Doing my tiny wee bit for shite....

[Split_Pin]

I bought a V-reg 2 litre Vec in December, not really shite I know, although it is in a kind of giffer-esque colour, velvet green or something. Anyway its only got 68k so its pretty honest I guess.

 

Anyway, I'm a complete amateur at mechanics, but decided that if I am to be a true shiter in future, I have to learn home mechanics. I had only done oil changes up till now.

 

Any how the throttle body required cleaning and the Idle Control Valve needed replacing as the car was wanting to stall at lights. I had a 'how to' from the owners club, but I was really bricking it as it looked pretty complicated.

 

However I have now completed my first successful mechanical repair and the car runs better than ever now. And I did it all by myself lol

 

Evidence:

 

 

Anyway, I know it isnt much, but I'm more confident about owning real shite in the future now lol.

 

Where/what did everyone else practice their shite - preservation skills on?

[VWPowered]

cool, well done dude, think of the pennies saved..

[Dukestar25]

On my first car - a 1983 Vauxhall Chevette! I learned how to change oil & filter and coolant, rear brake shoes, plugs and leads, radiator removal, leeping the carb oiled etc.I didn't get onto gearboxes, clutches and engine removal until I bought my first Skoda Estelle

[Mr Lobster]

Same here - on my first car and a string of older Renners - Mk1 R5's, R4's and such like.Just worked out that I was spending too much on car repairs and how hard could it be so had a go myself.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Good job. Sometimes written instructions make a job sound more complicated than it is, and getting stuck into oily components brings a bright ray of clarity My theory with mechanics was to have a go, and that if I fucked up I could always go to a mechanic with my tail between my legs. And I did, a few times

[dollywobbler]

I can do it, but laziness usually gets the better of me. Tapping a thread is something I struggle to force myself to do, so I changed the engine instead. Where's the logic?! (to be honest, I think the old engine probably needs a bit more than a thread tapping, but now I'm wondering if it wasn't so bad!)

[retrogeezer]

Ah, the workplace of a true shiteist -the kitchen sink bench.

 

 

[CortinaDave]

funnily enough i just changed the throttle body on my Saab 9-3.. and now its WORSE!Running but wont idle and not pulling over about 3k revs on the road. hmmm...What did you do to clean yours?

[Barry Cade]

Dave, its in limp mode, did you reset the spring to its normal position, got caught out with this a few weeks back with a 9-5

 

When you move the accelerator with the engine and ignition off, does the butterfly move in the throttle body?

 

 

[ashmicro]

On my first car too - a Samba. I actually bought another one for bits, and replaced the bonnet, front wings and interior. Then I wanged a 205GTi engine in, which I thought I had wrecked by pouring Redex into the bores, causing hydraulic lock. When it did eventually start, there was so much smoke one of my neighbours thought it had gone on fire and ran over with a fire extinguisher.It was aslo at this point that I discovered that dishwashers are BRILLIANT parts cleaners.

[Dukestar25]

Peter wrote:

My theory with mechanics was to have a go, and that if I fucked up I could always go to a mechanic with my tail between my legs. And I did, a few times

Ah yes... the part that never comes up in conversation whilst bragging to all your mates that you know how to fix your own car...

[AnthonyG]

I started spannering around on a Hillman Avenger and a Cortina Mk4, which were both like Meccano kits compared to modern stuff.However quite pleased to have fixed a blocked windscreen washer pump on a Mondeo Mk2 at the weekend (Ford fans will know these are hidden behind the o/s front bumper). Having a friend with a ramp and plentiful tools helped significantly, though!

[Split_Pin]

funnily enough i just changed the throttle body on my Saab 9-3.. and now its WORSE!Running but wont idle and not pulling over about 3k revs on the road. hmmm...What did you do to clean yours?

I replaced the idle control valve rather than clean it as I was led to believe that that doesnt always work.I cleaned the throttle body with some Wynns Carb cleaner - pretty good stuff, it removed all the tarry build up around the butterfly

[Albert Ross]

If you have replaced the throttle body with a new or known good used item, you may find it needs the relative section of the ECU programming to accept the change in component. I have known this in the past to give similar issues with odd high idle speeds and stalling. This was also on Vectra 1.8 and 2 litre petrols. You might find it needs telling you have the "old" part on, instead of the "new" part, (in the specific menu in the hand held diagnostic unit (Tech2 for VX/Opel, some Renault/Saab products))

[CortinaDave]

Bugger... All I have is basic ebay code reader that lets me switch off the management light/fault codes

[Split_Pin]

I would suggest seeing if the pressing the brake and accelerator twice with the ignition at position 1 will re-set the ECU. Either that or the sensor on it could be at fault. Does your reader show up the fault code? There will almost certainly be a Saab forum with the description attached to each code?The'2 pedal' method was how I was told to re-set the ECU on my Astra and it worked on that, and the Vec runs fine too after the job. The 'paperclip' test may be required to throw up a fault code on your Saab? Dont know what the'paperclip' test is lol but there will be a guide somewhere

[CortinaDave]

Bought a refurbed throttle body from a place called eastwoods in nottingham on the recommendation of the saab forums... top notch refurb and 2 year guarantee for 150 quid... cheapest i could find anywhere else was nearly double that with no guarantee.Bolted it on today and switched off the management light with my code reader.. running nicely now.Sense of achievement/victory! Saab wanted 550 quid just for the part never mind fitting the thing