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Looking for opinions from those with more experence..
Fairly new to the Saab world, although I have some ACVW experience, I recently acquired my 95 in strong condition- drove it back about 100 miles without a hiccup. Very clean engine bay as the previous owner had the engine out and resealed it. He also stated that he had the gas tank out for cleaning. I've since also replaced engine and crankcase oil, set the valves, and tuned up the ignition with good quality stuff- the latter all with no effect on the symptoms below. Haven't touched the FoMoCo carb.
After going through a tank of gas, and not long after filling up again, I started getting some stuttering and power hiccups, accompanied by greyish smoky exhaust. At worst, I'd have to pull over, although the car usually would keep idling. Reminded of my old beatle's fuel line blockage, I checked the filter up by the carb and found it low or completely dry during these episodes.
First I started the car and idled it while watching the level in the filter. Sure enough, it drained over a period of 10 or so minutes, after which rough running and puffs of smoke. Then, I replaced the soft lines and fuel filter, and ran the engine direct from a gas can- no level drop, indefinite running, making me think it must be a pickup or hard line blockage. I threaded a length of braided cable through the hard line, put everything back together, unpluged the coil, and cranked it up to draw fuel through- the pump spat out fuel smartly. Put it all back together, and it ran great! For about 2 weeks...
Once the same symptoms came back (also soon after filling the tank,) I figured I had to address the pickup somehow. Which, of course, they had to make totally inaccessible. I took out the fuel gauge sender to try and get a look, and for what it's worth, it does look quite pristine inside the tank. However, I may have found the culprit to be the sender itself- old caulk around its base had become crumbly and would flake off into fuel-line-sized chunks at the slightest encouragement. So my hypothesis? The caulk was either getting exposed to a whole lot more ethanol fumes since the previous owner's rebuild, or was just that much older now. Filling the tank was creating a high enough level to slosh the bottom of the sender and knock off fresh chunks to block the line.
So, my plan is to drain and flush the tank, maybe with it out of the car. During that, I'm a bit tempted to cut around the pickup tube, and fab a way to make it mountable/removable for inspection, or even to put some kind of screen around it. Overkill? Lastly, I wonder about an electric fuel pump, which I gather is sort of controversial. Am I missing anything, getting ahead of myself? And yes, I have more time than sense :)
posted by 172.56.5...
, Thu, 10 Jul 2025 05:02:01, Thu, 10 Jul 2025 18:59:58
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