SAAB! There, I said it.

[Erebus]

1 hour ago, Vantman said:

No Noobtune for me, bad memories.

Oh dear.  Sorry to hear that.  What happened?

[Erebus]

Damn, can see why you'd want to avoid that!

[mercedade]

I have joined Club Saab, with my dad's 55 plate 9-5 2.3t in what is apparently 'Linear' trim.

Very comfy, squashy place to be, but has the distinct feel of needing a lot of rubber things replaced. Extremely floaty I'm OK with, but wobbly and twitchy less so.

[mercedade]

Has anyone fitted an aftermarket stereo to a 95?

I've dealt with having to run extra switched wires in other cars before, but this one:

 - won't dim with headlights

- won't retain memory settings (and no, it's not a 'switch the yellow and red' situation)

[Crackers]

2 hours ago, mercedade said:

Has anyone fitted an aftermarket stereo to a 95?

I've dealt with having to run extra switched wires in other cars before, but this one:

 - won't dim with headlights

- won't retain memory settings (and no, it's not a 'switch the yellow and red' situation)

Yeah, I've just done a Sony one.

The dimming is done through the SID/EBUS, the pin usually used for dimming on the ISO blocks is not pinned (third from left on the bottom row). AFAIK you therefore can't connect the dimming function to the car, so either leave it fully dimmed all the time or set the dimmer with a timer if the radio supports that.

As for the memory settings I'm not sure what's up with that, I had to switch the yellow and red to make mine retain (the +15 pin should be switched live, +30 pin is permanent live, which is backwards to a standard ISO pinout). Double check you have swapped these over correctly (and, apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but take the radio out of demo mode otherwise it'll reset itself every time it's switched off regardless).

You will lose the steering wheel controls unless you get one of these:
Manual gearbox only: https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/saab-9-3-9-5-1998-2005-steering-wheel-stalk-control-adaptor-ctssa002-2.html
Auto or manual gearbox: https://reierparts.com/parts/steering-wheel-control-adapter-kit-for-saab-9-3og-and-9-5/

Check that your horn still works once the radio is installed as I think it's controlled by the same box of tricks that the wheel controls link to.

[Split_Pin]

I've got a real issue with water ingress in the brown 93 convertible at the moment.  Normally with these it's the passenger footwell that gets wet but this time its the drivers. It's starting to form a puddle it's that bad. Absolutely sopping.

I've sealed up everything I can see under the plastic scuttle panel and all 3 drains are super clean. This worked for a few months but now it's worse than ever. It's not coolant and the door seals are fine. I even checked the floor wasnt rusty, its perfectly fine. I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

[Jazoli]

53 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I've got a real issue with water ingress in the brown 93 convertible at the moment.  Normally with these it's the passenger footwell that gets wet but this time its the drivers. It's starting to form a puddle it's that bad. Absolutely sopping.

I've sealed up everything I can see under the plastic scuttle panel and all 3 drains are super clean. This worked for a few months but now it's worse than ever. It's not coolant and the door seals are fine. I even checked the floor wasnt rusty, its perfectly fine. I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

Have you checked the AC drain? I definitely remember it dripping under the car when I had it, its between the bulkhead and the back of the engine and is a faff to get to.

 

[Split_Pin]

Thanks I will check that.

[mercedade]

Stereo was sorted on my 95 by running two spliced wires from the headlights switch - one for the dimming function, and one for the 12v. There was a really helpful online guide somewhere, written up as a PDF booklet. 

Love Saab nerds.

[brownnova]

My 9000 has only covered 1500 miles since the last MoT (due at the end of March)… this is by far and away the lowest in the 6 years I’ve owned it. It used to be a 10-12k a year regular, but now I own more cars and live closer to work it gets out much less… 

[mercedade]

After dealing with a dragging rear brake that may or may not be a sticking rear caliper - I'm undecided, but it certainly looks a little crusty around the piston, but the parking brake shoes also looked a little reluctant to move properly. In any case, it's all been apart, and the very dodgy looking rear bleed nipples have also been replaced - it was time to tackle a crappy gearbox/torque mount.

How crappy?

Took about 15 minutes, most of which was getting the ramps out and removing the undertray

[mercedade]

However, the undertray remains removed as whilst I was under there, I spotted a coolant weep on the underside of the radiator.

Can't see any leaks as yet, just a very small drip. Reluctant to immediately shift to 'it needs a new rad', but equally don't really want to take it all apart more than once.

Anyone aware of any common weakspots? It's definitely not the heater valve, it's 100% coming from the rad area - but could be hose I guess.

[Split_Pin]

Start high up first. It could be one of the crappy GM spring hose clamps that's losing its strength.

[mercedade]

My 95 passed its MOT today, only advisory was for an exhaust blow.

Really wish I'd been able to snag @The Moog and (now) @Barry Cade's mate's one tbh, it has the bits I need!

[Split_Pin]

Still looks good for a 17 year old car 

[Vantman]

I sold this 9-5 in 2020 at 43000 miles and have just bought it back with 47000 miles!!

2005 Linear spec,2 litre petrol, auto--i paid far,far too much money for it but got a good price for my MBenz C230.

 

[Split_Pin]

What a peach!

[brownnova]

Looks luuuurvely! 

[Jerzy Woking]

Had to sell my 95 Aero HOT before I left UK in 2019, as there was no way I could get it onto Spanish plates. This was because of the mods that the previous owner did

*Maptun brake discs and 6 piston calipers

*lightweight wheels

* Eiback springs, Bilstein shocks

*bigger turbo

*Abbott intercooler and full stainless Abbot exhaust system

*Nootune stage three tune

And loads of other bits and pieces. At 304 bhp, just on the limit of what you can do without a major engine strip.

Fantastic 4 door sport saloon. So sad it had to go, but the buyer was a nice bloke and likes it as much as I do.

Sold it for £2.5k. Tuned Saabs are a bargain.

 

[Split_Pin]

Indeed and they'll never be cheaper than they are now.