UKSaabs

Oh, and a tip I learned today that might be helpful/relevant to some of you:

First, a little background. My A/C has always worked brilliantly. The Saab ACC climate control thing is easily the best of any car I've owned. However, I always had a couple issues, or one issue with two symptoms. The friction material on my A/C compressor clutch is totally worn out to the point where the metal mounting lugs are exposed. The result of this is that when the clutch engages, instead of a nice smooth engagement as the friction material connects, you'd get a loud CLUNK as it locks into place on the metal lugs. Corresponding with this rather violent engagement was a sudden drop in revs.

Not a big deal, but not ideal.

Then a couple weeks ago my serpentine belt jumped a few notches on the A/C pulley. Don't know why, but I noticed it because it quickly started to SCREACH and SQUEAL rather loudly. I compressed the tensioner and put the belt back in its right place, but ever since then I'd get a horrible rev-dependent squealing noise whenever the A/C was NOT engaged. Little common sense and testing led me to the conclusion that it was the bearing on the A/C idler pulley that was shot

I figured the easiest solution was to just get a secondhand A/C pump and swap the whole thing out. But at the same time, that'd mean emptying the system and having to refil it later etc. Plus, of course, I'd have no way of knowing the condition of the secondhand unit.

I was able to get a secondhand pump pretty cheap so bought that anyways just in case. Then had a look at the unit on my car.

What I wanted to do was to see if I could get the idler pulley bearing out and have a look at it, without disconnecting the A/C pump.
Spanner and a long breaker bar is all that's needed to slip the serpentine belt off the pulley.
Hex key to remove the clutch plate, then after that it looked like it was just a circlip that needed removing. I had a go at getting at it without unbolting the A/C pump but it was rather tricky. However, once I unbolted the A/C pump I was able to twist it round just enough to get at the pulley without disconnecting the pipes or anything (there's enough give in the rubber hoses).
Unclipped the circlip, used some pullers to pull the pulley off.

Idler pulley is just a single solid piece with a big bearing pressed into the centre. The bearing looks like it's been peened into place and I don't think you could easily extract it. However, the bearing race is protected only by a plastic/rubber dust cover that you can pop out with a tiny chisel or blade or something. Upon removing the cover I saw that the bearing was shot.

But this all gave me an idea.

I removed the idler pulley from my secondhand donor A/C pump, removed the dust cover from the bearing, the bearing looked in good condition and felt smooth, but even on that one nearly all the grease was absent. I repacked the bearing with grease as best I could with it still inside the pulley wheel. Just pressed the grease in with my thumb until it oozed out the bottom.

Here's the clever part, though:
I refit the good bearing, and the much better friction plate from the donor A/C to the original A/C that was still in my car, hoses attached, gas intact, working/functioning/etc.

Result?

Smooth and silent A/C unit and clutch engagement for very little money and effort.

So there ya go, might be useful for somebody someday?

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Well, here it is!



I've got to say, I'm REALLY happy with it. Top marks to Jack at Royal Steering Wheels. The new steering wheel looks and feels lovely.

It's amazing how much of a difference to the overall 'driving experience' the steering wheel makes. Never thought much about it before, but yeah, well worth the money, in my humble opinion.

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Hi Ommony, firstly can I just say that your car looks amazing.
If I could be cheeky to as a couple of questions, I would be interested in knowing what dump valve you swapped to Here?
And also where you got This tail pipe from?

Thank you in advance.

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1997 9000 CSE Anniversary 2.0 Stage 3 (in car heaven)
2002 9-3 Aero (HOT) Stage 1

Thanks! Your car is looking pretty sweet too! Love the dark Azev's.

The dump valve I'm using at the moment is an APS valve. Details HERE. Can't even remember where I found out about them, but thought they looked brilliant. Expensive to buy new, and not easily available either (especially in the UK), so I just popped it into my 'saved searches' thing on eBay in case one popped up cheap in the UK. Couple months later, one did and I snapped it up. Don't even think the seller knew what it was.

Was it worth it? Oh, I dunno. I had a decent Forge unit on there before and that seemed to work fine. Don't have any real data to say that the new one is better. Any percieved difference could easily be chalked up to me subconsciouly WANTING it to be better. It's a really beautifully engineered bit of kit, though, looks great in the engine bay, and is a little different than what most people have.

If you drive slow it's nice and quiet, but when you get enough boost to open the secondary larger port it makes a very pleasant and not-so-chavvy dump valve sneeze -- almost sounds like the doors opening on the Enterprise in Star Trek -- pssshhhooo. haha

Tailpipe trim. The new oval one is what came with my Aerodyte exhaust system from the states. I never fitted it because when we hung the exhaust it never lined up properly. Went for the big 4" circle one instead. Recently though I spent some time re-hanging the exhaust (using nice big heavy duty powerflex exhaust hangers) and now the exhaust sits up under the car a bit tighter and so the big circle tailpipe was banging on the bodykit and blah blah, so the oval one went on and fits really good now. The tailpipe trim itself is branded "Pypes" which should be THIS COMPANY...again, in the US.

It's alright, but not really a perfect fit. Needs to be a more rounded out oval to fit the cutout in the bumper better. Abbotts is still the best fit I've seen on a 9k, much as I'm loathe to admit it. But I like to flattened oval look. It suits the wide straight lines of the back end of the car. I wonder if I can MELT the bodykit to fit better? hmmmm

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Thanks for the information, I will definitely check them out as the dump valve looks awesome.

Do you still have the forge one?

