Project Dumpster Fire says "hey"

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori) 04/23/2018 at 13:28 • Filed to: Project Dumpster Fire

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Drive the Saab today as I was going to get the AC fixed in preparation for a Saab meetup this weekend. It decided to make its feeling on the matter quite clear.

Most likely I am just out of gas. Probably. I was below 1/4 tank and have no reason to trust the sender. The starter has also been acting up and I think I mix is off a little... so I just had it towed.

Hooray!

On the bright side I got to come home for lunch... also my new phone seems to take really good photos.

Edit: Not just out of gas.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/23/2018 at 13:38

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Make sure to post an update later when you find out what issues the old girl is having! I love those old Saabs! :)

LOREM IPSUM > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/23/2018 at 13:40

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If all else fails: 2-stroke swap.

Mercedes Streeter > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/23/2018 at 13:40

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Seems like Oppo is getting to know tow trucks a lot lately. lol

Similarly, like you the issue is probably not much of an issue...

Wacko > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/23/2018 at 13:47

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you sure that ain’t a pic of the new Doug car, it has a certain something similar to other Doug cars

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Mercedes Streeter 04/23/2018 at 13:49

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Still confused on why you didn’t just carry it home

Echo51 > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 04/23/2018 at 13:51

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Put it on a leash and pull it

Mercedes Streeter > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 04/23/2018 at 13:53

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I mean, I did push it to the place it was in when the tow truck got there. I probably could have made it home in like 10 hours if the officer didn’t stop me. lol

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Mercedes Streeter 04/23/2018 at 14:32

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Yuup! I’ve been following your saga with with new one! Looks like a similar amount of “fun”!

I do very much recommend AAA. This was only a 7.5 mile tow, so no big deal, but the last time it crapped out on me it was a 98 mile tow. All included in the membership.

Urambo Tauro > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/23/2018 at 15:09

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Is that the original starter?

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Urambo Tauro 04/23/2018 at 15:14

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Oh dear god no. The location of the starters on the 8-valve cars means they get cooked by the exhaust/ turbo. This is at least the 5th starter, and that only counts the ones I am aware of.

It was one of my first jobs on this car actually. As far as I can tell the entire car is built around the starter. Serious PITA. This one is a Bosch starter rebuilt by AC Delco. I plan on doing a hot start relay and see if that fixes the problems I’ve been having.

Urambo Tauro > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/23/2018 at 15:29

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Dang. Any room for more/better heat shielding?

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Urambo Tauro 04/23/2018 at 15:39

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Some, yeah. Luckily this is well tread ground. Some models of the Volkswagen Golf/ Cabriolet also have this problem. The issue manifests as the solenoid getting weak when hot and not engaging. The solution (PDF WARNING) is to add a relay between the ignition and the solenoid. This allows more current to the solenoid and makes it actually like... work.

When we did our first Cheap Car Challenge, George’s cabby experienced this. We replaced the starter and it cooked in less than 1000 miles. He installed the hot start fix and it hasn’t had problems since (~3 years).

This is going to be my first try. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try heat shielding. If that doesn’t work, I’ll pay someone to put in a new one because doing that once was one time too many.

NojustNo > Mercedes Streeter 05/26/2018 at 13:10

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What happened to it?