2002 SAAB 9-3 2.0 Aero Coupe?
Discussion
Replacing the rear clusters was a case of whipping out four 10mm bolts and then swapping the units.
I managed this without dropping any bolts into the bodywork for once.
There was a fair bit of crap behind the light but it turns out screen cleaning wipes also double as panel wipes.
One of the clusters also had some bulbs in it. I've pocketed those for future spares.
I didn't do before and after photos because there's no visible difference except close up but at least I know I've ticked off another maintenance job.
Given the rain yesterday, that's probably a good thing.
I managed this without dropping any bolts into the bodywork for once.
There was a fair bit of crap behind the light but it turns out screen cleaning wipes also double as panel wipes.
One of the clusters also had some bulbs in it. I've pocketed those for future spares.
I didn't do before and after photos because there's no visible difference except close up but at least I know I've ticked off another maintenance job.
Given the rain yesterday, that's probably a good thing.
Edited by stewjohnst on Tuesday 11th July 03:02
Edited by stewjohnst on Tuesday 11th July 03:21
I realised last time it rained and it left a lake on the roof that the car probably needed a polish and wax, etc.
Along with the alloy wheel cleaner, the dusty box of Auto Glym stuff in the garage also had some polish and sealer so I decided to wash and seal the car.
The paint felt as rough as a badgers arse so I decided to shell out £12 on a clay bar to give it a thorough (and probably only by me) clean.
Any detailer knows the key to a good job is preparation but the two bucket method would have meant buying two buckets, grit guards, sponges and also valuable time - so I prepared by driving 60 seconds down the road to the hand car wash to get it cleaned for a fiver and give me some swirls to polish out.
Before the Hand Car Wash
After the Hand Car Wash
- You can see the flat paint on the rear quarter where there's been some poor touchup/blending.
I do have a DA polisher but since the wife used it to sand floorboards, I didn't really fancy using it on the car. Plus the last time I used one, I succeeded in burning the paint to a crisp on an old Prelude. In semi-revenge, and because I didn't have any cleaning cloths to hand, I used the pads from her VAX steam mop thingy to polish and wax the car.
They were surprisingly effective although I am worried next time she steams the floors, this will be me on arrival back home...
On the basis of time and general laziness, I opted not to mask the plastic trim bits, I was just careful around them with the polish and managed just fine.
I also found some old Aerospace protector that works wonders on rubber and plastic seals so I grabbed another steam mop pad and did all the bumper trim and window surrounds.
Post Polishing and Waxing
Right on cue, it rained this morning so I could get the obligatory post polish beading shots
The number plate and various bumper blemishes are letting it down now, so they're next on the list to sort out.
Along with the alloy wheel cleaner, the dusty box of Auto Glym stuff in the garage also had some polish and sealer so I decided to wash and seal the car.
The paint felt as rough as a badgers arse so I decided to shell out £12 on a clay bar to give it a thorough (and probably only by me) clean.
Any detailer knows the key to a good job is preparation but the two bucket method would have meant buying two buckets, grit guards, sponges and also valuable time - so I prepared by driving 60 seconds down the road to the hand car wash to get it cleaned for a fiver and give me some swirls to polish out.
Before the Hand Car Wash
After the Hand Car Wash
- You can see the flat paint on the rear quarter where there's been some poor touchup/blending.
I do have a DA polisher but since the wife used it to sand floorboards, I didn't really fancy using it on the car. Plus the last time I used one, I succeeded in burning the paint to a crisp on an old Prelude. In semi-revenge, and because I didn't have any cleaning cloths to hand, I used the pads from her VAX steam mop thingy to polish and wax the car.
They were surprisingly effective although I am worried next time she steams the floors, this will be me on arrival back home...
On the basis of time and general laziness, I opted not to mask the plastic trim bits, I was just careful around them with the polish and managed just fine.
I also found some old Aerospace protector that works wonders on rubber and plastic seals so I grabbed another steam mop pad and did all the bumper trim and window surrounds.
