Auto Repair Weekend
The Saab had a noisy exhaust leak so I took it over to an exhaust chain and they quoted me almost $800 to replace just 2 pipes. I went online and found the parts, shipped, for just under $200, plus clamps and hangars. I took Friday off to do the project since it was supposed to be sunny and in the 50's.
The install wasn't too bad at all. Less than 2 hrs including getting the car up on ramps/stands, hunting for metric sockets, and cleanup. In the end I broke off 2 of the clamps with pliers. The new parts used 1/2" harware so I didn't even need the metric stuff after all. I assembled it all dry (no exhaust cement) and so far can't feel any exhast leaks. I kinda wish I'd gone with a sportier exhaust but this is all we can afford right now.
I must mention how impressed I was with the prices at eEuroparts.com and the fact that my parts appeared THE NEXT DAY after I ordered them - and that there was NO COST for the shipping. Yay them. All told I spent less than $240 including clamps and hangars.
While the car was up and it was still warm out I went ahead and installed the Genuine Saab rear sway bar I bought a few months ago. Installing it was slightly harder than described by some people on the various Saab NG900 websites (who must live in the desert or have garages or something) but not too bad.
I thought I was screwed when I snapped 2 of the old 4 bolt heads off immediately (even after soaking them in PB Blaster). Fortunately the bar just slipped off the remaining bolt shafts (with some encouragement from a hammer & chisel). Then the little nut plates on top wouldn't come out due to clearance with the shock mount - so I had to take a grinder to the remaining bolt shafts to get the plates out. Mmmm, sparks.
Most descriptions of this project discuss using a jack or something to hold the bar in place while you bolt it up, but I just laid on my back with the bar on my chest, inserted a bolt into each end of the bar, held by a finger, then lifted both ends into place simultaneously and wiggled the bolts into the existing holes. It actually helped that I did NOT clean up the holes first: since there was some crud in there it kind of held the bolts in place once in. I put a little sideways pressure on the whole assembly with one hand and let the bar kind of hang on the threads while I screwed the nuts on a couple threads with the other hand. Then I could let go and had both hands to get the rest of the hardware into place and tighten it all up. This hobby is making me ambidextrous!
The most noticeable handling change is the car seems to oversteer now while before it felt like understeer. At least that's what I think I'm feeling. It feels sorta like a rear-wheel drive car the way it "digs in" to the corners now. Also I get much less of that front wheel hop (torque steer) when I really honk on it on a loose surface. Slightly harsher readings on the ole seat-o-meter on bumpy roads, though, but not too bad. Very zoomy upgrade for only $90.
This car (96 Saab SE Turbo coupe with 208,000 mi) has been Beth's commuter lately and she really enjoys driving it. It's been fun fixing it up for her.
Then there was still some light so I installed the replacement hood release in the Jeep (the cable had snapped so we couldn't get the hood open). Getting the hood open to do the install involved dismantling the side kick panel on the driver side, then cutting through the cable housing to get to the cable so I could pull it and then POP! it opened right up. I re-lubed the latches and push-rod mechanisms with Lithium grease, then installed the new cable. A good trick I read online was to use some duct tape to attach the new cable to the old cable then pull the whole thing through from the engine compartment. This way I didn't have to figure out how to route the cable. The dealer had quoted $200 for this job. Total cost to me: $27 for the cable, shipped (eBay) and about an hour and half of my time. Now that the hood opens it goes up on craigslist. Snif.
The install wasn't too bad at all. Less than 2 hrs including getting the car up on ramps/stands, hunting for metric sockets, and cleanup. In the end I broke off 2 of the clamps with pliers. The new parts used 1/2" harware so I didn't even need the metric stuff after all. I assembled it all dry (no exhaust cement) and so far can't feel any exhast leaks. I kinda wish I'd gone with a sportier exhaust but this is all we can afford right now.
I must mention how impressed I was with the prices at eEuroparts.com and the fact that my parts appeared THE NEXT DAY after I ordered them - and that there was NO COST for the shipping. Yay them. All told I spent less than $240 including clamps and hangars.
While the car was up and it was still warm out I went ahead and installed the Genuine Saab rear sway bar I bought a few months ago. Installing it was slightly harder than described by some people on the various Saab NG900 websites (who must live in the desert or have garages or something) but not too bad.
I thought I was screwed when I snapped 2 of the old 4 bolt heads off immediately (even after soaking them in PB Blaster). Fortunately the bar just slipped off the remaining bolt shafts (with some encouragement from a hammer & chisel). Then the little nut plates on top wouldn't come out due to clearance with the shock mount - so I had to take a grinder to the remaining bolt shafts to get the plates out. Mmmm, sparks.
Most descriptions of this project discuss using a jack or something to hold the bar in place while you bolt it up, but I just laid on my back with the bar on my chest, inserted a bolt into each end of the bar, held by a finger, then lifted both ends into place simultaneously and wiggled the bolts into the existing holes. It actually helped that I did NOT clean up the holes first: since there was some crud in there it kind of held the bolts in place once in. I put a little sideways pressure on the whole assembly with one hand and let the bar kind of hang on the threads while I screwed the nuts on a couple threads with the other hand. Then I could let go and had both hands to get the rest of the hardware into place and tighten it all up. This hobby is making me ambidextrous!
The most noticeable handling change is the car seems to oversteer now while before it felt like understeer. At least that's what I think I'm feeling. It feels sorta like a rear-wheel drive car the way it "digs in" to the corners now. Also I get much less of that front wheel hop (torque steer) when I really honk on it on a loose surface. Slightly harsher readings on the ole seat-o-meter on bumpy roads, though, but not too bad. Very zoomy upgrade for only $90.
This car (96 Saab SE Turbo coupe with 208,000 mi) has been Beth's commuter lately and she really enjoys driving it. It's been fun fixing it up for her.
Then there was still some light so I installed the replacement hood release in the Jeep (the cable had snapped so we couldn't get the hood open). Getting the hood open to do the install involved dismantling the side kick panel on the driver side, then cutting through the cable housing to get to the cable so I could pull it and then POP! it opened right up. I re-lubed the latches and push-rod mechanisms with Lithium grease, then installed the new cable. A good trick I read online was to use some duct tape to attach the new cable to the old cable then pull the whole thing through from the engine compartment. This way I didn't have to figure out how to route the cable. The dealer had quoted $200 for this job. Total cost to me: $27 for the cable, shipped (eBay) and about an hour and half of my time. Now that the hood opens it goes up on craigslist. Snif.
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