1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
93 CSET, 261K miles, 16 winters. Heard a bang under car this week when braking hard - didn't think much of it - thought I had scraped front spoiler. Drove to work next day - when leaving noticed something hanging down in rear. Thought it was an emergency brake cable. Drove home and inspected. Right fuel tank strap had broken due to rust. Left strap also looked rusty (bubbled paint). I'm sure glad it held. The archives alerted me that the main problem with replacement is breaking the rusted bolts. So I started soaking them with Liquid Wrench and then PB Blaster.
Called dealer next day fully expecting them to tell me they would have to order the straps. They had both of them in stock. $118.87 total with tax. For grins, asked the service department what they would charge to install the straps. They quoted $300-700, not counting the parts! I laughed and said it is two bolts. Their claim was that rusted bolts could make the job much more significant. They also recommended I take it some where else. This Saab dealer just does not want to work on 9000s anymore.
Last night installed the straps - took me 1.5 hours crawling around on the garage floor. The left strap bolt took me longer because I had to work longer to free it. I sprayed the bolts with PB Blaster multiple times while tapping them, and on the left one had also used a small wire brush.
The moral of the story is: for older 9000s subjected to salted roads, inspect your fuel tank straps periodically for rust (evidenced by paint bubbling) and consider replacing them as a preventative measure.
posted by 130.76.9...
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