Post Polishing and Waxing
Right on cue, it rained this morning so I could get the obligatory post polish beading shots
The number plate and various bumper blemishes are letting it down now, so they're next on the list to sort out.
Edited by stewjohnst on Tuesday 11th July 03:04
I love this generation of Saab though, and as you rightly point out, at £800 there's not much more depreciation left in it.I managed to find time to remove the ashtray and fit the coin tray instead.
It might seem an odd thing to bother with but I'm intending to get an aux setup into the original head unit (assuming my soldering skills are still up to scratch) and the coin tray makes it possible to hide a 3.5mm jack more discreetly.
I was also getting a 'fasten seat belts' warning a lot. I suspected something on the drivers side as the belt is twisted but after a few days of head scratching, unbelting/belting and botty bouncing, I realised that it's actually the passenger occupancy sensor that's on a hair trigger.
As a result, my house keys chucked on the seat were making it come on. Now I have somewhere to stash the keys in the coin tray.
Whipping out the button blanks to remove the ashtray suggests I don't have the wiring for the heated seats but for a fiver, I've got the buttons coming and will have a better root around at the weekend.
It might seem an odd thing to bother with but I'm intending to get an aux setup into the original head unit (assuming my soldering skills are still up to scratch) and the coin tray makes it possible to hide a 3.5mm jack more discreetly.
I was also getting a 'fasten seat belts' warning a lot. I suspected something on the drivers side as the belt is twisted but after a few days of head scratching, unbelting/belting and botty bouncing, I realised that it's actually the passenger occupancy sensor that's on a hair trigger.
As a result, my house keys chucked on the seat were making it come on. Now I have somewhere to stash the keys in the coin tray.
Whipping out the button blanks to remove the ashtray suggests I don't have the wiring for the heated seats but for a fiver, I've got the buttons coming and will have a better root around at the weekend.
In other news, of the mixed tyres that came with the replacement alloys, one has been gradually losing pressure at a rate of about .2 bar a day.
I'm getting bored of whipping out the compressor every other day so I've ordered a couple of new tyres.
I could have ordered something exotic to cure the torque steer tendency of the car but I've chosen to wind the madness to 11 and fit some bangernomics worthy Sailun Atrezzo ZSRs for £100 all in. Asda tyres of all places.
I did the honest thing and before ordering went down to the selected Indy fitter to ask for direct price and cut out Asda but they couldn't supply the tyre direct?!? Oh well.
They go on tomorrow and the forecast is rain so we will see if they have me 'sailun' (sailing) off into a ditch.
Car is doing a healthy 29mpg and on a return trip to Brum today (250 miles) it averaged an SID indicated 41 (so about 38 real world). I suspect this has more to do with the amount of time spent at 50mph in roadworks and at a pointless 60 on a clear M1 around Derby though.
I'm getting bored of whipping out the compressor every other day so I've ordered a couple of new tyres.
I could have ordered something exotic to cure the torque steer tendency of the car but I've chosen to wind the madness to 11 and fit some bangernomics worthy Sailun Atrezzo ZSRs for £100 all in. Asda tyres of all places.
I did the honest thing and before ordering went down to the selected Indy fitter to ask for direct price and cut out Asda but they couldn't supply the tyre direct?!? Oh well.
They go on tomorrow and the forecast is rain so we will see if they have me 'sailun' (sailing) off into a ditch.
Car is doing a healthy 29mpg and on a return trip to Brum today (250 miles) it averaged an SID indicated 41 (so about 38 real world). I suspect this has more to do with the amount of time spent at 50mph in roadworks and at a pointless 60 on a clear M1 around Derby though.
Having spent some hard earned on the tyres, I should have settled back into bangernomics and stopped all spending until something fell off or set itself on fire...
...which is exactly what I haven't done.
The car is still making a god awful racket from time to time due to the air con compressor but the air con is nice and cold so for now I distracted myself by sticking my head under the drivers seat to see about retro fitting heated seats.
