759NRNG said:Frame rust repair after the "challenge"?
Haha nope, I forgot all about it. Maybe after 2024 challenge. It's only a few months away. 8-/
759NRNG said:Frame rust repair after the "challenge"?
Haha nope, I forgot all about it. Maybe after 2024 challenge. It's only a few months away. 8-/
That's what I meant next year 2024......is this frame separate from the body per se detachment points....or is it part of the monocoque? My 1973 99 was unibody...just sayin' nothing better in the NE Ohio winters with summer tires ...OHY
In reply to 759NRNG :
Yes, it's a removable subframe, but I doubt I'd try to remove it. Too many bolts, each one waiting to make my life hell.
Oil leak is about 1 qt in 1000 miles. It appears to be oil cooler seals so I'll knock that out after 2024 Challenge.
Coolant leak on passenger side front hasn't gotten any worse, I haven't tried to trace it yet, will address it at oil cooler seal time.
Today I installed a Depo headlight assembly on RH and Hikari "Son Of Megatron" LED bulbs in the projectors on both sides. I think the RH needs to come up a little, but I'm very happy with the light output and crispness of cutoff.
I also replaced two of the three windshield squirters. I had RTV'd the end cap on the RH one a while back, and this time the end cap was missing from the center one.
IDK how I didn't get a shot of the odometer, but it was 166,625 when I closed up to head home.
and yes, we still love this car.
Pretty much my headlight setup in the Mazda, seems to be a reasonable solution for not too much investment. Looks a tad chilly there (here the temp is only dropping to 25 deg C at night). When I got in the car yesterday, it was showing 58 deg C (it sits in the sun)...
I forgot to mention the Saab is now suffering the dreaded "LED flicker" and is reporting faults on both low beam circuits, so looks like I'll have to add the CANbus resistor things. Looks like they're about $20 per pair. I emailed Hikari customer service, maybe they'll comp me.
EDIT: AW says the headlights are a huge improvement (she drove to work in the dark this morning), and that it's nice to have working windshield washer again. It's nice to be appreciated.
Ah, that's annoying, sorry to hear that AC. I guess the Mazda being rather more basic has it's advantages.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Hikari is indeed comping the resistor kit. Expected delivery Monday 1/29.
Headlight resistors have been sitting on my desk since they arrived. I'll get to them eventually.
Time will tell if we are in real spring or just some michigan trickery, but I pulled the Saab into the garage a couple days ago and swapped the winters for the 3-seasons. Holy hell are those winters loud. This car is really pleasant when the winter tires are in the shed. Pretty sure the next time I put them on something, it's gonna be something called Marketplace. berkeley those tires.
Saab continues to deliver essentially flawless service, so today AK2 and I rewarded her with a slightly late oil and filter change (6100 mi vs my target 5k), as well as 4 qt ATF spill and fill.
I also checked and reset spark plug gaps, as the WOT stumble had returned, as well as a pending P0304. Also, TIL from the owners manual that she's supposed to take 6 qts? I'm pretty sure the internet told me 4.5...
to nobody's surprise, the front subframe rust has not repaired itself:
Still, she's been a reliable and fun car for the 3 years and 40k miles she's been in our fleet.
171k and counting. We still love this car.
With the arrival of the Uberwagen, is the odyssey or Saab going away? They seem to have served you quite well.
Sonic said:With the arrival of the Uberwagen, is the odyssey or Saab going away? They seem to have served you quite well.
For two reasons, our tentative plan is to keep Ody and broom Saab. First, Ody is less rusty. Second, I'm always afraid of something NLA breaking on the Saab. When I get my SS, the E92 is going on the chopping block as well.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah dump that 9-3 before it cooks the T8 ECU.
RacetruckRon said:In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah dump that 9-3 before it cooks the T8 ECU.
A local friend was a Saab tech, he has the tools to fix and flash so as long as that doesn't happen too far from home...
Wow, that's a rust hole. I don't think I'd feel comfortable driving a car with a hole like that in a subframe.
AK2 advises "clunk while turning, can feel through steering wheel." Closer inspection reveals RF tire is corded on inboard, so I ordered a pair of outer tie rod ends, TRW brand, $12.50 each on closeout via RockAuto. Should be here Tuesday 7/16.
Are you sure that clunk isn't related to that subframe hole...? There's not a lot holding it together..
paul_s0 said:Are you sure that clunk isn't related to that subframe hole...? There's not a lot holding it together..
Confident, but not certain, LOL.
Outer tie rods made a night and day difference in my '04 9-3. The steering wheel used to jump a bit whenever I hit a bump, now it's very smooth (and quiet). Very good bang for the buck on that change!
Post on here when you are ready to off this rusty death trap. Pretty sure I could patch that up and get some more life out of it.
In reply to akylekoz :
I already have an open-date "commitment" to sell it to another forum member when that time comes. You can be second in line.
however, keeping the Saab will be significantly cheaper than buying winter wheels and tires for the Rowdy Audi, and AW loves the Saab. With the SS in the shop for who knows how long, I really need to fix the Saab's front suspension, and I'll grind and weld that subframe while I'm in there.
Parts cannon was fired without aim. Tie rod ends are fine. RH lower ball joint is remarkably sloppy, and LH is a little loose as well, so a few $100 to RockAuto will have a pair of complete LCAs here in a few days. Will also R&R front rotors and pads, as well as weld up the subframe which still refuses to self-heal.
EDIT: I'm doing all this because Mama loves this car, so we are keeping it as a winter beater vs spending $6k on winter wheels and tires for the Rowdy Audi.
This weekend was supposed to be R&R of LCA and OTRE, but one of the bolts felt like it might yield, so I called my trusted independent repair guy and will drop it off at his shop tomorrow. With that decision made, I shifted my focus to patching the rusty front subframe.
I started by picking away at the rust, then tapping with a hammer to find where it got solid again, then cleaning it up with the flap disc. The hole got a lot bigger. 😳 in fact, there are holes on the front, back, and bottom, but the upper flange and the lower plate (with steering rack mount bolt) are solid:
Then I fired up the CAD. Rev 1 got a couple of tweaks. Rev 2 seemed pretty good, so I marked and plasma-cut it from 0.075" steel sheet:
I scored the bend lines with the death wheel, to make it easier to control where the bending happened, and I drilled a bunch of holes for plug welds:
Then origami'd it into shape:
and welded it in:
It's gonna take 3 more pieces to complete the patch work, so I'll finish it up when I get the car back. Then I'll do the brakes, and if I'm still feeling ambitious I'll install the LED headlight resistors so they'll quit flashing. Hell, I might even pull the rear bumper cover and patch up the rust in the quarters.
Glad you found solid metal in there to weld to, nice patch.
Looking at the before picture I honestly thought it would be even worse. My recent experience was with a rad mount on my Subaru, decently thick metal, a few layers and all there but looking pretty rusty. I removed the rad and the mount just disintegrated in my hand into nothing.
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