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I'd decided I couldn't quite take it in the 1999 9-3 convertible anymore. I donated it today. It has been replaced by a 2005 9-3 Linear (with manual trans). Shockingly, a one owner car (<96,000 miles) , who didn't appear to thrash it. As far as I can tell, the only things round with it: -Passenger seat weight sensor seems to think someone's sitting in it. -Cruise control turns out but won't set -Stripped gear in the CD player (already ordered a new one on ebay) 
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Feb 9, 2018 02:34
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 17:32 |
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Old Binsby posted:
I had a 1999 9-3 Convertible, so maybe not the best frame of reference. Mechanically it seemed ok. I didn't have any drive train reliability concerns although the manual transmission was crunchy as hell. I suspect the syncro was shot. The only way to guarantee smooth shifting into 3rd was to double clutch. I have a hunch the 900s would probably hold together better. Structurally, it felt like someone chopped apart a hatchback with a Sawzall with zero fucks given to structural integrity. I suspect the non-convertibles are much more solid. My personal hunch about the values, is that the 900s go for more has as much to do with them being the last "real" Saab before GM got involved whereas the 9-3 was the first with GM's involvement, in addition to being built better. My 1999 still had enough WTF weirdness, I'd say it held on to plenty of the Saab uniqueness (the way the suspension was put together made it a pain to work on, at least for me). There were definitely a lot of bits GM seemed to cheap out on (HVAC control rod comes to mind). I donated that one and bought a 2005 9-3 Linear sedan to replace it. That one is even less Saab-ish, but for me, it has been reliable and fun. Also, at $2,400 for a single owner example with 95,000 miles on the odo and a manual, I couldn't say no.
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Jul 11, 2018 14:12
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Finally took some time to look and dig into why my cruise control would turn on but not set. Turns out the car is straight up missing the clutch pedal return spring:  The clutch itself has no issue pushing the pedal back out, just not enough to fully depress the clutch position switch. If I pull the pedal up, I can set the cruise, so yay! New spring and clip on the way for $40.
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Jul 24, 2018 14:24
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I had had a power steering leak from the banjo bolt on the power steering pressure hose on my 2005 Saab 9-3 Linear. Tightening it down seemed to resolve the leak, but I noticed after a little bit when I checked the fluid level, that the CHF11 fluid was decidedly not clear. I figured the PS pump seal or gasket might be to blame. There also seemed to be plenty of oil coating the drivers side of the engine and suspected with a small oil leak from the PS pump or the other likely culprit, the brake boost vacuum pump. I figured I would replace the seal and gaskets on both. Fluid looking not so hot:  Pump and reservoir off and drained, here is the CHF11 that came out of it:  Oil does seem to have gotten behind the seal:  The old gasket also had a weird indentation in it:  I also broke one of the fittings on the coolant reservoir thanks to the brittle plastic:  The gasket for the brake vacuum pump wasn't broken when I took it out, but it was definitely brittle:  Other than a bit of spilled oil and power steering fluid, those two jobs were pretty straight forward. I replaced the thermostat while I had those bits off and decent accessibility along with a new throttle body to hopefully resolve a ECU TPS code that periodically has been getting thrown.
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Feb 25, 2019 22:28
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GD_American posted:How much did a new reservoir cost? It wasn't bad, only $61 at Auto Zone for a Dorman, they actually had it in stock too.
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Feb 26, 2019 02:37
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Invalido posted:I replaced that PS pump seal on my in-laws' 9-3 a couple of years back, it seems a common failure. IIRC engine oil was getting into the PS system causing the reservoir to overflow. It took a few half liter bottles to flush out all the oil and get a pure-ish PS fluid remaining. That's good to hear it didn't come back. It seems like it was a pretty common problem.
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Feb 26, 2019 12:20
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For some reason, I forget there's a Saab thread. Anyway, either you're welcome or I'm sorry: 
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Jun 26, 2020 17:26
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 17:32 |
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My news feed has lately been clogged by images of random cars with Saab faces shopped on. To cleanse this, I have worked on my actual Saab. I have suspected I have a leak from my valve cover gasket so I decided to replace that and also my PCV valve, because why not.  Disassemble!  126,000 miles or so on the 2005 9-3 2.0t  I had recently cleaned up the back of the engine a bit so the oil isn't as bad as it was.  Clearly the gasket around #2 spark plug was a little suspect. Didn't clean up too badly.  I'm not sure the PCV was totally shot, but still a little oil in the intake manifold.  The bolts that hold the manifold to the block are all easily visible and reachable (once you get the various wiring harnesses and such pulled away). However, there is a bolt that holds the dip stick tube and another that holds a rather stout bracket that you just can't really see that still hold it right against the block. Don't forget those.    New intake manifold gasket and throttle body gasket in addition to the new PCV valve and I think we're good to go. The car starts and idles without any engine codes so I must have not messed up too badly.
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Dec 1, 2020 02:04
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