Dabooka

A bit more cleaning done today. The hose of my Karcher decided it had enough of life and ruptured halfway through the engine bay clean. It's a shit design and this is the 2nd time it has happened now. That means the exterior will stay filthy for at least another week. Didn't have enough sunlight to clean the floor mats either but the carpet, plastics and leather are clean again.








Say what you want about engine covers but the 4.6 Northstar really looks better because of it.


Some interior cleaning, better before and afters another time:


If anyone is following The Detail Geek on YT, his complaints about shit quality carpets are real. Cadillac used the cheapest material they could possibly find in the trunk, its not even attached to the car in any way other than folding over all the shapes in there. Even with the drill brush I couldn't get some of the stains out. Still much better compared to before.


MOT hopefully happening next week, fingers crossed it'll behave and it'll be a straight forward pass this time.

Not much to report since getting back from Germany. The alternator for the E65 arrived, I've removed the viscous fan (first time ever without having to apply violence) and fan shroud to get some accessibility in front of the engine and ordered a new power steering hose which should be here next week, the old one has been leaking since I got the car and I might as well while in there.
The Q45 has switched places with the Cadillac as the latter needs a fresh MOT soon, so that was on the list for today.

It shouldn't really need much to get another pass, its barely done any miles in the year I've owned it. Taking it out for a longer drive confirmed that its still in surprisingly good shape after mostly standing, if you ignore the knackered battery anyway.

What it most definitely did need were new front swaybar links which I ordered last year and finally installed today. And oh boy what a shitfest that was again. Not only was it a bit of a pain to get the old ones out due to poor accessibility at the bottom nut, the new Moog drop links were of such a ridiculously dumb design that installing them took 4 times as long as it should have taken.

For some reason (most likely cost cutting) they arrived as a kit. I know that I ordered greasable ones as it would be a nice bonus being able to service them. I didn't expect having to assemble the damn thing myself though. The grease nipples are easy enough, self tapping so Moog saves a cent per unit not having to cut the thread themselves. The rubber boots however are just shoved onto the balljoint it seems, there is no ridge or instruction on how to tie them down at all. The grease is apparently just held in by the rubber pressing again the casing.

This basically means that this "new and improved" design goes all the way back to the 1950s where regularly greasing your chassis components was still seen as normal service, absolutely insane on a 1990s car and in a world where people can't even be bothered to wash their own car anymore. Please someone correct me and I'm just misunderstanding their intentions here.

To top it off there was no way to hold the shaft of the ball joint in place while tightening the nut. I've spent at least two hours in agony trying to torque the already piss poor-to-acess lower nut until I came to the conclusion that squaring off parts of the shaft to hold it in place with my vice grips was the only way forward. A decent brand would give you an area to insert a torx bit or slide a spanner over, not Moog those pricks. Got it all done in the end anyway:

People including myself have already observed a downward spiral of quality on Moog suspension parts (premature wear on my lower controlarms in the Lincoln), the experience I had installing these today was the last straw for me however, I will never buy any of their junk ever again. Especially now that I know Lemforder actually sells them as well. Cannot wait having to replace them again.

I also had a new airfilter for it so that went in as well.

The car will finally receive a proper wash and interior clean tomorrow. I'll order a new suspension height sensor as well. While it does ride pretty well its probably more wallowy than it should be at speed, the car complained about a faulty front right sensor since I got it. The tires are old as well, should the car decide to behave and I keep it long term maybe a set of whitewalls will be added to the list!
 
Oh, and then of course there's been the latest event happening this week...

Today I R been mostly,
 
winter preppin 
 
Cleaned up as much as possible with the grinder and a wire wheel

 

its not tooooo bad. 
 
applied this first
 

 

 

 
then once dry, applied this. Violent stuff! 
 

 

 
I got covered. 
 
so I then fired up the compressor, warmed up some waxoil and sprayed as much in as possible 

850 quid Mazda 323F, unfortunately autotragic:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1460900544503290/?ref=facebook_story_share

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/289728320517394/

afternoon folks!, lots of peoples mention this place, so thought id come to the dark side and see if there are cookies. noticed a few namesakes from the old retrorides place so hopefully catch up with some lost builds!

