August 2008
Hi,
I have the funds and garage space for a hobby car. I have considered an Alfa 164 but I have remembered that they have a very poor turning circle which will make getting it into my garage difficult. I have two car widths of room (13-14 feet) in front of the garage door in which I have to turn the car through 90s degrees.
Sometimes I have managed to reverse downhill (the easiest way of doing it) in one sweep in an Audi 100, and got an A4 B6 out with a pause, reverse and steering correction driving out.
Does the SAAB 9000 have the same poor turning circle as the Alfa 164?
They are both Type 4 cars along with the Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema, but I know that the Alfa had different front suspension to give it a lower, more sweeping bonnet line.
I did register on a SAAB forum to ask, but it was not obvious me to me how to start a new thread, so I thought I'd ask here.
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Both cars now fully serviced, on the drive. All the detailed `extra`s` such as antifreeze and distilled water, rustproofing of brake pipes/sumps/subframes and so on.
Best synthetic oils, clean latex gloves on handling fuel/oil/air filter elements. All those little details that you do yourself with no time constraints on the job.
Must have saved quite a bit in labour, servicing and repairs on our cars so far this year, which will pay for the hotels and meals in France later.
But its not that really, more the enjoyment of doing it and knowing its been done thoroughly.
If you are into DIY, how about you? what have you done and anything still outstanding?
Regards Read more
Clio .... Cambelt kit on order will do it this week.
Job done, fairly straight forward, saved a couple of hundred quid !
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I can categorically assure you Baskerville, I have just looked and I do NOT have a hairy backside.
I wax regularly and you should too.
Pat
warning light came on today plugged mates obd2 in and came up with p1014 code, not listed in his book, found code for volvo, wondered if the same for my car, volvo code was fuel pump circuit low. what does this mean? thinking new pump relay any ideas welcome.
also well i am after expert help, display in car says check headlight/tail light when lights on, they all are on, dodgy connection maybe? what do you think.... Read more
Whether it will work is going to depend on the exact failure; but it's got to be worth a clean.
I would appreciate it if someone could answer this question I have.
I have just had the rocker cover gasket replaced on my ford focus 1.8 petrol.
Before I left the garage I looked underneath the bonnet and noticed that the technician had forgotten to connect the breather hose back onto the engine.
What damage, if any, could occur by driving without this hose connected up and would it depend on how long you drove it for ? Read more
It might make it run marginally lean; but not really a serious issue.
hi all
my vectra has been playing up miss firing so changed coil pack and plugs and is now ok but the problem is that when you put your foot down it does not really respond as quick as it use to do ,a bit of a slow increase of speed then sudden spurt. some times the eng management light comes on but not for long. ive been told to get a new airflow meter is this correct or can i clean out this part ,not really got a clue. also been putting redex in the fuel and sprayed carb cleaner around the injection port.
cheers
dave Read more
What engine does this have fitted? Can you find the exact engine code; something like X18XE1?
Is there a code for a MAF fault?
Bought this car a few weeks ago and there was knocking noise when accelerating. I removed passenger side driveshaft and sure enough the inner joint made odd noise when fully extended - if I compressed it slightly against the spring noise went away.
Fitted a new driveshaft and all was ok for 100 miles until, just changing into second gear and letting the clutch out, bang bang bang. Looked at shaft and inner gaiter was off and grease everywhere.
Removed it this morning and tripod bearings look ok as do the recess they fit into apart from some scratches on the very end of the bit the tripod goes into and on the outer ring of the bearings.The metal case the bearing live in is all distorted. Looks like the tripod bearing has come out of the recess when driving along. Obviously this shouldn't be able to happen. Seems like the distance between the gearbox and the hub is too much allowing this to happen?
Ever heard of anything like this? Maybe accident damage could account for it?
Bit reluctant to put another new shaft on just for the same thing to happen.
Thanks for any help.
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More likely the whole front leg and driveshaft was replaced with a scrapyard one - the wrong one.
Don't you love it when people know you're a bit of a car nut, so you get all their "what's the best... " questions! Still, at least one can seem vaguelly knowledgable by using the forums ... :-)
Anyway, a mate has had enough of running a large 4x4 - doesn't do a large mileage, but just stuff like new tyres can be cripplingly expensive.
However, needs an automatic (no manual license), big enough for a family of four (with prams and such) - so golf-size car a bit tight.
Any suggestions? He likes 'presitige' cars - but of course for that budget tends to mean either jolly old and/or knackered ...
My thought was of course our friend the Mondeo Mk2 - I was surprised that they did a diesel auto, which can be had for about £3k. What emmisions were the 2L auto petrol in? I'm wondering if with the slush-matic it goes over 225...
I think for reliability the 2.0L petrol auto would be my choice - just got to get him to see that the modern Ford's are so good! Any issues on the autoboxes? Read more
Japanese auto like a Honda Accord might be a good compromise -- premium quality without the badge-related baggage of being overpriced etc.
The Japanese lead the way in quality slushboxes (they make millions and millions of the things for the NA market, with few complaints).
Hi,
I have a clicking noise coming from under the bonnet.
have traces it to a small black match box sized box in the far top right corner (right under the corner of windscreen.
Any ideas on what this is?
Thanks for your help,
dave Read more
Yes, probably the motorised air recirculation flap actutor is broken.A common fault on this model.Not a cheap fix,so best option is to disconnect the 2-pin plug to the unit.hth
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When I had my "proper" SAAB, my brother in law had a 9000 which I used to borrow sometimes.
Whilst I remember being distinctly unimpressed with the performance (too heavy) I can't remember any difficulties with the turning circle. I sometimes had it here at home - admittedly I have a large yard but I would be instantly aware of a restricted lock in familiar surroundings.
659.