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Re: retrofit... Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email] (#32) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Tue, 6 Jan 2009 18:40:11 In Reply to: Re: retrofit..., jeyi, Mon, 5 Jan 2009 15:44:01 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The retrofit isn't that bad, actually, but not trivial either. The brake booster bolts right up to the firewall, no issues there. You need to replace the brake pedal itself, as it's a different shape between ABS/non-ABS cars. You can do this only removing the lower dash, which isn't bad and you more or less have to do it anyway to replace the booster. There is only one vacuum hose, so you just need a different fitting on the intake manifold.
The hassle comes when you need to replace all the hard brake lines in the car - ALL of them. It's not difficult, but it is time consuming. It would take forever to bend all the stuff yourself, but the upshot is that every Saab dismantler in the world throws away miles of brake lines every year, so it's generally pretty cheap to just buy all the hard lines from one. It can be rough finding the lines for the rear axle - non-ABS Saabs with similar rear axles were only sold in '88 and '89, so this is a time where custom lines may be worthwhile.
All that said, I'm betting you're looking at around $1200-$1400 to have someone do this for you, including a brand new booster and master cylinder. You could probably even sneak some nice stainless steel flexible lines in at that price. That's not far off the mark from a $1000 ABS system plus installation.
Of course, Frank may be able to hook you up cheaper, but I personally question the wisdom of bolting used ABS parts onto a car. You've no guarantees how long they'll work, and it'd be a shame to invest time & money into a short term solution. Were it me, I'd give it a go, but then again I'm not paying anyone for labor, and that's often the expensive bit.
From everything you described, I'd be inclined to blame the pump or the ECU. ECUs are cheap and plentiful because they rarely fail, and swapping one is five minutes of work. I'd start there, as it might address the mechanic's inability to hook up his scanner... As a quick test, I think Nashvegas's "pull the codes plan" should absolutely be pursued...
posted by 12.71.42...
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