I should probably have checked before I ordered the heated seat switches for a fiver but it turned out I have the seat pads and it's just a case of sorting the rest of the wiring loom.
The story goes that SAAB fitted them as standard then GM made them charge it as an optional extra but they just left ojtenthe buttons, then when GM realised they were doing this and dealers were doing it cheap as an aftermarket, they insisted SAAB chop the end of the loom off.
I am not a SAAB beard and the above may or may not be true.
What I do know is that when I had an old Cavalier CD (H reg) Infound that had the loom for heated seats and I managed to retrofit them years ago by getting the switch and pads from my local Vauxhall dealer and unstitching my plush velour seats to fit them.
I remember it being a weird feeling sitting on a warm velvety seat instead of leather, a bit like sitting down in your nan's armchair after she's been sat in it and realising her Tena lady must have maxed out some time ago.
...which is exactly what I haven't done.
The car is still making a god awful racket from time to time due to the air con compressor but the air con is nice and cold so for now I distracted myself by sticking my head under the drivers seat to see about retro fitting heated seats.
I should probably have checked before I ordered the heated seat switches for a fiver but it turned out I have the seat pads and it's just a case of sorting the rest of the wiring loom.
The story goes that SAAB fitted them as standard then GM made them charge it as an optional extra but they just left ojtenthe buttons, then when GM realised they were doing this and dealers were doing it cheap as an aftermarket, they insisted SAAB chop the end of the loom off.
I am not a SAAB beard and the above may or may not be true.
What I do know is that when I had an old Cavalier CD (H reg) Infound that had the loom for heated seats and I managed to retrofit them years ago by getting the switch and pads from my local Vauxhall dealer and unstitching my plush velour seats to fit them.
I remember it being a weird feeling sitting on a warm velvety seat instead of leather, a bit like sitting down in your nan's armchair after she's been sat in it and realising her Tena lady must have maxed out some time ago.
As well as ordering the seat switches, I've been looking at ways to get an aux into the oem head unit.
The space isn't quite DIN sized and there's a bit of work to fit a DIN unit so I thought I'd make different work for myself by trying to modify the standard unit instead.
I found a method online that allows you to splice an audio feed into the telephone preparation and it mutes the radio and plays the telephone audio through the speakers.
All you need is a bit of technical ability and a latch switch to make the circuit jump from radio to telephone line in.
The cable cost £7 plus postage and I thought I'd take a punt on it as Everybody needs an excuse to lie on the floor with their head in a car footwell (like that bit where Vinnie Jones goes nuts in Lock, Stock) and here was mine.
The space isn't quite DIN sized and there's a bit of work to fit a DIN unit so I thought I'd make different work for myself by trying to modify the standard unit instead.
I found a method online that allows you to splice an audio feed into the telephone preparation and it mutes the radio and plays the telephone audio through the speakers.
All you need is a bit of technical ability and a latch switch to make the circuit jump from radio to telephone line in.
The cable cost £7 plus postage and I thought I'd take a punt on it as Everybody needs an excuse to lie on the floor with their head in a car footwell (like that bit where Vinnie Jones goes nuts in Lock, Stock) and here was mine.
Back on the bangernomics trail...
A set of radio removal tools so I could faff with the stereo were about £3 a pair. However, a rummage in my shed confirmed the ground staples I use to pin weed matting down on my veg beds were the same size and would do the job.
As I had them in the shed, they cost nothing but if you do need some, part number 58285 is your friend at Toolstation.
A set of radio removal tools so I could faff with the stereo were about £3 a pair. However, a rummage in my shed confirmed the ground staples I use to pin weed matting down on my veg beds were the same size and would do the job.
As I had them in the shed, they cost nothing but if you do need some, part number 58285 is your friend at Toolstation.
Edited by stewjohnst on Saturday 12th August 23:26
It should have been a doddle to get the radio out but the cage was bent and was catching on the back so after much swearing and considerably more dash removal than planned, I had this...
