Saab 900 restoration/maintenance

[DennisCA]

I've been working on the washer system. Tidied up the headlight washers, gave them a repaint, then new hoses and a new check valve since the old one was leaking.

I added a relay to run the factory pump from the battery directly instead of doing it the factory way, which is the power goes through the switch inside the cabin itself. Now the switch just activates a relay. The switch can get worn and you get voltage drop and the pump efficiency drops. It got better but I wanted more power since the original is kinda anemic anyway. I added an extra washer pump in series with the original one (near the headlight):

Much more powerful now, the right hand nozzle is also replaced with a double stream nozzle, the factory setup is that the drivers side has two streams from the nozzle, but the left only has one so the passenger side is constantly getting less fluid than it ought to.

 

[DennisCA]

I bought this spare bumper back when I got this car with the intention of getting the chrome strip off of it to replace the old one that was broken. But it fell apart on trying to remove it, brittle as heck. Since then I've replaced almost all the strips with the glue on alternatives instead.

So I've instead decided to try and rescue the bumper and sell it on. I would like to try and fix it up as good as possible first. I got the metal attachments in the electrolysis bath as we speak.

The main issue was the big dent in the side. I was able to use a hair dryer and force to bend 98% of it back out, though there's a kink still there. I was able to remove part of it using heat and a hammer and dolly at the same time. But I think I need more heat than my hair dryer can provide.

So I modified a soldering gun to work as a sort of plastic melter / spatula.

Using it to push in and smear out the damaged areas

I've also cut away slivers of the bumper from the inside and using it to add material on the outside where it's missing, so I can recreate some of the sharp edges.

Starting to look better, looks almost decent with a chrome strip in there. Still need a lot of work and the plan is to use some plastic filler in the end. Then plastic primer and a coat of suitable matte black paint. And I guess try and sell it on.

I think this is as good as I am going to get it with the tools (and skills) I have. A proper plastic melting spatula or whatever it's proper name might be, might help, I bet they have tools like this with different shaped "spatulas". But I think the next step is looking for some suitable plastic filler and sand everything down.

I also need some new screws, whatever these are, pressed into the bracing they were. Disassembly was not entirely without issues. I should have learned my lesson and made the bolts glow beforehand.

Also with a part of the original strip on it:

 

[Farside]

I also need some new screws, whatever these are,

Splined shank bolts.

 

[marlinspike]

It's a bit annoying that a good copy of the original chrome inlay trim isn't available. It's slightly matte with a flattened D shape profile, whereas the after market ones are all shiny chrome with a round C profile.

Hard to tell in pics but if your bumpers are grey the code is 170 Anthracite grey, otherwise it's unpainted black. I have heard that SEM bumper paint is a close match for the grey but we can't get it in the UK.

 

[DennisCA]

This one seems like it's unpainted black. I thought most of the bumpers were unpainted plastic but apparently it was common for them to be factory painted.

 

[DennisCA]

I removed the inside door panel on the left rear door last night. Wanted to check what it looks like inside. I will want to go through all the doors like this.

This is behind the door handle is screwed on, it has started to rust. Suspect water ingress through the screw hole and no rust proofing in the thread. I brushed it over with linseed oil. At some point I'll probably blast and epoxy prime this spot. Also a good idea to remove the handle and put some sort of sealant there.

The bottom inside of the door, don't know if I see rust there n the corner, or if it's the wax. But I spray linseed oil here too. I also used a small brush to get linseed oil in a bunch of seams. It'll penetrate into the seams, do it's antirust thing and oxidize, swelling and sealing the seams from further water ingress.

Every damn time I open the door he goes in, don't know why he loves the Saab, don't do this with any other car.

 

[DennisCA]

I've had the fuel pump out again because the o-ring didn't seal properly. Then the fuel pump assembly broke! It was an aftermarket replacement. I kept the original fuel pump unit though. I started putting bits from the new pump assembly into the old one to cobble together a new pump.

That's new parts quality for you though, 30 year old assembly was stronger than the new.

Start by splitting the pump assembly apart

Extracted the pump itself with filter housing and put on the new hose, 13mm clamps. WD-40 is gold here for getting the hose pushed on. Or doing anything with rubber components that have been in contact with fuel for a long time.

Everything back together

And back in the car with a new o-ring as well.

Despite having the tool for installation I managed to break several of the teeth of the lock ring. Never happened before, just kept slipping this time. But torqued to 55nm as per specs. I have a spare lock ring for future needs but am not removing this unless required.

But hey at least a new pump unit was 120 euros, heard of an acquaintance who paid 3000 euros to have the pump replaced on a modern car. I assume that's the new normal.

 

[DennisCA]

Door stuff, installing a keyless entry on my 900. Using a cheap chinese kit.

Old drivers side door unit which was just a switch for the old central locking system. New unit is a 5 wire motor which does both. And everything is wrapped in these disgusting and sticky, waxy plastic bags, to protect against the water which makes its way into the door.

Couldn't connect the motor straight to the old link rod because the new motor has a 5mm longer stroke length, enough to cause problems. So I introduced some slop into the system to compensate. The clamp on the thicker rod doesn't have the left side screw tightened but there are two clamps above and below it on the other rod, so it can move a few mm in each direction.

