1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Greetings Saabers, I would first like to say that this is an awesome site; with such a wealth of knowledgeable people, information and resources. Thank you, this site has been invaluable. Well, where do I start? :)
I am a newbie to the Saab world having only admired the 99’s and 900’s as they drove by… I now am the owner of an 86’ 16v Turbo manual trans 3 door hatchback (or does it own me?). I do love this car. When I bought the car I knew that I would have to put some work into it. I am not a mechanic but I am a natural born DIY’er, I was expecting to do some repairs. But… man I had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I bought the car the last words I were told were to “make sure you go to a website called saabnet.com”… I thought, “Cool a fan site”…. LOL! This site is so much more and far exceeds that label. So, to the guy that sold me the car, I do love the car but you could have been a lot more honest or maybe I should have asked more questions. Oh well…
Ok, so when I test-drove and looked the car over it seemed ok. I was told about the oil seal leak and wasn’t to worried about it. Seeing as how the residue around the pully wasn’t too bad and minimal pooling under the body I thought that I had some time before I had to fix it. I have quickly moved up to replacing the oil at about a quart a week. With time constraints and having been distracted replacing and repairing other parts, I have yet to replace that seal and O-ring. Seems like everytime I fix something, something else demands attention. “Welcome to the continuum” I can almost hear some of you smirk.
Indeed!
Anyhow, any advice will be appreciated. A few new problems have popped up that have me worried. The engine runs a bit hot in fact; it seems to get heated up almost instantly. The gauge shoots almost to the top and just sits there. It doesn’t overheat mind you it just runs hot. Coolant loss has been nil to minimal but recently at idle I’ve noticed white mist and that sweet smell of coolant coming from the exhaust. Headgasket..? No oil/water or water/oil and no noticeable cracks or leaks also, no bubbling in the coolant reservoir that I have noticed.That mist and smell sometimes comes into the cab from behind the facia when the defrost is on.
The engine runs horrible at a 1/4 tank of fuel and a new sound has developed under the boot. A Kind of fast leaking – hissing noise, prepump? Actually, that sound only lasted a few days and seems to have gone away now.
5-10 second cranking from a cold or warm start.
Other things:
-loud muffler!
-Only the defrost vents work on any setting.
-(Sometimes) Loud mechanical pop then winding down sound from the engine when I shut down before the radiator fans kick in.
-Cv joints? Popping/clunking sound and the car kind of bounces side to side on the road at times. Boots look good.
-Intermittent facia lights/ display
-Need a new rear defrost toggle/module
-Heated seats? Eh.. not at the top of my list
-Brakes have started squeaking
-Had to tighten up the squealing alternator belt. Alternator was slightly shifting side to side. New bushings?
-Gear on sunroof motor is stripped.
-Other minor things the list could go on…
:)
Long read I know, Thanks for reading this far. I just wanted to introduce my Saab and myself since, I have been spending my free time with my nose pressed against my monitor reading everything on this board.
-Michael
posted by 24.23.41...
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