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ab0z posted:1998 900se, 2.0 turbo, auto trans. Most everything inside works, the engine seems like it works fine, I'll be checking spark plugs, air filter, etc. as soon as I have free time I'd preemptively change the oil, and stock up on a DIC while you're at it.
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Nov 25, 2009 10:24
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Karl Barks posted:the SE is wicked fast, turbo v6. I have a 1999 but they're practically the same car. Both your car and the listing are turbo 4s. The V6 didn't come out til 2005.
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Jan 7, 2010 08:52
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Maybe you guys can help me out. My gf's 1999 9-3 is on its last legs, and she really doesn't want to get another one. She really likes the car's features, of which there are many: - good lock logic - automatic lights - big hatch - good dash button ergonomics - overall nice interior design - nice seats, with heat - decent power To some degree, she is one of those people that really reaches for the word 'soulless' when considering modern cars that have similar feature sets. She drove my 07 Camry once and hated how unremarkable it was. I think her primary desire is to replace the 9-3 (once it dies) with a car that meets most of those features, but has the lowest total cost of ownership, between initial cost and upkeep. Is there another Saab that could do the trick? For reference, since she bought it in 2003, she's replaced the engine once, the turbo twice, the DIC twice, and the SID once.
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Jan 12, 2010 00:04
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Francis Baconator posted:Both are excellent choices assuming you're willing to wrench on it as needed and she trusts you to do it. I would own either of those cars happily. But I don't have the wherewithal to work on her cars and she'd prefer a model that is maintain and forget. If the cars are mostly reliable, she might consider it, especially if problems are minor. But something like a finicky cooling system is not something she wants to have to lurking in the back of her mind. Oh, it'd be nice if the car had airbags, too. Basically if the 9-3 had been more reliable, she'd love it completely.
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Jan 12, 2010 05:11
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Mcqueen posted:Boy, that 9-3 had a lot of problems, far more than I usually hear about. I definatly wouldn't get an older SPG or 9000 and unless you are thinking about a later 9-3 or 9-5 I wouldn't recommend a Saab at all. Especially if you aren't wanting to diagnose/resolve your own problems. While it was pretty unreliable, most of the problems it had are not unusual to the 9-3. It just had a hot streak on them. quote:Edit: I'm going to suggest a 9-5. Larger and more powerfull than the standard 9-3 and they ran that car for...I think 10 years so there are parts aplenty. did the 9-5's 2.3 engine have any of the issues the 9-3's did?
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Jan 12, 2010 18:27
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My gf's 1999 9-3 had what I think is the window roller shattering issue happen to her front passenger window. When she was rolling it down, there was a bang and the back corner rotated forward and dipped to the center of the window frame. I've ordered the rollers and am going to follow the DIY here: http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117558 Anyone done this before? How brittle is the Saab/GM plastic? When I did something similar on my 1990 Miata, I broke about 3 or 4 plastic clips getting the door card off.
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Jun 2, 2010 15:49
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Tsu posted:I repaired the rollers on my '95 9000 with no ill-effects. The rollers had worn to the point where the cable had slid off (or some weird crap) and bound up in a tangled mess. I then replaced the rollers and bushing with a $40 kit. Then I had a specialist rewind the tangled mass of cable. The window has worked fine since. I ended up using the NG900 instructions for taking off the door card: http://www.saabcentral.com/~munki/technical/interior/front_door_card.htm Almost an exact match. The only thing that threw me off was the brads holding on the A-pillar corner cover. If only I'd saw it was the driver's side door... The plastic was good to work with. I accidentally stepped on and broke the lateral end clip on the door card though. Will have to hit up a local jy for a replacement. On the inside, for posterity, the access holes are pretty tight, so works easiest if you can still roll the lift up and down. WRT to the 9-5 instructions, the 9-3's lifter is inverted -- when the window is going down, the X squashes under the bottom edge of the window, compared to the 9-5, where the X droops and the bottom edge of the window goes down past the X. So the roller that was busted for me was the top rear one. But thanks to it going, the front roller had come off, too. I couldn't see the bottom roller, but feeling it seemed to show that it was ok. I popped off the two top rollers and slip on the new ones with securing clips in place. Then I pressed in the lifter arm pins into the rollers. This was made much easier by lowering the window a bit. It would be hell if the regulator were stuck or something. Even with a fairly clear access to them, it took a lot of pressure to pop them in. That's what made me decide that I shouldn't bother with the bottom one. Worse comes to worse, I'll just do it again.