Control unit broke though, worked fine when I tested it before but is now dead as a doornail. I didn't expect much from the chinese kit but I expected it to survive being installed. Oh well perhaps I am expecting too much. I have bought a new module and am waiting for it. Trying to talk to the support with the seller is beyond impossible, pretty sure it's AI.

 

[Rannsachair]

I've had the fuel pump out again because the o-ring didn't seal properly. Then the fuel pump assembly broke! It was an aftermarket replacement. I kept the original fuel pump unit though. I started putting bits from the new pump assembly into the old one to cobble together a new pump.

That's new parts quality for you though, 30 year old assembly was stronger than the new.

Start by splitting the pump assembly apart

Extracted the pump itself with filter housing and put on the new hose, 13mm clamps. WD-40 is gold here for getting the hose pushed on. Or doing anything with rubber components that have been in contact with fuel for a long time.

Everything back together

And back in the car with a new o-ring as well.

Despite having the tool for installation I managed to break several of the teeth of the lock ring. Never happened before, just kept slipping this time. But torqued to 55nm as per specs. I have a spare lock ring for future needs but am not removing this unless required.

But hey at least a new pump unit was 120 euros, heard of an acquaintance who paid 3000 euros to have the pump replaced on a modern car. I assume that's the new normal.

I recall replacing the fuel pump in my 900 in the mid 90's at 185k miles, cost just over £100 then.

 

[DennisCA]

According to the inflation calculator I looked up that'd be 200£ in 2024 money

 

[DennisCA]

Last night I got the 8.8 Primary kit, with this I should doing 2200 RPM at 100kph, now I am doing 2500+ at the same speed.

 

[DennisCA]

I now have a working keyless! About two weeks now.

Last week I had off the indicator stalk to wire the keyless module to the turn signal lights, so the car flashes when locking and unlocking it. I think that's just proper.

The day after I started the car it had trouble idling and even stalled, had to hold the pedal down to keep it going. I just drove off then because I needed to get to work. But damn, idle issues... a problem that can be very hard to troubleshoot on these cars... The IAC valve is often suspect (the lucas IAC is very hard to find) but just as often it could be vacuum leaks, but it could also be somewhere in the ignition system, the ignition coil, the distributor, the distributor cap, cables, plugs. Or the air mass meter, or the lambda sensor, or the throttle position sensor. It can be hell to troubleshoot!

An upgrade to Trionic 5 would actually make the car easier to diagnose and that's on my todo list but far from urgent. It would also result in better performance and better mileage.

I started troubleshooting after work and it didn't take long, opened the hood and there was a strong sucking sound... Clearly a vacuum fault. I was actually pretty happy to hear that, the easiest problem to fix out of everything I mentioned.

Soon this was seen at the intake:

As well as this:

The hose had broken and fallen off This is one of the original hoses that I didn't replace, it goes into the cabin probably to the turbo pressure gauge. I cut off the end and pushed it back in and now it seems to work as it should again.

I think I'll replace all the hoses with silicone ones.

The week after, I did a fuel consumption check. I filled the car up, happened to drive exactly 370 km and filled 29.6 liters before it was full again. That comes to 7.3l/100km or 38.7 (UK)MPG. That's damn good mileage and I haven't even installed the new primary yet. This was 95% country road driving, I got 30km to work on a more or less straight empty road.

Not bad for a 900 with the turbo engine that has lower compression than a naturally aspirated one. Last years mileage hovered around 31-32mpg, the biggest contribution to mileage was all the brakes where in terrible condition and binding and I've rebuilt all four of them over winter.

 

[marlinspike]

That's really good mpg for a turbo c900. A sign the engine is in good nick. I had an automatic c900 turbo years ago, you could practically watch the fuel gauge going down if you gave it some beans.

 

[DennisCA]

Oh yeah automatics are terrible at mileage. Automatic gearboxes achieved parity with manuals when, 2015 perhaps? But even so I prefer manuals, simple, rugged, durable. Well maybe durable isn't that applicable to a C900... It's the weakest point in these cars.

 

[minimutly]

Last night I got the 8.8 Primary kit, with this I should doing 2200 RPM at 100kph, now I am doing 2500+ at the same speed.

View attachment 460773

So you geared it up - presumably for better mpg? I forgot this is engine over gearbox - I looked at using one of these in a rear engined racer years ago - using a Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine. Came to nothing, just an idea..

 

[marlinspike]

But even so I prefer manuals, simple, rugged, durable. Well maybe durable isn't that applicable to a C900... It's the weakest point in these cars.

Yeah, people do occasionally try to add ridiculous amounts of bhp to old 900's but the gearboxes aren't really up to it. I don't see the need personally as the turbo c900 is a quick enough car in stock form, even the 8v. I like old cars kept as standard personally, rather than adding accessories and tuning.

 

[DennisCA]

So you geared it up - presumably for better mpg? I forgot this is engine over gearbox - I looked at using one of these in a rear engined racer years ago - using a Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine. Came to nothing, just an idea..

Not done yet, just got the parts. I think doing this will take a week or so (I work very slowly when doing something new) and I daily drive the car.