1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
After a month and a half of kicking myself I finally drove the 360 miles from Portland, ME to Treadwell, NY, south of Oneonta, to check this car out.
Nonstop thru the night Saturday, Sunday there wrenching on it, then Sunday night driving home nonstop. Monday and half of Tuesday recovering.
Car was a little shabbier than I expected but acceptable, two small dents on edges of roof, scratches and dents behind RH rear door, dent in LH rear fender well behind door, a little missing paint (acid?) on LH front fender top. Paint faded but buffable to good shine. Hood and hatch emblems gone bad.
Rotors all badly covered with rust scale. He stole the wheels to use on his new ride, a Ford Focus SRT, and doesn't want to give them back, has 17" black 5 spoke no name rims and worn out 45 series tires on the Saab now.
Worst was the engine. I found it did turn over and no jamming, though no fight at all from compression. It was almost on correct time but the tensioner was never set correctly and timing chain was slack and had too many rollers between cams. I pulled the alternator and its upper bracket, and tensioner, pulled spring and small bolt, ratcheted tensioner back in all the way, set crank pulley on the mark (square notch in its back side lined up with vertical rib on oil pump (timing) cover; #1 plug removed and screwdriver in hole also indicating #1 TDC). Then, exhaust cam on the mark, counted off 15 rollers and got chain to slip up over intake cam gear to get it in time, and so exactly 15 rollers between cam marks and both cams on their marks, gear marks perpendicular, with crank at TDC. I installed the tensioner body, torqued it home with 47 foot lbs., then the tensioner spring and follower and bolt with O ring, to torque value, then came back on the intake cam CCW and heard one more click from tensioner, then used RH front wheel, jacked up, with car in 4th gear, to turn motor over till back to TDC again, and marks all still lined up.
Put alternator back in, set serp belt tensioner and put my homemade holder on it, slipped belt back on.
Then I got worried about possible bad work by the guy who first tried the head gasket job, and loosened and re-torqued all the head bolts, going thru the steps.
Valve cover cleaned up and back on with all bolts torqued to value. Plugs back in - - near new NGK Iridiums tho #s 3 and 4 seemed a little rusty, I guessed from his earlier overheat situation.
My own known good DI cassette in, his (fairly new Interstate Megatron that I'd had on charge all day) back in, terminal bolts oiled and freed up, and I went to start it.
Cranked strong but only coughed a little as if it wanted to start on just one cylinder. I kept at it, no go. I cracked the fuel line banjo bolt and got spray so plenty of fuel pressure. Only since last fall sometime that it last ran so bad gas isn't likely the trouble.
I then pulled plugs and ran a compression test. Gas on plugs so definitely got fuel. #1 was around 90-100 lbs, #2 around 50, #3 and 4 about 60. I pumped some oil into 2-3-4 and #2 and 3 about unchanged, #4 up to near 90 lbs.
Plugs back in and tried again just after the comp test so I kinda hoped the oil would give it enuf pop to start, but same poor results, just light coughing, never a sustained string of firing.
It has fresh oil in it, right up to the mark. I reconnected the coolant steel line to end-of-head banjo fitting, with bolt I found in a can in the car along with valve cover bolts. His guy shortcutted the heater hoses, running one new hose in a U from one engine pipe to the other, and I left it that way. There's some coolant in it, but I never added any as I couldn't get it to run. All connections on hoses suspect tho he did buy new hoses.
POSSIBLY there could be water in the gas that would stop it running tho I don't know how it could've gotten there.
Also POSSIBLY: The air cleaner he has in it seems to be too big, sticks 2" out of the air cleaner box and cover won't clamp home. Roads there are atrocious, covered in what they call cinders from winter, till they sweep them in a few weeks. Could that air cleaner be so plugged it won't let enough into the engine for it to run?
But I said this is just too much for me, I couldn't take the time to try anything more and I think the rings are either so overheated there's no temper there for compression, or stuck rusted in their grooves from repeated leaks of coolant from old head gasket trouble, or valves burnt or bent.
Most unusual point of the trip: The geology. It's the upper part of the Catskills and the countryside there is like an endless egg carton turned upside down, hills after hills after hills, with roads around and along and up and down all of them and little houses everywhere. Speed limit 55 and they all drive it, like madmen. And the side roads, all paved, are covered with this loose silty gravel and are just like dirt roads, all the cars charging along with giant rooster tails of dust behind them, spraying it all over their neighbors' lawns, cars and houses.
Old fields on lower part of the hills, thick woods higher up though none of the trees look very big; a neighbor told me they were once also fields and have only grown up in relatively recent years as dairy farming has fallen off. Some farms still active. A small herd of deer beside the road as I drove home at 630 p.m., a jackrabbit dashing down across the road.
"About every house owns a gun" my host told me, and the big thing there now is opposition to shale "fracking" for natural gas. Any jobs are going to Southerners brought in to run the rigs; he predicts the locals upset about damage to their water sources might actually use their guns. They are seriously down on it.
Oh yeah. Was it muddy, I asked the would be seller? Oh not really.
I brought a couple squares of plywood anyways. Car was in yard, mired in up to the rims. Grass was welling water, running in a steady stream out across the gravel drive. His dad had a pickup and a line and using it on the tow point, snubbed the car out of the mud and up onto the end of the drive about where the stream was running across. But the gravel was packed enough. I set a jack stand on a plank they had, and did all my above work perched on my squares of plywood, mud on my knees and wet shoes, had to wash gobs of mud off the front wheel and off my two floor jacks, using the puddles of clear water left in the ruts the car came out of.
Usual busted rear door lock button pivot points, usual failed door lock controller, but that was minor and I expected it. Clean inside but driver seat looks kind of tired (tan leather). Great deepwell rubber floor mats, brand new. Crack in rear bumper skin, down low, as if pushed on by a truck bumper. Closes up again when pressure off so not noticeable.
He said another guy is gonna buy it this weekend. I kind of liked the kid but feel compelled to pass along what I know in case it's anyone on here who's the would be buyer.
If I lived close enough to consider towing it home I'd have made him an offer but I needed a car that was drivable. If engine had worked well enough I would have bought it, registered it and gone back with the plates to drive it home.
This is the third 9000 I've looked at with serious engine damage from overheating. Too bad the former owners didn't have a clue; they seem to run them without coolant till they stop going. Then act as if they should be easily fixable.
posted by 71.173.6...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