As I've had to take out the climate unit and SID trying to free up the radio and find where to plug the harness into, I'm also going to fix the displays on them.
The air con display in particular has a mind of its own. I will probably get this fixed just in time for the air con clutch to explode and render it all useless but that's half the fun.
On the plus side, having found the harness for the seats a quick skeg of the fuse box confirms there's a fuse and wiring in the heated seats slot.
As I've had to take out the climate unit and SID trying to free up the radio and find where to plug the harness into, I'm also going to fix the displays on them.
The air con display in particular has a mind of its own. I will probably get this fixed just in time for the air con clutch to explode and render it all useless but that's half the fun.
On the plus side, having found the harness for the seats a quick skeg of the fuse box confirms there's a fuse and wiring in the heated seats slot.
After catching myself ordering various odds and sods off ebay and realising I'm getting quite attached to the old girl, I've decided to book her in for a look up her skirts.
The air con rattle is now horrific so it's going into Aeromotive near me to check the arches and sills for major rust first.
If they're not too bad, I'll fix the aircon pulley and set about tidying the rest of the car.
If they're shot - I'll drive it till the mot expires in October and start selling bits off between now and then...
In other news, oil consumption has settled to an almost rx8 like half a litre a week or about 2ml per mile...
The air con rattle is now horrific so it's going into Aeromotive near me to check the arches and sills for major rust first.
If they're not too bad, I'll fix the aircon pulley and set about tidying the rest of the car.
If they're shot - I'll drive it till the mot expires in October and start selling bits off between now and then...
In other news, oil consumption has settled to an almost rx8 like half a litre a week or about 2ml per mile...
With an MOT pending and my front plate looking a bit borderline I took to doing a few jobs.
I ordered some new plates, had to get the front redone as they'd laminated the blue wrap between the plate number and the Perspex when I pulled it off
The drivers seatbelt had been failing to recoil and was double twisted, when I popped off the trim, a spring had come loose and was trapping the recoil so one greasy finger later it was sliding in and out with ease.
I didn't have a big enough torx set to undo the seatbelt so that justified buying a new set to fix this.
I ordered some new plates, had to get the front redone as they'd laminated the blue wrap between the plate number and the Perspex when I pulled it off
The drivers seatbelt had been failing to recoil and was double twisted, when I popped off the trim, a spring had come loose and was trapping the recoil so one greasy finger later it was sliding in and out with ease.
I didn't have a big enough torx set to undo the seatbelt so that justified buying a new set to fix this.
Well, you just know it's going to be one of those days when you fire up the car to drive to the mot and the engine management light comes on...
On the basis I'd got caught short and put some unleaded instead of super in the day before, I topped up with Shell Power Nitro whatever it is at an eye watering £1.30 (I use Sainsbury's super at £1.16 normally) warmed her up and took her for an Italian tune in case it was just a knock warning.
Sure enough, after a bout of mixing of fuel and bezzing about. I turned her off and on again and all was well.
I'd done a quick once over pre-mot, lights, brakes and fluids but hadn't got underneath as I just don't have time anymore. I also knew rust wise she was ok after the visit to Aeromotive
I dropped her off at the garage without the light and went on my way...
On the basis I'd got caught short and put some unleaded instead of super in the day before, I topped up with Shell Power Nitro whatever it is at an eye watering £1.30 (I use Sainsbury's super at £1.16 normally) warmed her up and took her for an Italian tune in case it was just a knock warning.
Sure enough, after a bout of mixing of fuel and bezzing about. I turned her off and on again and all was well.
I'd done a quick once over pre-mot, lights, brakes and fluids but hadn't got underneath as I just don't have time anymore. I also knew rust wise she was ok after the visit to Aeromotive
I dropped her off at the garage without the light and went on my way...
And the results are in....
...MOT Failure
The conversation with the garage (I used a fairly mainstream national chain due to being able to walk home from there) was a bit of a laugh.
Erm, it's failed - needs
New control arms x2 due to ball joints
Rear Bushes x 2
New discs and pads rear (I'll come back to that)
New backbox and mount
They could fix it all for me for the princely sim of £705!