That's better.

Autoshite coach tours.

Saab 9000 Aero Turbo | eBay
'cant see it needing much for an MOT'


Nearside Rear Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced wheel arch (7.1.1 (a) (i))
Nearside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength chassis (5.3.6 (a) (i))
Offside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength inner arch (5.3.6 (a) (i))
Nearside Front Wheel bearing has excessive play (5.1.3 (a) (i))
Nearside Parking brake inoperative on one side (1.4.1 (a))
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))

Is that now a restaurant, The Forge I think?

I'm back home in Germany at the moment enjoying the remainders of summer with my better half for a little. Since I wouldn't be enjoying getting around by public transport (and don't feel like spending hundreds on a rental) I did the only sensible thing again and bought a car (the ferry was full btw). That was also the reason I couldn't jump on the cheap W221 S320 posted in the low cost, big liability thread last week in the end.
The A6 Avant was a huge success last time, giving me trouble free motoring for over a year and thousands of miles and netting me a decent profit at the end of it all. The objective was the same again, only that this time I gravitated back to BMW once again, resulting in the acquisition of another iteration of God's intention for the perfect car, the E39. I still own my 528i saloon which I plan to get the sills sorted on eventually. This time I went for the Touring in 523i flavor, also with a manual. It's a mid-98 car so not silly Disa valves and other added complexity. A 2.8 would have been twice the price so I'll have to make due with 22hp less. You definitely do notice the different gear ratio on the Autobahn though where rpms would be lower in 5th in the 528i.
More details tomorrow, it needs some minor work and a really good clean inside but so far so good!

https://www.gumtree.com/p/vauxhall/vauxhall-corsa-hatchback-2003-manual-973-cc-5-doors/1465730618

I have a soggy floor.
Perfect info - ta!

Took it to work on Thursday for the oil change and not only did they plonk it on the lift they actually did everything for me. Didn’t even have to open the bonnet which was nice.

Tommy the Friendly* Tech seemed pleased to work on something a bit different.  Well worth a slab of lager to not be rolling around on the floor spilling oil all over the driveway.

A quick reset of the service reminder and another job done.  I may change it again in a few months as I’m not sure when it was last done, treat this is as a bit of a flush.  I’m at a bit on an impasse now as I’ve had it for the year and I can’t decide if I need to stick or twist.  My missus has me on a strict one in / one out.  I’ve scratched the Saab itch but it’s soooo nice to mooch about in.
If I keep I’ll sort some of the rust out and get it Noob’d.  Already got roofing dye but can’t find the waterproofing in the garage, this needs done regardless.
 

Been a while but a few little things done. Recently had the tracking done which has helped but still some slight wobbly vibrations to figure out.  Unrelated I took the rear n/s wheel off as it appeared to have a slow puncture, and whilst I was there I noted a slight* hole in the back box;

Balls.  Whipped it off and the whole thing is fucked so a new genuine* replacement ordered from Neo Bros.  Arrived and fitted at the weekend (see if you can tell the difference).
All shiney and also better placed than before too.  Rubbers aren’t great but they’ll do.


Also got the wheel back form my local Kwik Fit and was informed it wasn’t a leak but possibly a bit of corrosion. He’s cleaned it up, resealed it and all is good and wouldn’t take any money! He just did it when they quiet for something to do.
Additional bonus was he also rebalanced it and guess what’s gone now…

Spent the day giving it a right good clean and even did some restorer on the plastic to bring it back up.  Looks pretty good (even though I know it’ll fade).
Identified some rust I need to resolve where water has been trapped in a seal for the roof, looked a lot worse than it is and the metal is actually pretty solid;

Annoyingly there’s a bit of bubbling on the lip which is visible,  otherwise I’d sort it myself. Mind it was that which gave me heads up there was something amiss so I can;t complain too much.  The otherwside isn’t as bad and can be sorted by me;

So dried up the seals, brushed away the loose flakes and refit for now.  Cleaned and treated all the seals whilst I was at it.  I’ll get some quotes to get the other side tidied up along with the bubbling on all four arches. 
Also taking it to work on Tuesday to get the tracking done and the A/C topped up.

