Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 18:48:20 +0000 From: Grunff <grunffnopsam.com> Subject: Re: I want to beat a Saab engineer to death with a blunt spanner...
Adrian wrote: > Open the bonnet ('88 c900i) and everything looks *dead* easy. Pah. > > I've just spent the day basically doing a full service. 1.5 out of 5 for > "fun". I've owned a whole bunch of cars, including (the ones I can remember) Saab, BMW, Rover, Volvo, Honda, Citroen, Renault, Triumph, Mini, and a few others - dating from 1968 to 1996. I have to say that overall, the C900 wins hands down for ease of maintenance! (The e30 comes a close second, in case it's listening) > Poor design :- > - That Sodding Air Filter. What the hell were they thinking? *THIS* is why I > want to beat a Saab engineer to death with a blunt spanner. Grrr. [a] This was a mistake they made on the CIS models. It's dead easy on the carbed and the electromechanical bosch injection setups. [b] Try doing one on a 9000! > - That Sodding Alternator Bracket. F'ing thing was broken, so had to be > swapped. Jaysus. Still, at least the allen bolts came undone, unlike the > bracket donor. The belts aren't fun, either, but I do like that adjuster. Erm, ok, you found the big one. ;-) > Poor previous maintenance :- > - Fuel filter unions. Seized solid. Did come in the end, though. I never try to undo anything without emptying half a can of plusgas on it, and never put it back together without big dollops of copper grease. > - Power steering belt. It didn't help that the belt GS&F supplied was a bit > too short, but it might have worked if the soddin' pivot bolt wasn't seized. This one puzzles me - what could be easier than the PS belt?? > - Oil filter. It was a Fram one on there, roughly the size of a bucket. If > the alternator hadn't been out anyway, I think it'd still be in there... > Nice place for coolant hoses, too. A bit tight, but far preferable to having to crawl under the car to get at it, no? > - Drain plugs weren't actually welded in, but if felt like it. At least they > hadn't been rounded. I gave up on removing drain plugs a looong time ago. All my oil comes out through the dipstick tube by suction. > Things that went well :- > - Radiator. Of course, if the 4-year old one on there had been any bloody > good, it wouldn't have needed doing again so soon. All the fins were > corroded to dust. > - Dizzie cap and rotor. Could it get any easier? > - Reverse selector mod. Oooh! That's made all the difference. Or should this > be in "poor design" that I had to do it at all? The gearbox is a major weak point in the C900. It's an awful, awful gearbox. > - Bleeding the cooling system. I hope it was as easy as it seemed.... I > don't know if the fan works, it just won't get that warm! > - Plugs - look easy, ran out of time. What's the odds they're seized? One word - PlusGas! -- Grunff
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