Date: 17 Feb 2003 21:11:52 GMT From: davehinznopsamcop.net Subject: Re: Fan AC Heater Problems with Saab
Someone who looks an awful lot like Audra <audra_bakernopsamail.com> wrote: > Hi everyone, > This is probably really lame of me to post since the problems in > question are so vague, but I thought I'd try it anyway. I'm looking > at buying a Saab for my friend's daughter to drive around school and I > found a 1988 900 that I really like at a good price. The only problem > is this, which the owner emailed me and he doesn't know much else > about the car: > "The Fan on the vehicle is not working and the A/C and Heater cant be > used." Sounds like the cabin ventilation fan rather than the cooling fan(s) then, right? > Here is my question: Does anyone know even in the ballpark what kind > of repair bill I might be looking at? Again, I know this is so vague, > but I'm just wondering if this is something that I can get fixed > fairly easily, or if its going to be extremely costly, so I can be as > informed as possible before buying this car. It could be a number of things - there is a resistor on the firewall (er, I think it's on the firewall on a '88 900...anyone?) which has been known to burn out, in which case it's a few bucks and an hour to replace. It could be the fan speed switch (never seen that happen) which is an hour or two to replace, or it could be the fan motor itself (less likely than even the switch). If it's that, I don't know how much work it is, but I wouldn't want to do it. If I were to bet, I'd bet it's the resistor. That is, based on the one sentence description of the problem and a ton of assumptions. > Any ideas you feel like sharing would be most appreciated. I wouldn't let the fan problem stop you from buying the car, if it's otherwise in good shape and running well. It'd be surprising if it was the fan itself. If it is, it's a big job just because it's buried pretty deep in there, but the chances of it being the fan itself are pretty slim. I've got Saabs that are 40+ years old with the original ventilation fan working just fine ;) The 900 is a great car. '88 is a good year; the electrical problems of a few years earlier are not there in the '88, and the only thing to watch out for (other than rust or evil noises from the engine and turbo if any) would be the transmission pinion bearings - drive it kind of hard, listen for a whine that corresponds to your road speed. Let off on the gas, let it engine-brake, see if the whine changes. If there's a whine from the tranny as described, shake the owner's hand, thank them for their time, and keep looking (unless you want to be rebuilding a transmission). Other than that, there's no biggies to watch for. How many miles does it have? What kind of condition? Does the seller have paperwork on it's service history? Hope this helps... Dave Hinz
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