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After the SCNA conference call, I had an interesting Saab evening: My sister-in-law called in a mild panic as her son, Bradley, who as a college student and fellow Saab (1988 base 8v) owner/driver was stranded with steam billowing out from under the hood at 10:00 pm.
Anything from a head gasket, to radiator hose (most probable cause from the description I was getting). I loaded the back of the '93 up with a couple of tools, some coolant and distilled water and headed out to the town of Culpeper, about 20 minutes from my house.
I found him and three of his friends huddled in the car, no heat, the cabin windows steamed up. (Why they weren't in their friends jeep which DID have heat and was sitting right next to it was a mystery...).
Quick diagnosis found that the small bleeder hose nipple to the expansion tank was broken and the coolant had leaked out. The kid had been complaining of lack of heat since Thanksgiving, and I had suspected the heater valve at that point. More on that later...
I had an expansion tank from my wrecked SPG back at the house, so I knew we could repair it in a matter of minutes. So 20 minutes back home to pick it up, 20 more back to put it on the car. The actual repair took less than 5 minutes.
I followed him home to be sure the hoses were solid and the engine temp was within spec. He gets out of the car and reports that he now has heat.
Hmmm... Seems that the break in the expansion tank was months ago and just enough coolant had leaked out such that the water line was below the heater core hoses, but left in the engine enough (plus the climate cool enough) such that the engine ran at optimal temperature.
So all's well that ends well: The water jacket is in tact, and the car now has heat.
Of course I didn't get to bed until 1:30 this morning......
Brad's heading back to UVA this morning, and being a first-year student, he's not allowed to take his car, but his mother occasionally does drive it to keep the fluids flowing. She, I'm sure will appreciate heat through the colder months of winter!
Jim Miller, WASSAAB
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