Posted in saab by admin on December 3rd, 2010 Comments Off
A complaint of no heat in the 9-5 resulted in me driving it to Akron and back in the snow this week. On the trip I discovered that the heat really was not working. I also found that the car never got up to temperature.
Since the water temperature could have been the problem with no heat, I decided to tackle that first. With some help from the SaabCentral Forum and EconMancer.com’s writeups on the 9-5 I was able to determine that the problems were only mildly related.
The 9-5 blend door fix that I had done over the summer was a botched job. Due to the fact that I did the repair in 100 degree heat, I didn’t notice that I had merely jammed the blend door into the “cold air” position. After last night though, I could actually tell you how the whole thing works. Clocking the arm and the gear on the motor properly fixed my no heat problem.
I am still having an issue with it taking a long time to warm up. I found that the 9-5′s temp gauge is not really a gauge at all though. It simply tells you when things are cold, normal, or bad. If the car doesn’t come up to temp in a given period of time (I think 15 min) the needle drops to cold to tell you something needs fixed. I had replaced the thermostat over the summer when it was stuck closed. I used one that sticks open when it fails. I think it failed already because around town I don’t have an issue, but at highway speeds that car cannot maintain water temperature. I also bought a coolant temp sensor to replace while I’m at it.
With this done and some other little things fixed the 9-5 should be a great commuter for a while to come!
Posted in 944 by admin on September 16th, 2009 Comments Off
“If you’re having problems with your idle, acceleration, or experiencing hard starts… chances are you need to replace your reference sensors. If you’ve found this web site, it’s probably because you’ve recently learned that the average price for these replacement reference sensors is about $140 each, and lucky you if you have an 83-85 because you need two of them! Maybe, this is your first Porsche, and you’re just starting to come to terms with exactly what it means to own a Porsche. Well, I’ve got a LITTLE bit of good news… you have TWO other options!
There exists a cheaper aftermarket reference sensor which typically sells for $79.95 a piece (you still need two). The difference between them is the casing, it’s plastic instead of aluminum. But, keep reading… there’s an even BETTER option. There is a BOSCH replacement sensor that was used on the ~1983-1985 BMW 323i that are IDENTICAL to the pricey $140 dollar ones, even have the aluminum casing, but… they’re also half the price. Expect to see these priced anywhere from $59.95 to $89.95. As these cars begin to get more rare, I would expect these prices to eventually go up, so if you think you MIGHT need to replace them in the near future… I would get them. The BOSCH part number is “12 14 1 708 618” This part can be ordered anywhere German / European Bosch parts are sold (or your nearest BMW dealership).
It’s worth mentioning that the ONLY difference between the ones sold for the Porsche 944 and the BMW 323 is the length of the wire. Quite literally, the absolute ONLY difference is that the wire is about 1 and a half inches longer on the BMW sensor. That’s it!!! The sensors, plugs, and mounting are otherwise 100% identical. Now you can put that $100 you saved in a new sunroof seal!!!”
Posted in 944, saab by admin on September 16th, 2009 Comments Off
With new federal regulations as well as compatibility issues with catalytic converters, the oils of yesteryear are gone. What this means is that the additives once found in high end oils are gone. These additives provided protection at the point when oil is the thinnest: the power stroke. While normal cars do not approach the same level of need that diesel and turbocharged applications require. Modern engines have less of a need for this added protection with today’s tighter tolerences to bearing surfaces.
ZDDP is the substance beign removed from oils. Modern car owners have the complaint that ZDDP damages catalytic converters over time. It is also toxic. Older car owners though need the added level of protection in their engines to keep bearing wear at a minimum.
Maintaining 6 cars with very picky oil requirements and related horror stories means I need to know about this stuff. The Saab T7 engines found in some 2000 to 2004 Saabs are notorius for engine sludge. There are a number of reasons why, but it most likely points to the catalytic converter being directly under the oil pan. The current mechanic suggestion is to use full synthetic 5W40 oil. Good luck finding that. After much reading, I went with Shell Rotella T Synthetic 0W40 found at Wal-Mart. Sicen all of the oils are changing due to regulations, you need to read the labels. Saab is standing by the Group III standard, although Group IV would by just as well if you can find it in the correct weight (Shell Rotella T Synthetic)
Check out the wikipedia page on Rotella: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Rotella_T
Posted in saab by admin on May 13th, 2009 Comments Off
I have recieved a ton of traffic stemming from my post about repairing the SID. Because of this, I will soon be putting together a detailed e-book on repairing the Saab SID panel. The problems that people have all stem to the same design flaw and the same weak plastic parts. I will be selling it on ebay, and on this site at a discounted rate.
I will also be starting a Saab 9-3 (NG900) stereo upgrade ebook/blog series as work begins on my own project. It won’t be anything wild, but a significant upgrade from the late 90′s CD and ONSTAR technology. This will be MP3 and possibly HD.
Posted in Miata by admin on April 10th, 2009 Comments Off
I will be racing Saturday at MidOhio. The miata came together last night and is runnign strong. I will be in/near garage #20 and instructing for group 1. Stop by and see the #6 hopefully do a little better this year! And if you are looking to make more power in your miata, be sure to find Shane Benson or any of the AIM tuning guys. They do RX7s and other performance cars too!
Anyone with a first generation miata knows the issue with batteries: you need a tiny one! I was faced with a last minute need for a battery. Trips to the auto parts stores left me with BIG car batteries. WAY bigger than I needed. I decided to see what Wal-Mart had and ended up with a lawn tractor battery. It has 350 cranking amps, which is way more than needed. It was the exact dimentions of the old battery, but had different terminals. I ended up running a new wire for the + terminal and was able to bolt up the -. It fired on the first crank! Woohoo!
Having read a number of posts on DIY paint and having a race car interior still showing signs of its street past it was time to go for it.
I bought Rustoleum paint in a can at Home Depot and a bunch of brushes. I know, it sounds like an awful idea. Before you think that its a total botch… this paint is oil based and levels out very well with even application. A roller would be perfect for this application I later found out. Those that paint bodies use a roller and a thinned down paint in several coats.
I removed all of my interior that was remaining and went to work. The car immediately took on a new look and some of my uglier welds even look better! As it turns out, this stuff is nearly the same as Miata white too, so i did some touch up in areas that were flaking. I later sanded those areas to feather in the new paint. It looks great! The cage is finally fully coated now, and I trust that this stuff will prevent rust as well.
