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1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
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Well, having returned to Baltimore, MD for my second semester (this time WITH my Saab), I am now faced with a few difficulties that need a mechanic's attention. As some of you know (most do not), I completed an automatic-to-manual conversion over the summer, and met with reasonable success. The car drove well, but after a drive from NH to NY and then down to MD, I've noticed a few rough edges that need remedying:
1. Clicking in the CV joints at full lock. This, I would assume, would be a lack of grease in the boot. I was a bit rushed toward the end of my project (with school again on the horizon), and I probably did not pack the joints as tightly as I should have. It could also be that the joints have simply gone bad, but when I examined them before reassembly, there was no heat scoring or any other damage apparent. This, however, does not rule out joint failure. So, I need to have the joints, at the very least, repacked, and possibly replaced.
2. The clutch has gone a little soft as of late. It is especially noticeable on cold days, where the pedal has quite a long travel before resistance is felt. As the car heats up, and reaches normal temperature, the resistance returns to a point, but not to where I feel it should. My guess is a failing master cylinder, since it was grabbed from a donor car and as it is over 10 year old, the seals could be going.
3. I noticed a pool of coolant on the ground near the front passenger-side wheel well recently. It seems that the coolant is trickling out slowly from the water pump area. I didn't spend a lot of time looking, and couldn't quite tell if it was leaking from a hose connection ( I doubt it) or the pump itself, but my guess is the pump is going bad. This is reinforced by the fact that the engine temp rose higher than normal on the trip from NH to MD.
4. The engine is slightly rough at idle (worse when cold). From a quick listening, I can here air escaping/entering near the nipple on the intake manifold that connects (via vacuum hose) to the valve cover. It is relativly significant and I have already ordered replacement nipples and bushings. Is this most likely the reason for the rough idle? In addition, lately I have been experiencing a problem when I release the gas pedal completely and slow the vehicle down (such as decelerating at a stop light), the RPM falls as it usually does, but then, as it would normally steady at around 900 RPM for idle, it continues to drop, and the engine dies. Could a vacuum leak do this or is it something else? I do not believe the idle is set improperly, but perhaps it is.
So, in conclusion, any ideas, suggestions, or agreements/arguments with my anlaysis? Also, any estimates as to what I should expect to pay (it seems Towsend's site is down)?
While I would normally attempt to fix these problems on my own, I have only limited tools and no space to work now. I, as much as I hate to admit it, need a mechanic. Does anyone have any suggestions for one in the Baltimore area (I'm at Johns Hopkins at 34th and N Charles St)? Viking Saab seems to come highly recommended, but they're a bit of a ways away. Brentwood Import Automotive Specialists also had a mention in the Mechanics section, and they're only about 1.5 mi from campus...has anyone had experience with them?
Well, sorry for the long post, and thanks for the help.
Morkai
1992 Saab 9000 CD N/A
posted by 128.220.47...
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