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Jun 4, 2010 18:00
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Anyone worked on the antenna in a 98-03 9-3? My gf's antenna mast has snapped in half, and the only instructions online I've found don't really cover the 9-3, but only the NG900. Everything essential seems the same, but the details of how to undo the trunk carpet around the antenna motor is off. I see along the side of the hatch 2 torx head screws, but that's about it.
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Jul 6, 2010 20:30
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localized posted:I did it in my '96, and its quite easy. You need to unbolt the plastic cover around the trunk latch including the cargo tie-down. If your car has the 6 disc changer you need to unbolt the bracket too. You also need to do what Captain Crunk said and take the cover off the rear speaker and the trim around it. I'm sure you could do it without removing the speaker crap but it would be a pain to try and stick the carpet back in there. That's the thing -- I think the speaker configuration for the 99+ is different than on the 900s. In any case, there's definitely not much detail about carpet removal on the instructions I'm going by: http://www.thesaabsite.com/93/NGantennamastreplacement.htm I'll try to take pics of the situation later this afternoon and circle which bolts I think need to be taken off.
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Jul 7, 2010 22:18
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localized posted:About halfway down the page: Looks pretty close, if not the same. There's no CD changer to mess with. And on top of this, I still need to "unbolt the plastic cover around the trunk latch including the cargo tie-down" as well?
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Jul 7, 2010 22:39
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[question about replacing antenna mast]localized posted:I did it in my '96, and its quite easy. You need to unbolt the plastic cover around the trunk latch including the cargo tie-down. If your car has the 6 disc changer you need to unbolt the bracket too. You also need to do what Captain Crunk said and take the cover off the rear speaker and the trim around it. I'm sure you could do it without removing the speaker crap but it would be a pain to try and stick the carpet back in there. So you were right, easiest is to remove the plastic cover around the trunk latch and cargo tie-downs. As it turns out, everything between the 9-3 and NG900 is the same as far as this repair is concerned. I've labeled the bolts needed, for posterity:  Green are Torx T-25. The right most one is actually the hinge post for the cargo cover. Red is a 10mm plastic hex bolt that helps hold down the carpet liner. Blue is 12/13mm hex, something like that. It's brass and doesn't seem to be torqued on that tight. You need to unbolt the opposite side bolt, too, of course. Once those are off, you can pop off the plastic cover. This is held down by 4 clips on the underside of the top flat piece of the cover. Take a look at this piece before you remove it and remember the relative position of things. The cover goes under the access panel for the spare and under the rubber weather seal along the hatch opening. Now, I didn't actually have to access the antenna motor, if it weren't for a leverage issue. Here's the design of the antenna mast:  This is actually the old broken one. Some valets drove too quickly under one of those lifting arm gates and bent it. The telescoping mast and plastic cable are one unit. You can't pull the cable out by accident -- that would be making the unit unusable. So it follows that the antenna can only pull in the mast so much -- eventually the base of the mast will retract down and jam against something (a little plate before the reel part of the motor). But what about the other direction? As the motor unwinds, the cable will push the mast up and up and up. The cable is longer than it needs to be, so in theory the whole mast could be pushed out of the motor and housing. This is prevented by the the metal sleeve, in the following way. This isn't the Saab unit, but close enough: http://www.antennamastsrus.com/Honda/39179SM4A02%20Tube.jpg The sleeve slides into the end with the brass threading. The lip keeps the sleeve from going in any deeper. Then, a nut screws down onto the brass threading. It narrows in such a way as to push the lip down. So fully screwed, the nut keeps the sleeve from moving. From the labeled picture, you can see that the mast can't slide past the bottom of the sleep. Thus, when the motor pushes up, it is eventually opposed by the bottom of the mast hitting the bottom of the sleeve. Ok, blah blah blah. My problem was that the old sleeve was frozen/corroded into place. The way the antenna broke, I couldn't get enough grip with pliers to pull it out of the top of the housing. So I was forced to open things up and take the whole housing out. After isolating the shaft that goes around the mast and sleeve, I just poked the sleeve and mast out from the other side. Thesaabsite instructions said to reuse the old sleeve, as the OEM sleeve is nice and strong. Mine (the one picture) must not have been OEM because it was paper think and deformed way too easily. So if you had to open up the carpet, you'll have to put it back. the trickiest part is at the back of the speaker. You need to get the carpet edge, which is L-shaped, under the white interior panel, but above some body metal underneath that. After fiddling carefully with a screwdriver, I was able to get things to line up right.  