Results 1 to 2 of 2
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24 March 2012 #1
Chris Campbell Saab addict
- Join Date
- 18 Mar 2012
- Location
- Portland, Maine
- Posts
- 3
- Saab(s)
- '02 9-5 Aero JZW Stage 5+, '99 9-3 Turbo, '95 900SE Turbo Convertible, '95 900S Convertible
Transmission solenoid replacement (automatic) and general overhaul.
After dealing with my '99 9-3 being in limp home mode (P0758: Solenoid "B") all winter (third gear ONLY), I spent a combined 20 hours rehabilitating it between yesterday and today. My hands are black, my muscles ache, my face has grease all over it and I have tons of dried mud/sand in my hair thanks to a stupid mud pit that was masquerading as a dirt road. Here's a taste of what this looked like:
1. Jacked up car as high as it'll go without hitting the roof of the garage, then secured it on jack stands.
2. Drained the transmission, coolant, oil and power steering fluid.
3. Disconnected all hoses/wiring that would prevent engine from coming (almost) all the way out of the car.
4. Took off the stupid splash shield, get covered in dried mud in the process.
5. Took off the front bumper/headlights/turn signals/grille.
6. Disconnected the control arms from the subframe, the drive axles from the transmission and the downpipe from the turbo.
7. Stuck a floor jack under the engine and start to unbolt the subframe.
8. Unbolted the subframe, removed it entirely.
9. Replaced the high pressure power steering line as the car has 150k and they tend to disintegrate right around then (my old one looked fine honestly).
10. Lowered the engine about a foot and half down (again, almost to the point where I could've taken engine/trans out at this point).
11. Replaced all engine mounts, suspension bushings and ball joints (tie rod ends were done 6 months ago).
12. Unbolted the valve body cover from the front of the transmission, removed the trans cooling lines and trans temp sensor, install the $35 solenoid (direct from Aisin-Warner) that the dealership wanted $400 for.
13. Reinstalled the transmission cover after cleaning up the mating surfaces and using some anaerobic sealant, bolted it back to the trans.
14. Jacked the engine/trans back up into place and try to align it so I could attach the side engine mount and transmission mount... This proved to be a PAIN IN THE ASS. Ended up using a HUGE crowbar to shimmy the engine/trans in the right way so it'd line up with the mounts, in the end, I pretty much bench pressed it into place.
15. Reattached the subframe and you guessed it, a PITA to get the rear engine mount lined up with everything else (had to finesse the jack holding up the engine until it was JUST right).
16. Reattached the drive axles and downpipe.
17. Reconnected all the electrical stuff and hoses.
18. Reattached the fog lights to the bumper (they were hanging on by a thread) with some epoxy and added some missing bolts to sure everything up.
19. Made some custom grille inserts out of some leftover thick mesh I used to make my 9-5's grille (the little guys that are just inside where the fog lights are, I was missing one already since the foglight frame on one side was broken).
20. Filled up all the different fluids.
21. Reinstalled the bumper/headlights/turn signals/grille.
22. Lowered the car, reconnected the battery, got in the driver's seat and prayed to the Nordic God of Swedish automobiles that everything was good to go.
23. Started the car, still had a check engine and check gearbox and I immediately start cursing, until I put it in gear and I had FIRST!!!
24. Drove out of the garage, checked/topped off all fluids and got ready for a shakedown cruise.
25. Started the car again, NO check engine/gearbox this time. Plug in my OBDII scanner and ALL issues have been resolved.
26. Took a quick victory lap around my town, then back up on ramps to further flush the trans. Lather, rinse, repeat (and repeat again).
27. Took it on an extended cruise (~50mi) to make sure everything was tight and that I wouldn't get any surprise check engine lights.
28. Sat down at my computer not realizing I was going to write a novel on Saabworld about how I fixed my car. But all said and done $400 in parts and two days of hard labor sure beats what it WOULD have cost at a shop or God forbid the dealership (my local indy quoted me $1200 just in LABOR to replace that trans solenoid).
Now the car drives like new, all those bushings really helped the handing, and it's amazing to have all my gears back! Had I had this all done at even an independent Saab shop, I'm figuring the bill would've been around $4000. So really, I saved $3600, win.
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05 May 2014 #2
Bruce Richardson Saab Fan
- Join Date
- 14 Dec 2012
- Location
- Arkansas
- Posts
- 20
- Saab(s)
- 1998 900 SE Turbo
What address do you have for Aisin-Warner to get parts, i need to replace the TCC solenoid and EPC solenoid. I got some off of EBAY but not quite what I need.
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