Also, my Italian tune had caused an oil leak from the turbo in their words.
I told them I'd come and collect, he seemed upset I didn't just authorise the work and was even more upset when I made him stick it on the ramp and show me the issues.
I asked him about the rear brakes, as they were new on to the car just before I bought it and the story changed from needs new to 'warped mate'.
I'd done a spot of neo/saabitsing on my walk to get it, their parts prices were comedy...
£120 for a control arm (each)
£30 per side for a brake disc (not the pair)
£25 for pads
£115 for a back box
£60 each per bush
As a rule of thumbs they'd consistently quoted double the actual price for parts, added extras here and there that it didn't need like wheel balancing?!?
Pulse all this extensive work and only 2 hours labour for them to do it all.
And they'd also got the EML back on...
So decisions time, I don't have the time or tools anymore to be on my back under the beast swapping bushes and wishbones, I also really need to at least swap the head or regasket it as I've been getting through 2 litres of oil a month.
Options are...
1. Spend a few bob getting it fixed (better the devil you know)
2. Buy another car and let this one go to a new home to one of you spanner friendly folk
3. Buy something else To drive, tune out the wife and strip it on the drive for bits
It is too good to scrap really, looking through the history, it is on Bilstein B6 all round had a new Turbo last year, new brake lines all round, I've just had a noisy aircon pump swapped out and there's no rust underneath or holes in it....
It just needs the above bits doing I'm thinking £300-£400 or so for the work plus whatever the engine work costs (it's on 169,000) so I'm tempted to go recon bare engine and have someone put my ancillaries on.
Any ideas or suggestions. Luckily my old man has a spare old Mazda 3 on his drive (oh, the ph shame) so I'm not in a rush for alternate transport and can afford for the MOT to lapse in a week.
She only owes me £800 purchase and £400 in bits and bobs.
PS - If anyone has a 9-5 estate I'll swap it as long it doesn't stink of dog.
PPS - The world is perverse, only last night I was discussing 5.2 V10 S8's and Flying Spurs for £20k when the company car goes back in July and the kitchen is finished with the wife...I'm now trawling classifieds wondering how bad could a £250 Ford Puma really be?
...MOT Failure
The conversation with the garage (I used a fairly mainstream national chain due to being able to walk home from there) was a bit of a laugh.
Erm, it's failed - needs
New control arms x2 due to ball joints
Rear Bushes x 2
New discs and pads rear (I'll come back to that)
New backbox and mount
They could fix it all for me for the princely sim of £705!
Also, my Italian tune had caused an oil leak from the turbo in their words.
I told them I'd come and collect, he seemed upset I didn't just authorise the work and was even more upset when I made him stick it on the ramp and show me the issues.
I asked him about the rear brakes, as they were new on to the car just before I bought it and the story changed from needs new to 'warped mate'.
I'd done a spot of neo/saabitsing on my walk to get it, their parts prices were comedy...
£120 for a control arm (each)
£30 per side for a brake disc (not the pair)
£25 for pads
£115 for a back box
£60 each per bush
As a rule of thumbs they'd consistently quoted double the actual price for parts, added extras here and there that it didn't need like wheel balancing?!?
Pulse all this extensive work and only 2 hours labour for them to do it all.
And they'd also got the EML back on...
So decisions time, I don't have the time or tools anymore to be on my back under the beast swapping bushes and wishbones, I also really need to at least swap the head or regasket it as I've been getting through 2 litres of oil a month.
Options are...
1. Spend a few bob getting it fixed (better the devil you know)
2. Buy another car and let this one go to a new home to one of you spanner friendly folk
3. Buy something else To drive, tune out the wife and strip it on the drive for bits
It is too good to scrap really, looking through the history, it is on Bilstein B6 all round had a new Turbo last year, new brake lines all round, I've just had a noisy aircon pump swapped out and there's no rust underneath or holes in it....