One thing worth checking out on these (as well as the Noob map) is the seal around the cabin air intake...... this is under the windscreen scuttle panel and water drains past it, the seal decomposes and water can then flow freely into the floor carpet.
I removed and resealed with some heavy duty roofing mastic when I had mine.

Get it Noobed and you will want to keep it at least another year. It will be like another car!

Been a while but a few little things done. Recently had the tracking done which has helped but still some slight wobbly vibrations to figure out.  Unrelated I took the rear n/s wheel off as it appeared to have a slow puncture, and whilst I was there I noted a slight* hole in the back box;

Balls.  Whipped it off and the whole thing is fucked so a new genuine* replacement ordered from Neo Bros.  Arrived and fitted at the weekend (see if you can tell the difference).
All shiney and also better placed than before too.  Rubbers aren’t great but they’ll do.


Also got the wheel back form my local Kwik Fit and was informed it wasn’t a leak but possibly a bit of corrosion. He’s cleaned it up, resealed it and all is good and wouldn’t take any money! He just did it when they quiet for something to do.
Additional bonus was he also rebalanced it and guess what’s gone now…

Took it to work on Thursday for the oil change and not only did they plonk it on the lift they actually did everything for me. Didn’t even have to open the bonnet which was nice.

Tommy the Friendly* Tech seemed pleased to work on something a bit different.  Well worth a slab of lager to not be rolling around on the floor spilling oil all over the driveway.

A quick reset of the service reminder and another job done.  I may change it again in a few months as I’m not sure when it was last done, treat this is as a bit of a flush.  I’m at a bit on an impasse now as I’ve had it for the year and I can’t decide if I need to stick or twist.  My missus has me on a strict one in / one out.  I’ve scratched the Saab itch but it’s soooo nice to mooch about in.
If I keep I’ll sort some of the rust out and get it Noob’d.  Already got roofing dye but can’t find the waterproofing in the garage, this needs done regardless.
 

Took it to work on Thursday for the oil change and not only did they plonk it on the lift they actually did everything for me. Didn’t even have to open the bonnet which was nice.

Tommy the Friendly* Tech seemed pleased to work on something a bit different.  Well worth a slab of lager to not be rolling around on the floor spilling oil all over the driveway.

A quick reset of the service reminder and another job done.  I may change it again in a few months as I’m not sure when it was last done, treat this is as a bit of a flush.  I’m at a bit on an impasse now as I’ve had it for the year and I can’t decide if I need to stick or twist.  My missus has me on a strict one in / one out.  I’ve scratched the Saab itch but it’s soooo nice to mooch about in.
If I keep I’ll sort some of the rust out and get it Noob’d.  Already got roofing dye but can’t find the waterproofing in the garage, this needs done regardless.
 

Been a while but a few little things done. Recently had the tracking done which has helped but still some slight wobbly vibrations to figure out.  Unrelated I took the rear n/s wheel off as it appeared to have a slow puncture, and whilst I was there I noted a slight* hole in the back box;

Balls.  Whipped it off and the whole thing is fucked so a new genuine* replacement ordered from Neo Bros.  Arrived and fitted at the weekend (see if you can tell the difference).
All shiney and also better placed than before too.  Rubbers aren’t great but they’ll do.


Also got the wheel back form my local Kwik Fit and was informed it wasn’t a leak but possibly a bit of corrosion. He’s cleaned it up, resealed it and all is good and wouldn’t take any money! He just did it when they quiet for something to do.
Additional bonus was he also rebalanced it and guess what’s gone now…

Had a small parcel arrive today and a few hours in between showers allowed me to add my Bluetooth widget to the Saab 93.  A small adapter that connects to the Aux input on the headunit and allows streaming from your phone.

