Ownership Verified: Yuppiemobile part 2: 1993 Saab 900i 2.1-16

My underbody and all components underneath are rust free thankfully.

So today I set about flushing the coolant. Now I don't know whose idea it was to put a radiator drain plug in a position where all it can do is spew coolant all over the engine bay and electrical connections, but whoever they are I don't like them.
 
So, sit rep on coolant flushing. Shoved a garden hose up the car's holes. Kept putting it in until no more crap came out. It just kept coming.

Good thing I did, this is what came out with the first ~10L of flushing...



Holy sediment!

Also took the filthy expansion tank out and gave it a jolly good scrubbing.




Makes not a lot of difference to how it drives but it's nice knowing all that crap that was in the coolant isn't there any more.
 
Yeah, did that. Made a mess but did it. The bleeder port is conveniently located so the coolant that comes out goes everywhere and you can't catch it with anything. Kind of like the radiator but worse. So I just have to burn a bit of coolant off the engine over the next few runs :lol:
 
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It can't be that bad, can it? As long as you can access a drain plug, and a few hoses or other points of the cooling system to shove a hose in, you should be sweet.

But I'm sure that if anyone can make an easy job hard, it's Alfa :lol:
 
In my brief poke around the workshop, there was a lot of cladding that had to be removed just to see the underside of the engine. Not too bad when it's on a hoist, though in the garage at home it could be difficult.
 
Your engine is a highly redesigned Triumph slant-4, the engine I have in the 1850. So you can probably thank BL for some of the ridiculous locations for drain points/bolts that are impossible to remove/things that need replacing regularly and are buried under other stuff. :p
 
They used a redesigned version of a Triumph engine, which was then mounted slanted and backwards into the engine bay with the gearbox below it and the transmission in the front. Also the CV joints run through the chassis forks and the dipstick is in the oil tube.
 
SAAB logo on the cam cover, STANPART logo on the head.

One of the worst things about the Slant-4 is IIRC the angled cylinder head bolts which meant the bolts had to come out before the head could be taken off. They always rusted too, making them a pain in the ass to remove.
 
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I went to visit my mechanic today, this was in the car park next door (of a 'contemporary art space', like a true Saabist.



Had a chat with this guy as I ran into him outside the aforementioned art gallery. He's actually a contemporary artist and long-time Saab enthusiast. Stereotypes do exist for a reason! :lol:

In other news nothing much has happened with the car. Nobody stocks differential gaskets for these so I have yet to change the gearbox oil. Still enjoying my Swedish tank though.
 
The Saab passed MOT! I'm slightly surprised...

Although having it up on a hoist revealed that the power steering pump has a slow leak, as does the diff cover. Diff cover is no big deal as I was going to be replacing that gasket when draining the gearbox. The inspector commented on how clean it was underneath for a 20 year old car. It's the first time I've had it up on a hoist too, so it's the first time I've had a good look at the underside. And yes, there is absolutely no rust under there!
 
So it appears that nowhere stocks differential gaskets for Saab 900s any more. So to the internet!

I'm glad America has a decent Saab community. I've ordered two diff gaskets, a new PCV breather fitting as I discovered today that the current one is loose and is seeping oil, a new mast for the slightly bent electric aerial, 4 spark plugs, an oil filter and sump plug. All for significantly cheaper than I'd find locally, offsetting the $40 shipping fee. Hopefully it will all be here and ready to go in early next year before life starts again.
 
The other day I drove up to a Saab specialist wreckers. I wondered why I couldn't find any Saabs in any breakers in New South Wales, now I know why. They're all at this place. The owner was a true Saab nut as you'd expect, he had a beautiful early 900 Turbo, as well as a couple of pristine 99s, a Turbo and a base GL.

He helped me find a new hatch, and came up with this one. It's completely rust free, apparently most of them have the same problem mine does.

The ever practical Commodore on duty.

Boot within a boot, Bootception.



Now I have to get around to stripping it back and painting it, then swapping my rear window and locking mechanism into the new hatch. After this, all the bad rust will be gone. About time, since yesterday out of curiosity about how badly rusted the current boot is, I put my key straight through it...
 
Baksby has been driven a lot over the Christmas break, and has performed admirably well. I also got a chance to brim the tank (instead of being a student and putting $20 worth in at a time) and hence measure the economy.

One tank, which I filled before leaving on my trip away, was almost exclusively urban. The next, which I filled on my return, was almost exclusively motorway and country roads, including a few full throttle overtakes and accelerations. So it gives me a nice breakdown of consumption figures. And here they are:
Urban 11.9L/100km
Extra-urban 8.1L/100km

Not bad for a decently sized 20 year old car (of a considerably older design).

The looks keep growing on me.



I also noticed I never posted any photos of the interior:
 
I changed the spark plugs today, the old ones turned out to be the wrong kind, and looked pretty filthy. Anyway, they must have been bad because I'll be damned if it doesn't feel like a different car now. Noticeably more power and it feels like it revs way smoother. I don't think it's just the placebo effect either, the engine feels so much more, I don't know... "confident" now.
 
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