2001 saab 9-3

All posts tagged 2001 saab 9-3

2001 Saab 9-3 The List

Posted by Henry McHenry on 03/29/2020
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I’m gonna try to document all the things Ive done, bought, or had someone else do to the car since I got it back in March 2018. In no particular order:

  • 4 tires
  • Front lower control arms
  • Passenger side adjustment screw
  • Autolite copper sparkplugs
  • 5 qurts 5w 40 oil
  • Bosch oil filter
  • Mann air filter
  • Ecoguard fuel filter
  • Denso platinum sparkplugs
  • Bosch double platinum sparkplugs
  • Mann air filter
  • Manhle air filter
  • Upper radiator hose
  • Multiple generic coolant hoses
  • Gallons and gallons of coolant and distilled water
  • A couple bottles of seafom
  • Marvel mistery oil
  • Bottles of Lucas octane booster
  • Driver side headlight assembly
  • 6×9 Kicker spaeakers
  • Kenwood bass amplifier
  • JVS Head unit
  • Tech 2 Scanner
  • K&N Oil Filter
  • Quarts and quarts of motor oil of different specs
  • Royal Purple 5 quart jug
  • Head was resurfaced
  • Replaced head gasket
  • Valve cover gasket kit (pending to be installed)
  • Water pump U hose
  • Thermostat
  • Thermostat (spare)
  • Water pump U hose (spare)
  • The 4 rotors were resurfaced
  • The 8 brake pads were replaced
  • Ecoguard fuel filter
  • Climate control (vents are in a fixed position, facing towards the cabin)
  • Upper radiator hose
  • Lower radiator hose (pending to replace)

That’s what I can recall. I’ll update this entry when I remember something else.

01′ OG 9-3 Headlight replacement

Posted by Henry McHenry on 03/25/2020
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As promised, pictures of before and after. One issue (or advantage) with these cars is headlights are made of glass. Issue because they’re easier to break (accident or vandalism), advantage because they’re are resistant to deformation and yellowing (I’m looking at you Nissan).

Before:

During:

Quite easy to remove, just remove three T25 screws and unclip the grill. Unplug the harness. Be careful with the wipers.

After:

Now I have proper lighting and no more dealing with tape. The new housing even came with bulbs and the electrical plug. Awesome job from the Wisconsin junkyard!

Next would be to check why the left turn signal socket is not making proper contact.

OG 9-3

Posted by Henry McHenry on 03/24/2020
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Got a few presents for the love of my life. So far I replaced the DIC and the plugs. The old DIC had melted tips and who knows if it was ever replaced before. I tried a chinese knockoff before with horrendous results, so this time I pulled the trigger and got the Saab original part from esaabparts.

As per sparkplugs I got what Saab offered back then as an option for “hard driving”, the NGK PFR7H-10. So far this morning going to work it ran great đŸ™‚ Thanks to the Saabnet member who documented the sparkplugs on this post

Couple weeks ago I changed the oil and filter using Royal Purple 5w-30 and a K&N filter. I’m pending to swap the air filter.

I intend to replace the headlight tonight, I’ll make sure to post before / after pictures.

2001 Saab 9-3 Part 3

Posted by Henry McHenry on 06/28/2018
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The parts arrived, this is how the left turn signal looks now

Compared to before:

Also got a new engine oil dipstick, and as I suspected the new one is a bit longer:

Also, finally got around replacing the fuel filter, it was easier than I thought, this is the right part in case you’re interested https://amzn.to/2tIuuvt

The 17 mm banjo bolt came out with some effort, but for the 19 mm I had to use penetrating oil and let it sit for a few minutes, then still had to fight it a little bit. The clamp is held in place by a T25 screw and the plastic cover by two 10 mm nuts.

 

2001 Saab 9-3

Posted by Henry McHenry on 06/07/2018
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Recently (April 4th) I did something I wanted to do for a long time, and that was buy another car. I saw her at the company parking lot and I guess it was love at first sight. I looked for the owner,  inquired about the car, did a test drive and placed an offer. Well, that’s not how the story ended. After that I decided to explore the Facebook marketplace and looked at other cars. I test drove a 79 Malibu and a 79 Fairmont, they din’t convinced me or I was convinced of how much of a death trap (for others) that kind of cars could be. At the time the Saab owner sent a message telling me he was willing to go a bit lower on the price, so I went with the Saab.

Here’s a picture of her:

I’m really enjoying working on her, so far this is what I’ve done:

  • Oil and filter change
  • Sparkplugs change
  • Hood strut
  • Trunk lifts
  • Coolant hose (URO Part # 9178849)
  • Air Filter (Mann C31122)
  • Airbox, MAF, intake hose cleaning
  • Fixed parasitic current draw by removing the stock HU
  • Head unit and speakers replacement (used this VW harness Metra 70-1784)

Work performed at the local shop

Pending work to do:

  • Fuel filter
  • Brake pads
  • PCV valve