeuro this week:


    I was pretty stoked about the control arms - $118 for arms, bushings, and new ball joints! Usually the rear bushings alone are $75 a side. I usually pull the boots off of ball joints and re-grease them with real RedLine or M1 grease; I've found a few, even 'good' quality ones, that were almost dry inside, in the past ten years or so.

    Here's the link in case anyone else wants to get some: http://www.ebay.com/itm/310550694021?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT . This kit has the 20mm ball joints for 02+ 9-5s. (As an aside, if anyone needs a pair of the 18mm ball joints for 99-01, let me know. I have a pair from before I knew about this MY change.
    I got a bunch of small stuff from Eeuro including an alternator VR/Brush kit, engine sensors, pulleys, and a few other things to take advantage of their mid-winter 10% off sale.

    I repainted the mirrors over the past couple weeks.

    They came out ok, but the paint I foolishly bought off amazon is quite a bit darker than the rest of the car. My BIL told me about a place close to work that will paint match and put it in a spray can for ~20 a can. Wife told me I should just put them on as-is and not worry about it, but I think I'll end up sanding and repainting again.

    I also discovered a very cool Arduino yesterday! It's called BlueSaab, to give an integrated bluetooth phone and music input via the CD changer cable. Not a production thing, so you need to buy the PCBs and other bits, assemble and program it before installing. I'm still reading about it, but figured I'd pass it on:
    http://bluesaab.blogspot.com/search?...&max-results=1

 

 

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