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Yesterday I replaced the neutral safety switch on my '01 9-3 automatic, so I thought I'd share my experiences here. I was getting a no-crank condition after driving the car and leaving it parked for a short period of time (30-60 minutes) that had been happening more frequently as the weather warmed up.
I followed the excellent DIY instructions by Mattias at the link below. Since they were for an NG900, I wasn't sure if everything would be the same, so I'm posting this as reassurance for anyone with a 9-3.
The first minor hiccup I ran into was step 3, removing the power steering hose bracket. The instructions say something about battery cable clamps that you turn 90 degrees, but I found them secured to studs with 10mm nuts. I used a 1/4" ratchet with deep socket to get at them.
Immediately after that, I tried to remove the transmission dipstick tube...and failed. No matter what I did, I couldn't pull it free from the transmission casing. Finally I just carefully bent its bracket away from the stud holding it, and was able to swivel it out of the way. You really don't need to remove it. This was the major time-waster of the whole job.
With that done, I was ready to remove the double-ended stud that secures one side of the NSS. For this I used a 17mm 1/2"-drive socket that was a little deeper than my normal 3/8"-drive socket, but if you have a deep socket, even better. I don't think an open-ended wrench would work here.
Now, the 13mm nut that secures the shifter cable was a little tricky to reach due to an A/C pipe that wasn't visible in the DIY instructions. Fortunately I had a U-joint and 10" extension that made it easy with a normal socket. A swivel socket would also work well for this.
For the 22mm nut on the switch itself, I found myself lacking the proper size socket, but was able to use an offset 7/8" O2 sensor socket with extension to break it loose. This would also be a good time to hit the switch shaft with penetrant - PB Blaster in my case. Otherwise the switch might still be stuck after removing the final bolt.
As for that final bolt, I groaned when the instructions said, "THIS is the tough one." I had hoped that my ratcheting 17mm GearWrench would make quick work of it, but the closed end was too bulky, so I ended up just using an ordinary 17mm combo wrench like the instructions said. After breaking it loose and repositioning the wrench once, it was loose enough to spin by hand.
At this point the switch was still kind of stuck, but the PB Blaster did its work and I was able to pry it free with a screwdriver. I fished it out, took a quick break and then began the process again in reverse.
The one hitch during reassembly was, of course, getting the shifter cable lined up properly. Wrenching on the shaft tends to click the transmission into a different gear, so I tightened the 22mm nut first and then played with the shifter handle until the end of the cable slipped on easily (in 2nd gear for me). Now I could align the switch and tighten it down, but first I took the cable back off so I could reach that tricky bolt again.
The rest of the process from here was a piece of cake, and I was very glad when the car started back up again. Hopefully those days of sitting stuck in parking lots are over now!
posted by 65.202....
, Mon, 2 May 2011 17:40:30
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