You can use a screwdriver to carefully pull the weather seal over the carpet around the hatch opening, too. I was extra anal and did it with my fingers just to be on the safe side. e: I didn't finish my thought -- if you can pull the mast and sleeve out the top (once you've screwed the nut that holds down the sleeve and rubber seal, then thesaabsite's guide is right -- you definitely don't have to disassemble anything else. Once you have the old antenna mast, cable, and sleeve out, you're ready to put the new one in. start the car to On, and the motor will try to push the antenna out (it's not there). Then off and pull the key out. Now the motor will retract. Have a friend push the cable down until it catches on the reel. It goes in kind of quickly! The next step is to very quickly guide the sleeve and base of mast into the hole. The cable will keep pulling and retract most of the antenna. If you hear some grinding from the motor, that's ok. It's the only way the car knows to give up. Repeat this a couple times and the car will learn how much it needs to spool out and in. The sleeve might get tight and not go all the way in. If you can get it within a cm, then screwing on the nut will take care of the rest. Don't bend the sleeve cuz then it'll grind against the mast. Technically, you can install the new antenna by yourself, but you have to be full of vim like I am 
kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Aug 1, 2010 |
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Aug 1, 2010 03:15
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ssh posted:w they are producing something, even though they can't make it themselves. Oh you mean the 9-3 isn't going to move over to the all aluminum mid-ship platform that the C8 rides on? 
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Aug 2, 2010 21:53
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ssh posted:Nah man, GM sold it, like, a long time ago. I realized that this convo was taking place outside the Saab  thread, so that thread is even more I hope Spyker finds a way to update the platform without throwing all their design and engineering efforts at it. I'm completely ok with their perpetuating the Saab brand as means to keep building Spykers, but if they do it the wrong way, both birds are flying off.
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Aug 3, 2010 06:55
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ssh posted:Wait a sec - You'd get a SAAB rebranded product from another manufacturer if it wasn't gimmicky? Uhm.. Remember the 9-2x, the 9-7x? How much more gimmicky can you get. Or, did you mean less gawdy? If it's a mini, it's gonna be gawdy. As others have shown, the interior is awful. I don't have a problem with the center mounted speedo for retro, but the typeface and arrangement of numbers fit nothing else in the car. Not only that, a true Mini should be more functional than gawdy. I hope the new masters can figure something out that goes beyond GM's rebadge and ship approach.
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Aug 4, 2010 10:16
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Will it be a hatch?
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Aug 6, 2010 05:50
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Some parts help requests: It's a 1999 Saab 9-3's rear left lightbulb holder assembly:  Anyone have a site where I can get this cheap? If I found the correct part, the only place I can get it lists for $80!: http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?pn=W0133-1609730 Any chance anyone has the assembly lying around? The metal around the turn signal bulb is pretty corroded and cleaning it up doesn't help. I know it's a contact issue because I was able to hold the bulb just right and get the turn signal to work. The cargo lid hanger pegs:  These seem to be broken down to nubs. What are they called, and where might I buy some? kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 07:16 on Aug 22, 2010 |
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Aug 22, 2010 00:07
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It's the hatch. That taillight holder part looks perfect, thanks. Does the Viggen really have a different light configuration back there? I saw one on Friday; it looked really cool. The hanger strap you showed me has an eye on one end. That eye is supposed to hang on the peg that's pictured in the 3rd shot there. In this car, there's not enough support for the eye to say on. I'm not sure how it would normally work, but I'm looking to replace that peg. I also reworded the post a bit 
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Aug 22, 2010 07:17
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Assuming the item they have in their inventory matches the listing picture: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNCUT-01-02-03-04-SAAB-9-3-9-5-93-95-TURBO-REMOTE-KEY-/180568873012 This key's technology should be compatible with a 1999 9-3, right? I'm puzzled that the listed supported range is 2001-4. That seems to straddle model years. Not that key styles couldn't stay the same, but it would be unusual.
