1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
 | [Main C900 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ |
Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ]
Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: what he has in mind Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email]  (#32) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Thu, 9 May 2002 03:55:00
In Reply to: what he has in mind, Adrian, Thu, 9 May 2002 03:09:29 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Ack... that is ugly... those are pretty much all maintenance items that are gonna have to be done at some point with any car. My personal advice - and this goes out to all c900 owners - get ready to get dirty or go buy a Camry. The simple fact is these cars are all at least a decade old, most have hit the bottom of the depreciation slide, and it you look at it from a dollars perspective, you are always gonna be putting more into the car than it's worth. The options are minimize that discrepency by doing as much work as you can in the garage, or buy something new. That said:
1) upper and lower balljoints
This requires a couple special tools, but nothing outrageous. You need to support the upper control arm while you remove the balljoints. It's easiest to buy the $15 special tool, but you can make do without. Parts are cheap for this job - but labor is probably 2-3 hours per side "by the book."
2) ps rack w/ alignment and new tie-end
Unless you like getting really dirty, this may be a job best left to a professional, preferably after you've done the balljoints. Thing is, a lot of a "prep work" involved in doing the ball joints applies to this as well. The actual job really isn't that tough, especially if you have a friend or two that can help - but it is frustrating and really, really filthy. I think this is another 3 hour job by the book - looking back over my service records that seems about right.
3) new cv boot on drivers side
Do this while doing the balljoints - it's simple if you've gone that far already. The only thing you should have to do this job is a circlip plier, but those are cheap. This is not a tough job, and playing with synthetic CV grease is fun, especially the pink-colored Mobil 1 stuff.
4) new muffler hangers
Um, this is a no-brainer. Just need the parts. Jack the car up, support it on jackstands, and find the broken ones. You'll probably want a small bottle jack or similar (even the one in the trunk) to support the exhaust while you de-hang and re-hang it.
5) new fuel valve on the return line
Not sure what he's referring to here. The return line comes off the fuel pressure regulator and dumps into the tank. That's pretty much it. There is a check valve on the feed line, stuck on top of the fuel pump. This can be messy (and smelly) but all the fuel-related systems in a c900 are easy to work with, unless you have the misfortune of actually replacing the FPR in the middle of the night in a dark driveway and find out the return line is kept together by the sheer force of its will alone and shatters on you and then you find out that none of the local parts stores stock metric fuel line so your car stays dead in a friend's driveway until you can get a ride to the local Saab dealer. Or maybe that's just me.
6) freeze plug (aparently it's leaking coolant)
Mechanic. Definitely mechanic.
7) leak from the oil crankshaft
Front or rear? If it's the rear (physical rear, not engine rear) you probably want to let your mechanic do it. Unless you're doing the p/s rack, in which case having that thing out of the way makes it much easier. But it's still a pain. I'd *strongly& recommend going ahead and replacing the crank pulley at the same time, but that does add extra $$$. The front isn't difficult at all - especially if you're doing a clutch!
Issues I can't even afford:
8) right inner driver worn
That's a PITA but again, not too bad. If you're doing balljoints, doing the inner drive is not a tough job from there. And, you can play with more CV grease!
9) new clutch
Easy, easy, easy. Buy the parts online ($150) and the special tool from Saab ($15) and go for it. My first whack at this job took me four hours, now I can do it in two. This is not one I would sweat at all. Plus you can do that front (physical front, not engine front) seal at the same time!
10) alternator is on it's last legs, i.e. sometimes there's not enough
Are you sure it's the alternator and not just the regulator? The regulator is $30 or so, swapping it takes a couple hours. You don't need to do anything special except have small arms. If you don't, make your little sister do it! If it is the alternator itself that's a lot more work but hardly impossible. It involves draining the coolant for the easiest time but other than that just nuts and bolts.
Honestly there is nothing here at all that is worth selilng the car if you otherwise enjoy it. What I'm seeing is a need for some basic hand tools and a few dollar investment in some special ones. There's probably $400 in parts, plus the steering rack and a couple weekends of your time. This sounds an awful lot like my first major wrenching experience (on my '85 900T) and it all went smashingly. With a Bentley and reliable internet (to get on TSN) this is nothing your average person couldn't handle.
-Justin
posted by 64.166.4...
, Thu, 9 May 2002 15:00:09, Thu, 9 May 2002 10:23:42, Thu, 9 May 2002 15:01:45, Thu, 9 May 2002 16:47:45, Thu, 9 May 2002 03:55:00 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 9 May 2002 01:57:25
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
