Roffle SAAB - WBOD PRICE DROP £295 or £5 a ticket, 12 Months MOT - WEDS DRAW! SOLD OUT!

[Kiltox]

Disappointed with the lack of "it broke down I wish it was a Goona" content

[SiC]

Just found the V5 slip for this! Did you receive a new V5? I can't remember if I did it online or simply forgot to post the front bit off...

[Guest Hooli]

Yeah I got one, I think you said you did it online to avoid paying any more tax.

[Guest Hooli]

It's now incontinent. It's widdling on the floor while parked, probably in complaint at not being used now I'm taking the bike to work. I guess the leaky water pump has had enough, I'll have to change it sooner than planned.

[SiC]

When you said the water pump had started leaking, I did wonder if it'd start leaking really bad at some point. Your Saab's previous owner to me had a Saab 9-5 Aero that started leaking and as the car was a Friday job (he spent over 6k in repairs in 2yrs ownership!), it was the final straw for him. Apparently it was so bad when he chopped it in at WBAC, he had to park it around the corner, fill the coolant tank up and hope they didn't test drive it!

 

He then bought a newer 9-5 for his wife and ordered a new BMW for her. When that BMW arrived he then used the newer 9-5 and hence sold this one.

 

I don't think it's a big* job to change the water pump on these. Driven by the aux belt, as chain driven. Check the aux belt type though as they did different lengths depending on the age. Older cars had an extra pulley while newer ditched it. Might be worth throwing a new tensioner on it while you at it. Might just fix the belt squealing on startup!

[SiC]

How is the old bus getting along nowadays? Is it's water pump still incontinent?

[Guest Hooli]

Quick update.

 

Not very much to report at all. I keep topping the oil n water up & it keeps going like a proper car should. I've done nearly 5k in it now.

Other than that, I've sourced a matching alloy so that'll go on next friday when I get front tyres fitted. Going to spoil it & get the aircon regassed too.

 

Still not fixed the gearbox...

[JayW]

I did the water pump on mine a few weeks back, wasn't too bad a job. That and the oil pressure switch replacement took a combined 4 hours, 3 of which were swearing at it!

 

A week later the clutch went

[Guest Hooli]

I checked this morning, when I said nearly 5k it turns out to be 5,006 before I left the house this morning. Showing an average of 28.6mpg over that time too.

[Guest Hooli]

I doubled the cost of this car earlier today. Took it in for two tyres & aircon regass, £176 so near as damnit the same as the car.

 

Drives much nicer now, got a free part worn thrown in for the spare, they don't sell them as such but Simon keeps nice ones for loyal customers. The aircon works great too, it's been a long time since I've sat in a car & felt cold in this weather! sheer luxury!

 

Gearbox wise, it seems to be improving on it's own. I do wonder if it was dirt in the control unit, not wear & it's gradually washing it's way out.

[SiC]

Its an auto-adaptive gearbox, so maybe the gearbox ecu is learning how to shift better. Or possibly as you have the aircon on, so the radiator fan is on all the time and thus keeping the ATF cooler. Does it still thump at all when its hot?

[SiC]

Also possibly that the solenoids were gummed up with the old fluid and the new fluid has allowed them to slowly wipe/clear off the stickiness on them?

 

Good to hear the old girl is still running. One of my shite car regrets is not changing that valve body over. But that is easy to say in 25C weather - very different from when it was -2C out.

[Guest Hooli]

It's still slow to shift when hot, but it's not thumped lately. But then I don't often sit in traffic to suffer it, I potter up the motorway for three junctions each way. It still thumps into drive when I get home & park up, but I think it's improving.

 

I still think changing the solenoid pack to one that's been cleaned out is a good idea, but what with needing to buy a house etc currently I'm not doing it. Maybe it'll fix itself before I get around to it? Fingers crossed eh?

[SiC]

Good also to know it's possible to carry on driving around with it in this state for a good while. So if happens to buy a car with a buggered AW55 box like this you can get some use out of it. Makes it a proper roulette though, as because it only happens when hot and a good drive, a seller could quite easily hide the fault. Which iirc is what happened to someone on here.

[beko1987]

Mmm mine stunts from 1st to 2nd sometimes, and holds the gears a bit until I ease off the throttle a tad, not enough to change the speed, just enough to make the box drop...

 

Ill pick your brains at shitefest, ill need you to point at stuff for me so I know what your on about!

[SiC]

Stunts?

[beko1987]

Sorry, shunts. I never type it, my phone thought it knew better...