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Oct 3, 2010 06:03
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Gripen5 posted:I tried to do a quick google search on known issues and I did find something on engine sludge, but I am not sure the details. Is this a bad deal? Is the car likely to have a lot of issues? I should mention it is an auto, but I don't care that much about autos and I won't be driving it much anyway. Engine sludge and turbo lifespan are the major issues with these cars, and they're definitely major issues, because without careful inspection, you might not know how good of a specimen you have. Even with inspection, it might be hard to tell. More minor issues are the info display going out and the DIC randomly dying. This is not gonna be as trouble free as a Corolla from the same year, basically. Depending on where you are, that price seems a little on the high side. I'd only go for it if the owner knows about the sludging issues and can back up maintenance with lots of records. In other news, did ssh/SaabFanatic ever reregister? I don't know what he got banned for but he was a really good source of Saab info and posted here quite a bit.
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Nov 24, 2010 22:47
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Faerunner posted:Every car, bar none, will have problems "down the line" Some cars (including the new-gen 9-3) won't have the sludging, DIC failures, and early turbo failures. Last-gen 9-3s are nice cars, but they demand an extra level of engagement from the owners if they're to be in good shape.
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Feb 11, 2011 06:43
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Faerunner posted:And they will have their own specific problems that the last generation of 9-3s didn't have. That's just the way of things. That's abstractly true, but I think there's at least something behind the reliability rankings that have certain makes at the top. There are models out there that can reach 200k with just maintenance, and other cars that can't.
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Feb 11, 2011 07:44
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My gf's 1999 9-3 has had horrible gas mileage for a while. She got a new exhaust and cat about a year ago. There's no emissions/engine warnings coming through the SID. But in the past 6 months or so, the economy (city driving only) has gone from 20ish to 18 to 16 to 14 now. I figure a few mpg can be attributed to the weather and winter gas, but what else could it be? Which things could use an inspection or tuneup?
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Mar 8, 2011 23:47
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localized posted:Is it throwing any codes for oxygen sensors? That would be my guess. I get no CEL, either. Is there any other indicator for an error outside of a CEL or something on the SID?
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Mar 9, 2011 00:27
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Mario posted:Is the engine up to temperature for most of the time, or are they mostly short trips? Still, 14 seems awfully low even for short hops. I asked her if she was noticing more frequent fillups. She hadn't, but it's obviously imprecise if you're not thinking about it. I believe her trips to/from work are pretty short. <10 min on a quick day. Which should hurt mileage, but to 14mpg?
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Mar 9, 2011 04:13
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Viggen posted:
I read this sentence over and over and get angrier every time: "If there’s one car make that has a solid potential to really look good in the fitment scene are Saabs."
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Mar 30, 2011 01:39
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Not quite sure how I feel about this.
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Anyone have an idea which part is the OEM replacement for a 1999 9-3 hatch (with spoiler and wiper) strut? Parts sites have a confusing list of variants. Some even seem to offer trunk and hatch options. Afaik, the '99 9-3 never came as a sedan? Listed in most likely to be matching to least: http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pr...0Lift%20Support http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1999/saab/93/body_mechanical_-ar-_trim/hatch_strut.html These above 2 seem to be a non OE replacement for the hatch with spoiler, and a Stabilus OEM replacment for a hatch without a spoiler. http://www.autopartstomorrow.com/parts/1703461-lift-support http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/x,catalog,36,partnum,SG218008,d,Sachs_SG218008.html http://www.partsgeek.com/pdproducts/DCS/05057502.html And then these above 3 seem to for a Sachs part SG218008, which Rock Auto claims to be for "Trunk Lid; w/ wiper" http://www.partsgeek.com/pdproducts/DCS/05085233.html http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/x,catalog,36,partnum,SG218009,d,Sachs_SG218009.html And the above 2 are for SG218009, which Rock Auto claims to be for "Trunk Lid; w/ wiper & spoiler" I just want the cheapest correct part. I'm concerned that the struts are set for exactly a specific weight, and that getting the wrong one will mean the hatch won't lift up and stay.
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Apr 3, 2011 22:14
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Mcqueen posted:http://thesaabsite.com/93/93gasshocks.htm I don't know how support shocks work, as far as load and wear and tear, since they are pressurized to resist in one direction all through their range. I figured the reason they were being specific is because you don't want to mix-and-match different hatches with different settings. I also didn't want a $60 OEM one when I'm pretty sure an aftermarket one will outlast the remaining life of this poor 9-3.