It just needs the above bits doing I'm thinking £300-£400 or so for the work plus whatever the engine work costs (it's on 169,000) so I'm tempted to go recon bare engine and have someone put my ancillaries on.
Any ideas or suggestions. Luckily my old man has a spare old Mazda 3 on his drive (oh, the ph shame) so I'm not in a rush for alternate transport and can afford for the MOT to lapse in a week.
She only owes me £800 purchase and £400 in bits and bobs.
PS - If anyone has a 9-5 estate I'll swap it as long it doesn't stink of dog.
PPS - The world is perverse, only last night I was discussing 5.2 V10 S8's and Flying Spurs for £20k when the company car goes back in July and the kitchen is finished with the wife...I'm now trawling classifieds wondering how bad could a £250 Ford Puma really be?
stewjohnst said:
The stars have aligned and the wife is going away with mates for a hen do so there is a distinct possibility I'll have a new car on the drive when she returns home...
Oh well, it was fun whilst it was MOT'd. I'm assuming there's another readers car thread due to start very shortly on the new car and this one will have a final hurrah.....The brakes either work or there is an imbalance or a leak, or no pad or really corroded warped don't count as a failure. We replaced some discs on a VW yesterday, the metal had had started falling off, it had been through an mot a few weeks ago and they were not even an advisory, god knows how it got thorough.
To be honest the failures seem like a cheap fix but for me the oil issue would be the killer. I'd sell it for spares.
To be honest the failures seem like a cheap fix but for me the oil issue would be the killer. I'd sell it for spares.
steve-5snwi said:
The brakes either work or there is an imbalance or a leak, or no pad or really corroded warped don't count as a failure. We replaced some discs on a VW yesterday, the metal had had started falling off, it had been through an mot a few weeks ago and they were not even an advisory, god knows how it got thorough.
To be honest the failures seem like a cheap fix but for me the oil issue would be the killer. I'd sell it for spares.
The parts aren't that bad doing it diy but added up, a pair of arms, bushes, rear discs and pads, a back box (I could patch it but the hole is on the pipe going in to the silencer and the whole box is crusty as hell.To be honest the failures seem like a cheap fix but for me the oil issue would be the killer. I'd sell it for spares.
Probably only a couple of hundred or even £100 if I scrimp in parts but slap £80 of labour on top as I just don't get time to do major diy work now and with the oil, it's not worth it.
It's getting collected tomorrow in exchange for £250.
If I get the kids to bed early tonight I might go full 3.14key and siphon out most of the petrol tank as it's brimmed, that's another £50.
Just to finish the thread off with an end of term Bangernomics report
5 Months and 2900 Miles done.
Total cost over 5 Months (excl. fuel)
£800 Purchase
£258 Essential Fixes
£132 Consumables
£109 Titivations/Tinkering
[b]£1299
Less Scrap Value £250
Less parts I didn't fit £50
Grand Total £999
Cost per Month £200
Cost per mile £0.34
Average MPG 29.7 (Super Unleaded)
The Really Important Stats
Number of times torque steer genuinely tried to kill me - 3.
Number of days I smiled driving to work due to driving this instead of my hybrid or a diesel - Every Single One of them.
Number of times I've regretted buying it - 0 (Even the MOT fail is an excuse to get a new car!)
5 Months and 2900 Miles done.
Total cost over 5 Months (excl. fuel)
£800 Purchase
£258 Essential Fixes
£132 Consumables
£109 Titivations/Tinkering
[b]£1299
Less Scrap Value £250
Less parts I didn't fit £50
Grand Total £999
Cost per Month £200
Cost per mile £0.34
Average MPG 29.7 (Super Unleaded)
The Really Important Stats
Number of times torque steer genuinely tried to kill me - 3.
Number of days I smiled driving to work due to driving this instead of my hybrid or a diesel - Every Single One of them.
Number of times I've regretted buying it - 0 (Even the MOT fail is an excuse to get a new car!)
Edited by stewjohnst on Sunday 1st October 01:15
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff