SAAB 9000 (pics added & gearbox mods)

[Richard]

You've been driving diesels too long, even 30mpg is pretty good for a car that size.

[Pete-M]

30 mpg is nothing to complain about at all.The Rover is unlikely to ever manage it, put it that way.

[Milford Cubicle]

It's just galling, knowing that more powerful models manage about the same.

[alfetta]

turbo saabs are (apparently) always more economical than the N/A models unless of course you drive it 'enthusiastically' - which you do with a turbo, then you get 20mpg....30-35 mpg is pretty good IMO for it's size, I've never had more than 28mpg out of any saab or similar car, probably the way I drive

[Guest]

Who on earth is this Scottish Andy geezer, the adventures of whom we regularly hear about. Not a miserable tennis playing ginge is he by any chance?

SCTSH_ANDY is a long time friend of mine. He's one of the two people I share the Wat_dump with, and prefers his cars on the vintage modern side of shite, particulary Peugeots and Saabs. Anything after the 306 and into the GM era is VERBOTEN as far as he is concerned.

 

He could buy himself a very nice modern car, but he thinks they're all bollocks and uneccessarily complicated. He despises my C4 but thinks the Amazon is too old and shite. He'd rather smoke around in his 9000 Carlsson. He's currently building up a 405 Mi16 for his Mrs to blezz around in. At the moment she's running his other 9000 Carlsson - the white one. Her friends are all baffled and regularly inform her that the Saabs are 'shit and old' and that she should 'buy a nice new Fiesta or something, they're proper ladies' cars'.

 

He's also had two Mi16x4s, both of which were bought (and wrecked) by our mutual mong-friend Dave, and countless 309 GTIs.

 

He doesn't do forums though. Hates them. Used to be on the PeugeotSport board but fell out with some of the more armchair mechanic type of established member. He knows what type of things work because he's been there and had it in bits, or broken it.

 

I mention him a lot because he has a hardcore SHITE ethos, and generally does things the way he wants to do them. We get on well.

Sounds like a goodd egg. And quite a character. Shame you cana't get him on here.....

Listen, if SCTSH_ANDY doesn't want to do something, it doesn't happen. There is nothing I could do or say to change his mind. A shame like, but there you go.

[Milford Cubicle]

It's handy having an MPG readout, my first ever car with one, I reckon the fuel economy would be a lot worse without it.

 

I've already had a couple of "LOL! OLD MAN CAR" digs from the What Car? aren't new cars wonderful aficionados at work.

Telling them I could buy 20-30 examples of my car for the price of the cars they "own" put paid to that nonsense.

[Guest]

It's handy having an MPG readout, my first ever car with one, I reckon the fuel economy would be a lot worse without it.

 

I've already had a couple of "LOL! OLD MAN CAR" digs from the What Car? aren't new cars wonderful aficionados at work.

Telling them I could buy 20-30 examples of my car for the price of the cars they "own" put paid to that nonsense.

Do they like Audi A3s?

[Milford Cubicle]

They aren't that bothersome, I thought they were to tell you the lights were working initially.

[Richard]

Y0 crew!!I'm about to go and look at a 1996 SAAB 9000 CS I, any pitfalls I should be aware of? Even Honest John rates them so they must be good.

Starter motors tend to go at about 145900 miles.

[Milford Cubicle]

Thanks to SCTSH_DAVE and Richard for a replacement starter motor...

[scooters]

 

 

'80s dashboard ftw. There's no glovebox at all! It's filled with airbag

 

 

It has some neat features inside like this utterly blinding map-reading light.

 

I've driven it a bit now and although it's sluggish and only does 30MPG (gr8 4 unleaded @ 125.9p/l) I love it - just feels like a proper 'executive' car and is so relaxing to drive.

The plan is to do some Hirst-style tinkering, tidy it up a little, get some gun gum on the exhaust, change the engine and gearbox oil, change the thermostat and coolant and keep it as a back-up car.

bloody hell Milford - the woods round your gaff in Inversneckie-shire do look a bit.....

 

ba da baa daa baa daa baa daa baaaaaaa

 

bada badabadabadaba....

 

do not get lost, on no account consider a canoeing holiday with 3 mates especially when one of them is a fat yank who may have acted as Lex Luther's side kick...on no account get into a canoe and do not, under any circumstances imitate a pig should one of the locals ask you to!

 

very pretty up there though!

 

[kadams1970]

I'd be keen to hear about these gearbox mods, as I am weeks off transplanting mine...

 

Oh, and my 300bhp Aero is happily running 35mpg on motorway runs, and showing annoying reps in their 330is the power of the Swede

 

/K

 

[Gompo]

I reset the fuel comp for a 150 miles trip on our work's 9000LPT, which I think is a 2.0 with 150BHP. Really struggled to get close to 35MPG without driving below 70mph on the A1, it just doesnt seem to have the torque.

[kadams1970]

Yes, the Ecopower version is far thirstier than the 2.3. Don't ask me why.../K

[Milford Cubicle]

I want a 9000 turbo.

[Richard]

Here is the wank slave that was mentioned at the start of the thread.

 

 

I spoke to Dave about the gearbox mod. Although he thought of it himself he subsequently discovered that he wasn't the first to think of it. I'll explain it as best I can.

 

 

Towards the left of the output shaft here there are two spacers- a solid one and a collapsible one. The collapsible one is meant to crush down to the right size to get the correct amount of preload on the shaft. Spirited driving puts enough pressure on the collapsible spacer to collapse it further and carnage ensues.

 

The collapsible spacer is purely a convenience for assembly purposes, far better to fit a solid spacer of the correct thickness. Dave's method is to

 

1. Measure the total length of a good collapsible spacer together with a solid spacer.

 

2. Weld two solid spacers together (you don't have to weld them but Dave likes to.

 

3. Machine the combined spacers to 0.5mm longer than the length you measured in (1)

 

4. Assemble the gearbox

 

5. Measure the endfloat on the output shaft with a dial gauge

 

6. Look up the correct preload in the manual that you should have access to if you are stripping down gearboxes. Different preloads are listed depending on whether the bearings etc are new or not.

 

7. Remove the spacer again. This involves dismantling the box again.

 

8. Add together the endfloat from (5) and the preload from (6) and have that amount machined off your spacer.

 

9. Assemble the gearbox and refit

 

It sounds like a lot of fannying about, and it is, but it does seem to work.