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Apr 4, 2011 20:38
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You have an NG900, right? My gf's (e:) 1999 9-3 had developed a clunk in the front left. If you load it up a bit by, say, driving forward, turning, then reversing at that angle, and then straightening the wheel out, you can reproduce a pop. I've carefully put my hand at the bottom of the spring/strut assembly and can feel the pop from the metal as it happens. Is that a pretty good sign of a broken coil? Did you already know the spring was broken from ride height or driving differently? It feels like that corner is softer and bottoming out on smaller bumps, but the ride height looks identical. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Apr 28, 2011 |
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Apr 28, 2011 23:17
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Regarding the previous gen 9-5s with the clamshell type hood -- is there something about the hood that makes it hard to latch closed? It's rare that you see a car driving around with its hood ajar (closed but not fully locked), but I've seen a few 9-5s driving like that. Could it simply be because it's wraparound down the fenders so it's hard to tell if it's closed?
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Jun 20, 2011 03:49
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localized posted:Has anyone replaced the hatch in an NG900/OG9-3? Mine is rusting out and I am going to pick up a new one this week. I heard from the parts guy at a local SAAB shop that they are apparently a bitch to replace and I should take it to them. I asked for details, but he didn't know so I don't know if it was an attempt at trying to get a customer or if he was actually trying to give me a ProTip™. Sounds pretty easy: http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/bb/NG900/index.html?bID=284944 My guess is that the worst part is how frickin heavy it is. I had trouble holding it up while replacing the gas struts.
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Jun 21, 2011 03:54
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localized posted:I picked up my new hatch today with a new decor panel and a a spoiler that's not completely destroyed. Its really easy to remove the hatch, especially when there's no trim or lights in the actual component itself, as it reduces the weight significantly. The guy I bought my hatch from also had a set of Super Aero wheels from a 900 Talledega, and he said he would give me first dibs when he sells them You should go back to the Saab shop and ask that guy why it was so hard. I think I hate deceptive places more than incompetent places (but only barely).
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Jun 22, 2011 03:57
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On a first-gen 9-3, when do the red lights on the hatch light up?
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Jul 13, 2011 05:39
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Viggen posted:Uhm.. when you hit the brakes, unless the wires are broken? The SID reported a different bulb being out, and I replaced that and got it to go away. In the process of checking which lights were coming up, I realized I had no idea what the hatch halves of the light were for. So I guess the car has the capability, but has some wiring issue preventing reporting those bulbs being out.
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Jul 14, 2011 02:01
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Mario posted:The rear fog light(s)? Just to be clear, these:  The reverse lights below work, as does every other light, as far as I can tell. Just those circled don't light under any circumstance.
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Jul 14, 2011 06:46
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localized posted:Not just any WADON, an AREO WADON. There is also http://nwct.craigslist.org/cto/2450259126.html <--that for about the same price with less mileage. I only paid $400 for my car so all of these seem really expensive... If only it were an AREO SPEED WADON
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Jul 19, 2011 23:44
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Karl Barks posted:Anybody know a good Saab mechanic near Boston? There's Foreign Auto Center on Prospect in Cambridge. Independent shop run by a coupla Greek guys. Their labor rate is good and they're honest (though maybe a bit hard to understand) about problems. They also let you supply your own parts. I've always assumed Charles River Saab must have a good shop since it's THE Saab dealership of the whole country, but who knows.
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Sep 15, 2011 07:09
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Not sure what car you have, but if the antenna is like on my '99 9-3 then it is pretty simple to fix. Either the motor crapped out, the antenna is simply stuck, or the white nylon band that moves it up/down has broken off. Neither should take you more than an hour and fairly basic tools. I bought the antenna mast for like 15 bucks and did it in the driveway. Depending on how badly it's broken, you might need a helper to help you spool the cable in on key-on. Here's a partial write-up I did: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3232133&userid=118079#post380404718
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Sep 27, 2011 07:09
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I wonder if it was a cash on hand issue with Youngman. I'd be surprised if Swedish Auto claimed they'd agreed on the bridge loan and Youngman wouldn't follow through. At this point, I don't really care. I have to assume Saab is not going to make it. The months long production issues is not helping them restore the brand. I mean even if the sale happens, can they make enough money churning out bargain spec 9-5s and selling them in China? Maybe if they were marketed as on the same platform as Buicks.
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Oct 27, 2011 19:56
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DisgruntledPostMan posted:How often do you need to add oil? 5w-40? Check the dipstick and add accordingly. I can't remember if Saabs are a check hot or check cold engine.
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Oct 29, 2011 00:18
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Should I be intrigued by this?: http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/2798888939.html I have two things that I've always been keen on: - those seats - InitialDave always talking up the power
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Jan 16, 2012 05:02
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