by "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
Published 04/03/2017 at 23:02
by "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
Published 04/03/2017 at 23:02
Tags: Project Dumpster Fire
STARS: 12
Well, the weekend came and went. It was full of heatbreak, bloody knuckles, supply runs, lots of alcohol and lots of work.
Friday I managed to get the hard line back into the caliper that had thwarted me the night before. Unfortunately, once the bleeder was hooked up I was still mostly getting air, despite the some brake fluid flowing from the bleeder. Closing the bleed nipple and having a helper press the brake pedal confirmed my fears. Despite the caliper having been replaced by the former mechanic , it was leaking fluid quite badly.
A quick search determined that a rebuild kit was out of the question, and calipers weren’t available locally. Hoping I could get away with having someone do it locally, I shelved that until Monday.
Saturday morning came entirely too soon and I was met by a helpful gentleman from Safelite Auto Glass. Though they generally have a poor reputation, mostly because they use their own, off-brand glass, they actually had a new windshield in stock and would do the whole job for less than I could get the parts for.
The job was done quickly and with minimal fuss. A fellow petrolhead, we chatted while he worked and by noon he was done. At the conclusion, the guy even said this was the only Saab glass he had put in without breaking it on the first try. Terrifying.
That done, I began work again on getting it to start. First step was to swap out the warm up regulator. Typically, the fittings were super stuck. I didn’t have enough room or leverage while the thing was in the car, and outside the car I didn’t have anything to hold it in place. Solution?
Screw it to the damn wall.
Woo for makeshift table vice!
Unfortunately, a quick pressure check told me this hadn’t solved the problem. Hokay. Next up was verifying all of the lines, re-seating the pressure relief valve, checking the return line, and generally spilling fuel all over everything.
At this point it was getting late, starting to rain, and I was feeling pretty defeated. I texted a Volvo specialist friend and offered to bribe him to come take a look. He graciously did so, but unfortunately didn’t make much headway. We did get to shoot the shit for a bit, so that was fun anyway.
After he left, it was getting close to midnight, me and my helpers’ BAC was rising, and we were going at this with renewed vigor. And we had a result! Not a good one, but I’ll take anything at this point. While trying to start with starting fluid we had a massive backfire that caused the intake to blow off. Major, terrifying explosion.
Though nothing was damaged, we called it a night.
And then it was Sunday. As I mentioned in my last post , if I can’t get it running today I’m calling the whole thing off.
Since the intake was off anyway, I figured I’d try starting by manually manipulating the fuel and air via the throttle and air plates. Even though I’d tried this before, it, shockingly, worked! All of a sudden we had a running Saab!
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to control RPMs, air, and fuel manually but it is actually kinda hard. We put everything back together, tried to start and instantly got another intake misfire.
Not really knowing why one would get an intake misfire, I check the google and quickly determined a lean condition would do that. I cranked down on the mix adjuster and tried to start again.
And it started! And continued running! I mean... it was running like shit, but it was running! A few more cranks on the mix adjuster and we actually had it going pretty OK.
After that, good news started coming hard and fast. The cooling fans came on once we got up to temp and cycled correctly, the alternator was charging the battery, oil pressure was good, and gauges were all OK. A little more emboldened, I threw the thing in gear and tried to inch it forward. And it moved! Clutch and 1st gear are working too then!
It wasn’t all good news. The running is still a little off, with a lot of reluctance to rev and some mix issues lingering. The thermostat is likely stuck open, the temp gauge is intermittent, and none of the HVAC is working.
Still, none of that is a show stopper, so we are a go for the 8th!
"cbell04" (cbell04)
04/04/2017 at 00:04, STARS: 3
Wholly shelf for a rear bumper!! Congrats your really giving it all you got! Think the car felt the new glass and felt bad for you so it threw you a bone? Seriously rear brakes be dammed your looking good now. Good luck!
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/04/2017 at 01:05, STARS: 6
Keeping any old 900 on the road pleases me greatly. Did you swap the WR for another one or look at the original? If you’re so inclined, it’s not hard to take apart and clean the warmup regulator, I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some contamination inside, under the plate. There’s a little screen that can become clogged, and as long as the bimetallic spring and its insulator are ok, and the pin depth is correct (tapping it in=more pressure, almost always unnecessary) usually just cleaning them can greatly help. Even a few psi over its range makes a big difference. Now that it’s running, I don’t recommend dicking around with the mixture adjuster much further without being able to read the CO, it’s easier to screw up K-Jet than get it right, which is why it has its unjustified reputation as black magic. If you can get access to an exhaust analyzer, unplug the 02 Sensor and see what the mixture is doing unregulated. I’d try to set the CO around 1.0 with the 02 unplugged for starters, it should be able to correct around that. Remember, the three F’s of K-Jet are Fuel Pressure, Fuel Pressure, and Fuel Pressure... Assuming the input pressure is ok (should be something like 58-70psi or so), if the upper chamber of the metering head (as regulated by the WR) is lacking in pressure it won’t rev. To prove this, you can shoot brake cleaner into the intake (past metering plate) while trying to rev it, I’ll bet it revs if you do. That doesn’t mean just crank down on the mixture screw, because it’s a very delicate balance. This is a system that, assuming all else is perfect, is tuned in 1/8 turn increments. Stoked it’s running, love these cars!
"Berang" (berang)
04/04/2017 at 02:46, STARS: 1
You’ve gotten about as far as a mortal can get without making animal sacrifices.
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/04/2017 at 09:39, STARS: 2
Good point, I’ll see if I can find a shop that’ll let me use their exhaust gas analyzer.
I think you’re probably right about the WUR, but since I can’t return the new one I’m just going to put the old in my spares box and worry about it never.
Also yes, I need to re-check the fuel pressure. I actually think I overcompensated and it is running a little high. I am just sort of loathe to mess with anything right now because I don’t want to screw it up haha. Enjoying my moment of victory.
"carcrazydan738" (carcrazydan738)
04/04/2017 at 10:27, STARS: 0
Nice car! My parents had a red 86 Saab 900 S 16 Valve with a sunroof it was a great car! I wish I could find one like it! Good luck with yours!
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/04/2017 at 10:37, STARS: 1
A well earned moment, enjoy it you should.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
04/04/2017 at 14:03, STARS: 0
Mmmm, K-Jet
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/04/2017 at 14:16, STARS: 1
OM NOM NOM