A doddle to fit, pop out the ashtray, HVAC and CD player and hook up the power to the cigarette lighter feed. Pop the Aux adapter in, insert a single cable to the multi plug and you’re sorted. You can add a mic (supplied) but I can;t be arsed to rip the dash apart so haven;t bothered with that yet.  Will do one day though.


Start to finish took about half an hour and although control has to be done on the phone it is a far neater job than what I had before.   Next up the n/s mirror needs looking at over the weekend if the weather holds up.

Mixed day. I replaced the pads for the front after stripping the calipers down and replacing the slider pins and rubbers (Good old Bigg Red to the rescue).  All greased up etc but they still seem to bind.  Could this be because they’re wearing in against the existing discs?
A few other little things. I had a quick polish of the headlights and cleared them up a little. I need a better kit really but some of the grime / yellow has gone.  Also adjusted the handbrake so as long as the missus stops trying to get it to point to the sky that should be a bit better too. She has a history of overdoing the handbrakes on all of our cars.
Finally topped the tyres up as they were a bit low.  Starting to think I may get the wheels refurbished and replace the tyres for some better rubber. Maybe in the autumn.
 

Small update.
Well today I spoke to a Saab garage I was put on to who said it doesn’t have brake vectoring etc and to give them a clean / replace the callipers. This means tomorrow I’m going to strip and clean and check there spinning freely. So that’s good… He does have the Tech-2 though so I may be back to activate the Aux-In, this will allow me stream, at least. Does anyone know if Tech-2 is available as download or is it purely hardware kit?
Finally is it possible to swap the Saab Audio  for a Saab Infotainment system (ICM1 to ICM2)? I just note that may telephone calling / Bluetooth which along with the Aux will be perfect (I know there’s nothing else to be done and I can’t swap in a proper headunit).

Well here’s my new toy, one my missus has already claimed as her own despite the protests regarding its purchase. Anyway I digress, so here’s some pics a list of things to do.
Negative points worthy of note; the wings are the wrong silver, several small patches of corrosion, not the best rubber but loads of tread so they’re staying, poverty spec ICE and the scuttle panel is worn and split (and lacks the mounting nuts).
Positive points? There are some. For example all new shocks and springs in the last two years (including some alloy block which goes wrong?), annual service which I believe the bloke about, auto box with a fluid change two years ago, low tax (for an auto!) and otherwise a tidy example. Oh and two keys, which is nice for once.
Stuff to do
NoobTune FTW! Clean and treat hood Wing mirror mounts faded and slightly corroded Aircon needs gas m9 [Done Dec ‘23] Rusty bits Wings…? Might just leave then to be honest, not sure I’m that bothered Stuff done
Replaced rear calipers and new pads (Brembo). Discs were fine. (27/06/2022) Cleaned front calipers, replaced sliders and rubbers. New Brembo pads installed. (03/07/2022) Replaced bonnet badge and wheel centres. Topped tyres off as all under pressure (06/07/2022) Installed ICM2 and Aux in to the arm rest cubby. (17/07/2022) Installed new Exide battery (17/07/2022) Replaced a key fob case (17/07/2022) Brakes fettled at the garage (19/07/2022) Two new springs and one new top mount (19/07/2022) Welding and track rod end for MOT (21/02/2023) ICE Upgrade -  ICM2 with Aux in installed, now with SaabPlus Bluetooth module (13/04/2023) New back box fitted (15/08/2023) Oil and filter change (07/09/2023) Plugs replaced (15/10/2023) AC inspected, serviced and recharged (12/12/2023) New radiator cap.  Fuel filter replaced for MOT (05/03/2024) It’s an odd spec.  It’s a Vector with the pov spec audio but with several speakers, five I think (last count seven). It’s got memory seats, cruise, auto wipers, dimming rear view mirror, CD but no multidisc, autobox with button shift (which is brilliant by the way) and fogs.  Otherwise what a joy. Well planted with a lovely gearbox and a good amount of pace, nice driving position, minimal buffeting with the roof down and my missus likes it.
So far so good?