I know what you mean with the oval shape cut out of the body kit, it sets up perfectly for a wider oval, which I hope to find one day. I'm sure when money and power requirements need it I will go for the custom SS straight through and hunt for the perfect 'aesthetically pleasing' tail pipe.

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1997 9000 CSE Anniversary 2.0 Stage 3 (in car heaven)
2002 9-3 Aero (HOT) Stage 1

Car has been running great. I've done a few little tweaks/mods since the last update but I'll write about that when I've got some more spare time this weekend.

In other news, BMW E36 headlight conversion underway!

I picked up a pair of brand new headlight units for absolute peanuts. These aren't flashy 'angel eye' chromed plasticky aftermarket headlights, but proper brand new OE projector units, with glass lenses and everything. Really top notch quality by the looks of it.

I've fitted them to the car already, just finalising the mounting arrangements, sorting out the wiring, and then need to modify the grill to fit. Fair bit left to do, but the hard part is (hopefully) done.

Looking awesome (in my opinion).

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Don't forget to show us the pictures when you've done the headlight conversion.

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Joined the burble, burble, burble brigade, with 3" zorst.

I aint the biggest of 9000 fans, they take a lot of work to have the "look" to match such a brilliant engine.
This car is just beautiful, youve turned a aging looking car to a modern (despite old) sporty but still very sheep looking family car.

100 man points awarded
Youve done this car proud!

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Current:
9-5 Aero Stage 1
Old:
9-5 HOT Aero Wagon
9-3SS Aero- 312BHP
9-3SS Vector- 110mm Drop

Looking forward to the pics

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Thurz bin a murrr-derr in Berzzz-den

ditto

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Rich
CC Carlsson - shhh! The colour's a secret
CSi - midnight blue

The headlight conversion is finished! (well, they probably need to be adjusted/aligned, though a quick visual against-the-garage-wall inspection leads me to believe they're not far off!)

They're firmly mounted in place, all wired up, and ready to rock. I'd go so far as to say I'm ECSTATIC about the results, at least aesthetically. Going to go for a drive later on and see how they peform out on the road.

I'm sorry to say, though, for those considering this conversion, it's not all that straight-forward. The headlights are very close to the Saab dimensions, but getting them mounted where they should be was a bit of a hit'n'miss/trial'n'error affair. I don't think I could actually tell somebody how I did it -- it just kinda came together.

I'm still in the process of modifying/sanding/painting my grill, because it doesn't fit nicely between the new lights. But I'll trial fit it later tonight and give you guys a 'teaser' nighttime photo. Daylight photos and under-bonnet photos/etc to follow tomorrow or Sunday perhaps.

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Snuck out tonight to check/tweak the aim of the new headlights. Looks good! Really happy with the result of this conversion. Ended up driving around country lanes for 45 minutes just because I was amazed at how great they are compared with the standard 9000 units (bearing in mind my 9k headlights had recently rechromed reflectors and top quality bulbs so weren't as bad as some).

So here ya go, little sneak peak for ya. I'll get some better photos when I have a moment.







Note: Photos don't really reflect the amount of light, but gives you an idea of the beam pattern/cutoff/etc. My phone camera doesn't handle this kind of thing well...hah.

Also, definitely need to sort out some white front sidelight bulbs. In the last photo, the dipped beam projector is on the right and white in colour. The yellow light is actually just the sidelight bulb, not the main/high beam.

Also, noticed that the lenses were fogged up a bit on the inside and pretty dirty on the outside (from me fitting them). Need to clean 'em properly and and seal 'em up again.

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Those BM lights ommony ? just the lines in the lenses that give me that idea .

P.s. you need some led side light bulbs to lose that yellow

After trying a few different sorts i went for SMD's rather than led's cuz they were whiter and better quality .

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.........Loving but still hating Saab's in equal amounts most days !!!

Hey B&T, keep up at the back, would'ya! haha

(from further up this page)


So yeah, sidelight blubs are already ordered. The E36 headlights use H1 bulbs for main/dipped like the Saab, so I was able to swap over my PIAA bulbs from there. But the sidelights use a different fitment bulb than what I was using, so didn't have any to put in and left the ones that came with the headlights.

Today I've tweaked and finalised the setup of the headlights -- moutning/etc. Made a weather strip/seal to go between the headlights and the bumper, and also dismantled the lights and thoroughly cleaned all glass inside and out -- hopefully should stay clean and clear now.

But the main thing I've spent all day doing is sorting out my grill. As previously mentioned, it doesn't quite fit between the new headlights and needed some modification. Also the grill had plenty of stone chips and was looking pretty rough. So today has been sanding, filling, sanding, priming, painting.

I want to do a few more coats over the next couple days before calling it finished, but should be good enough tomorrow to temporarily fit it and take some photos.

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

Oooops sorry mate , really must stop skimming and read these things properly .

I just get all over excited and rush my way straight through to the piccies

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.........Loving but still hating Saab's in equal amounts most days !!!

Haha, no worries. I was only joking -- I don't actually expect people to read all the drivel I type.

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

just as well really

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Rich
CC Carlsson - shhh! The colour's a secret
CSi - midnight blue

Alright, here we go, some daylight photos of the headlight conversion -- unfortunately my mediocre phone camera doesn't really do them justice, but you get the idea. I'm really really REALLY happy with the result, regardless.

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MY 96 SAAB 9000 Aero

They look great to me! Good job there!

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......Gotta love a 9K..........

1996 9000 Aero
2001 9-3 Aero convertible

They dont look bad at all .....only problem is in the dark ...its a Beemer

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.........Loving but still hating Saab's in equal amounts most days !!!