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9000 Bulletin Board
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Had Mine Since August 2003...
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Posted by Peter Ingram [Email] (more from Peter Ingram) on Mon, 24 May 2004 04:51:02 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Re: What's the Stats on Your Aero?, JeffC [Profile/Gallery] , Mon, 24 May 2004 00:24:58
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...so a little under a year.

Yeah, Les is great for TSN, having posted tons of good advice to folks like me who are relatively new to the 9000 world.

Sorry for the long response, but here's what I've done to date. I did ALL the work myself in stages, starting August 2003, finishing December 2003 (other than new window regulator this month). I'd never worked on any car before -- my brother Dave (also a TSN 9000BB contributor), my Haynes manual and this BB, primarily, got me through each adventure. I don't have a garage, so while I had use of a friend's for a few months, I decided to deal with everything at once, since it would otherwise be more difficult to fix things, without a garage.

Car drives great, although the new shocks and lower-profile tires combined with the poly bits make the car ride MUCH harder. Handling is so dramatically improved, however, that the tradeoff's worth it.



WORK DONE:

-- New tranny and clutch at 88K miles (previous owner)

-- New AC compressor (previous owner)

-- New water pump (previous owner)

-- New TCS components (other than throttle body, which is original, old-style)

-- New timing and balance shaft chains, guides, tensioners, sprockets and cam sprockets

-- New serpentine belt, pulleys and tensioner

-- New head gasket and valve cover gasket

-- New NKG plugs

-- New DI cassette

-- New oil pump o-ring and front main seal

-- New water pump o-rings all 'round

-- New oil level sensor o-ring

-- New upper and lower motor mounts

-- New poly transmission mount bushing

-- New tie rod ends and ball joints

-- New axles

-- New heater core and blower motor

-- New cabin air filter

-- New 82-degree thermostat

-- New 82-degree thermofan switch

-- New Zimmerman cross-drilled rotors and MetalMaster pads (painted calipers red)

-- New poly suspension bushings: front control arm fronts and rears, front and rear sway bar (including bushing on front bar link to control arm)

-- New rear swaybar-to-shock rubber bushing

-- New Bilstein HDs all around

-- New front strut bearings

-- New headliner, a- and c-pillar, sunroof lining

-- New aftermarket stereo with 10-disc changer in back (not a "boom-boom" system -- I'm too old for THAT!)

-- New ROH "ZS" 17-inch, five-spoke rims with 215/45-17 Bridgestone Potenza RE750s

-- New ACC sensor (in dash)

-- New EDU (old one's lights would no longer work even after swapping bulbs)

-- New light bulbs EVERYWHERE (instrument panel, all exterior)

-- New positive battery cable

-- New passenger side headlight wiper arm and new headlight wiper blades

-- New wiper blades front and rear

-- New hood emblem

-- New front european "SAAB" plate

-- Replaced passenger seat backrest cable guide

-- New driver's side window regulator

-- Refinished OEM wood dash (not perfect, for sure)

-- Hard-wired Valentine 1 radar detector power to rear view mirror (did NOT do the Quasi mirror mod -- that was too over the top and unnecessary)

REMAINING WORK:

-- Fix the left front airbag sensor error (replace part)

-- Solder headlight relay

-- Fix the wood on the center console lid (it's warped and curling up on the edges)

-- Use the Leatherique product to repair some cracks on the driver seat lower cushion's front edge (not too bad, but want to fix). I have the product, but the repair required leaving the seat alone for 48 hours in two separate curing stages

-- Trouble-shoot a weird noise coming from the left rear wheel. Not sure what it is. Doesn't sound like a bearing, but everything else (including the brakes) checks out okay.

-- Fix an area of the headliner near the rear that came unglued when water leaked in through the sunroof (rear sunroof drain hose was plugged). Made me MAD that happened, right after doing the work. The unglued area's not obvious, but the material also was lightly stained.

-- Troubleshoot my AC, which isn't blowing as cold as it used to. I think there may be a leak at the union of the condensor and condensor hose. May need to replace condensor and two condensor hoses. Will first see how the system operates through our hot, Atlanta summer.

DREAM STUFF (i.e. no budget):

-- Install JT 3-inch exhaust, turbo all the way back. Gains some power and gives the car a nicer voice (NOT a ricer sound). This one's on the back burner for now, since it's purely a nice-to-have. Stock Aero exhaust is in fine condition.

-- Install front and rear strut tower braces. Should firm up the car's structure significantly -- 9000 body is notorious for its lack of torsional rigidity. Might reduce some of the rattles, too, I'm hoping.

-- Install steering rack brace. Should prevent typical steering rack bushing problems and should further enhance steering feel and response.


--Peter

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