[Guest Hooli]

Mine's current habit when hot is not shifting down when I stop, normally it does after a second or two. But now & then I go for a gap & find it's stuck in 3rd...

[Guest Hooli]

Just been out in it again.

 

I'm sure the MPG will improve with the new tyres, it's rolling so much easier I'm miss judging where to lift off to slow enough, as it's just rolling on & not slowing now!

[Guest Hooli]

Small update...

 

After shitefest the hot weather has proved the box hasn't fixed itself, it still bangs when hot. However it's never found neturals or stuck in third since I topped it up with fluid, so it's good enough not to bother me in everyday use.

 

Other than that, it's doing 2mpg more on the new front tyres. Even better as the air con as worked since they were fitted so maybe they saved more? Got almost 29mpg out of the last tank which seems pretty good for such a big auto petrol turbot to me.

[SiC]

Aircon on modern cars tend not to sap much fuel. I can't remember if it's these or the 9-3, but one of them had a variable displacement pump so it could vary how much it engages to save fuel. Plus being climate control, it will only engage the compressor when it's hot enough inside rather than constantly run it.

 

It's a real shame the box does bang, as apart from that (and a few rattles) it's a very solid car. I know this is the thing that upset and annoyed me the most about it. But then I'd been worth far more than £180 if it didn't have that troublesome box. Well it probably was worth more, just I sold it cheap on here so I didn't get some eBay/Gumtree fuckwit wining about it a week after.

 

These cars have such a very chunky, solid feeling. Almost indestructible like.

 

It's made me very tempted to change the Laguna to a 9-5 Aero until I can find a new style 9-5 with the engine I want. I massively regret not buying the facelift Aero I saw just before Christmas that went for a pitiful £600. It's only real fault was the HID lights not working - almost always the ballast.

[Guest Hooli]

Plus being climate control, it will only engage the compressor when it's hot enough inside rather than constantly run it.

 

 

 

 

According to the book it always runs above 5c to dry the air before heating to the chosen temp.

 

Either way it's a good car & one day I'll fix the banging.

[SiC]

Yeah, below 5C they generally never run as it's too cold for the condenser to condense.

[Guest Hooli]

I've not updated this for a while so here is the latest thrilling* instalment....

 

I've had to buy it parts, two parts in fact. The wipers had worn out & my local place sells them individually. Other than that, it'll have done 7k with me in another 30miles or so. It's showing 28.4mpg in that time & is still doing exactly what a car should. It went to the Lakes t'other weekend & did about 33mpg that day, which still strikes me as too good for a 2.3t auto. This post brings it up to about 217.5k showing.

 

For a modern it's a lovely thing, I will fix the water & oil leak one day. Might even solve the gearbox too, but that seems to have improved slightly on it's own & isn't an issue how I use the thing.

 

 

ETA: Just seen the thread date, I'll have had it six months on friday.

[SiC]

Glad the old bus is still serving well. Those wipers were £5 Lidl specials to be fair.

 

I saw the previous owner the other day (a contractor at work) and he was thrilled to here that it's still going.

[Guest Hooli]

I might sell it back to him in a year or two if he wants it

[Guest Hooli]

Inspired by another thread I just checked something...

 

Average distance to the moon - 238,900miles.

Miles on Saab - 217,164

 

Distance to the moon - 21,736miles.

 

Should be there in 18 months with current usage....

[Guest Hooli]

Time for an update I'd say.

 

I finally got sick of the rattle from underneath at certain revs/loads - typically idling in D when almost warm. I took a look underneath, found the loose power steering pipe SiC cable tied up. Noticed the other end had broken it's mount & created replacement mounts that look totally* standard from an old camping mat.

 

 

I then went looking for more rattles as that one didn't sound like the annoying one when I shook it. The power steering pipes down the back of the block were the culprit. A broken clip in the inner wing & what I think was a missing clip holding the pipes together got cable tied in a professional* job. This has cured the rattle.

 

 

Still got a clunking that sounds like a droplink over bumps, I'll get to that along with the oil & water leaks in due course. No rush, it's only taken 7,500mile to get to this rattle...

[Guest Hooli]

Then I used alloy wheel cleaner & washed it, with two buckets & even chammed/shammi'd/chammied? it off for a shine & lack of smears. I even washed some of the mess out from under the bonnet but no pics of that.

 

Beko will be happy to know I washed the door shuts for the professional* effect.

 

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

Oh I forgot. I checked the air cleaner too, as it's accessed from underneath. Looks like new so I can ignore that for yonks now.