1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
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Ok, I've been driving this 9000 for a week now. Well, not that I've been behind the wheel for a week! But back and forth to work, a few hundred miles or so. So I'm just sharing my perceptions, for no particular reason. Just to avoid doing my job, I suppose.
By the way, this is a continuation of http://saabnet.com/tsn/bb/9000/index.html?bID=136174
and is about a 1991 9000 CD, with the turbo and automatic.
The suspension is really soft. I'd like to put some stiffer springs in the car, and new shocks. It might just have bad shocks, actually- it can be very bouncy on the East Side drive (FDR) which is some crappy highway along the east river in Manhattan. Very rally-car, that road. Lots of pot holes and whoop-de-whoops.
The transmission seems to be suffering from the broken-spring problem, in that it doesn't shift cleanly between 3d and 4th. The shift from N to D is instantaneous, but 3d to 4th doesn't happen the way it should. 3d lets go, the engine revs freely for a second, and then 4th engages. Interestingly, this only happens under light-throttle situations- under hard acceleration, it shifts fine. In other words, I didn't even notice it until my wife was driving! But now, of course, it drives me crazy, and I worry about it constantly while driving.
I've run through some new ATF (I haven't flushed it, but drained/refilled a couple of times to try and get some good oil in there), but it made no difference, so I'm looking at pulling the top off and getting all in its business. Who is the best source for accumulator springs? I've looked through the townsendimports site, and I'm inclined to call them up, since they've done such a good job of putting the information out for us.
The turbocharged 2.3 is a very different animal than the N/A 2.3 is. I love the way it just pulls and pulls with a satisfying roar. Well, not a roar, but you know. A deeper sound than I'm used to. The engine seems fine, theres some timing chain guide noise, but on the whole, it's sweet. Lots of power, no hesitation starting, idles fine with no hunting- all good, except for the leaks (I need to track down a coolant drip, and an oil drip, but now that it's working, I'm just in the add-and-ignore mode).
The seats are damn comfortable. The seating position is much higher than the 900, and the seat doesn't go back as far, but it's very comfortable, and playing with the power-everything seat is pretty fun. And the sightlines are great. And the ACC works, and has no faults- although the outside temperature is very much related to how fast you're going. Sitting in the rain on the weekend, it thought that it was 90 degrees outside! Very optimistic. Once back on the highway, it dropped back down to 40 degrees.
The radio is insufficient, and CD player skips. I've read here that I can send the CD player back to Clarion, but I'm inclined to just upgrade the whole system. The stereo in the '95 900 is way better sounding, although I'm no fan of the trunk-mounted CD changer. Anyway. I want a fuller sound, more bass, better presence. We'll see what I can cook up.
-Q
posted by 216.211.2...
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