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Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 17:25:29 GMT
From: twobeesnopsamserve.TAKEOUT.net (Douglas Turner)
Subject: Parking Brake and Oil Leaks ( Long Post )


After looking around on Dejanews, I am going to ask my question here in hopes that someone can steer me in the right direction. My 1984 900 has a parking brake that doesn't work very well. After seven clicks on the hand brake the levers on the calipers bottom out against the yoke. Naturally it doesn't apply the brake with enough oomph to hold the car on even a shallow incline. I can leave it in gear, but starting and warming up requires a set of pedal gymnastics i would rather not ever need to repeat. So the question. Is there a method to adjust the parking brake mechanism at the caliper? I don't want to take the whole thing apart ( yet ) if there is a simpler solution. The second call for opinions concerns the motor in the same car. It has approx. 350k kilometres on it - it runs quite well, but doesn't have all the power that it used to. And it leaks oil - looks like it is the crankshaft seal behind the oil pump. There is a slightly metallic rattle that comes and goes - it rattles for a while ( less than a minute ) and then stops. There doesn't appear to be a rhythm or speed connection. My guess from listening is that the timing chain is the source. I haven't checked the compression. The car responded well to a new ignition system ( wires, plugs, rotor and cap ) and a new Ignition Control Module. The oil never gets really dirty - I change it after 3000 km, although it is hard to tell on account of the intermittent odometer. The car has some rust, but the more I look at other cars of its age the better it seems. I am going to deal with the body this summer. It will never win any shows, but it is a great camping and road trip vehicle - which is what we use it for, mostly. I have thought about the following actions. 1. Pull the motor and rebuild it. My main concern would be the amount of wear on a motor of this age. Is it likely to be rebuildable? 2. Pull the motor and replace all the seals, gaskets and clean every little thing. New hoses and the like. Is there anything else I should do while the motor is partially disassembled ? Obviously a complete clean of the engine compartment - but what about control arm bushings, etc? 3. Pick up a core and rebuild that, then swap. My concern here is that the core charge is almost half of what a parts car will cost. The trouble is actually finding a parts car that is not totally rusty/altered or sold out from under me. 4. Get a parts car and rebuild/refurbish ( as indicated ) its motor and strip the rest of the vehicle. The problem is finding a parts car and then storing the bits. I am working on the understanding that any of the 8v SAABs from 1982 through 1988 will be useful to me. Am I mistaken? Aside from the brakes are there any other major incompatibilities among these models? The upshot of all this is that I love this vehicle - I really can't see owning any other car than a SAAB form this era. Performance is not my thing - good design is. I think that the 1984 Saab 900 is a perfect combination of form and function. It looks great, drives great and is wonderful to work on. I first drove this car when I was 22 and came to own it 9 years later. Thanks for reading this far - I can go on about these cars for ever, given the chance. Any advice, stories or opinions are welcome. Post them here or e-mail me at twobeesnopsamVEyahoo.com To work the email address you need to edit it a little bit. Remove the REMOVE

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