Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Saab 900 turbo tips/facts/advice/learnin'
  • Luke

    April 7, 2011 5:40 a.m. Luke SuperDork

    Tomorrow I take ownership of an '86 900 Aero (SPG), in lieu of the '91 Mazda 626 I've been using lately. The Mazda was great, but I need to put some excitement back into my commute.

    This Saab is scruffy with high mileage, but it's been well maintained (g'box replaced at some point), everything works, and it's not rusty. After new tires, I'd like to freshen up the suspension. Is there a "go-to" setup with these cars? Any brand preferences for dampers/springs? etc.

    (FYI, the Aero is a 2.0 16v turbo, 5-speed man.)

  • digdug18

    April 7, 2011 10:13 a.m. digdug18 Dork

    have you searched? there are a couple good threads already on the 900 and its woes

  • procainestart

    April 7, 2011 1:43 p.m. procainestart Dork

    EDIT -- Just wrote all the stuff below but see you said "Aero" -- are you in Europe?

    The '86 SPG has run-of-the-mill Turbo springs; '87 was the first year of actual "SPG springs," which are stiffer and lower. Either get a used set of those (they must have a silver, bronze or gold paint mark on them) or get some aftermarket springs. Any aftermarket springs will be at least as low/stiff as the SPG stuff. Check out the classifieds at saablink.net, saabcentral.com, or maybe saabnet.com.

    Performance shock choices are limited in the U.S.: either Konis, which are expensive, or Bilstein HDs, which are cheaper but also somewhat stiff in compression, so the ride comfort isn't as good. If you get Konis, set the rears on full stiff. Another option, which I don't recommend but which is cheap, is the white KYB shocks (not silver), which are very stiff in compression; I can't wait to get rid of them on my daily driver.

    The front swaybar can be made considerably stiffer by switching to polyurethane bushings at both the outer and inner attachments. Buy poly outers from anywhere Saab parts are sold (I prefer www.eeuroparts.com); buy the inners from www.sasab.com, in Oregon.

    Perhaps most important up front is the alignment. The cars come with 0 or even positive camber from the factory. Get some spare shims from a junkyard car and dial in about -1 to -1.5 degrees camber, and set the toe to close to zero, slightly toed in. You'll like that mo' better. Oh, but before you start messing with that, inpsect the RH upper control arm bushings to ensure they're not failing, which they tend to do due to heat from the downpipe. Don't bother changing the lowers or the LH uppers (VERY hard with the engine in the car). Also make sure that the ball joints and tie rod ends are in good shape before an alignment. If you need to replace ball joints, DO NOT buy the cheapest ones, which are made in China and are junk. I buy Moog/TRW stuff and have had good luck. (It looks like eEuro is selling only cheap or OE; try RockAuto for more sellection.)

    The rear swaybar bushings die but are very expensive to replace from Saab. IIRC, you can get poly for them but they, too, are $$$. Inspect the upper control links at the rear axle.

    The rear upper link bushings at both the front and, to the lesser extent, the rear, fail. Scantech, which makes lots of aftermarket stuff for Saab/Volvo, sells some that are crap but will last a couple years. OE will last longer but for mo' money, of course.

    Meanwhile, inspect all vacuum lines underhood, and replace, as necessary. They commonly split at the nipples. Also, check your base boost -- it is usually low on a used car and, when adjusted properly, makes the engine a lot more responsive. Ignore web-based advice to buy a fancy gauge -- just adjust it so the base boost goes to the middle of the orange. If you always use premium fuel, set it a bit to the right of middle.

    Put a Mity-Vac on the line from the manifold to the vac. capsule on the distributor to make sure it holds vac/pressure. If not, get another one on there. Confirm base timing is at 16*BTDC while you're at it -- the timing hole is hard to get at, so be patient.

    Test the throttle switch to ensure that the WOT position works. If not, you could eventually hurt yo motuh.

    I would also change the brake fluid, including the clutch circuit, if you don't know the last service. Coolant, too. Geeks use spendy Saab coolant (blue crap from Europe), but the point is to change it -- it's more important for the 2.1L motors 91-93.

    I would change the gear oil every 20k miles or so, and use synthetic (I use Redline MTL). If you live where it's hot and drive, um, in a spirited manner, the MTL will thin out. If that's the case, cut it with some MT-90. Shockloading the transmission by doing drag starts will certainly hasten the demise of the gearbox.

  • Luke

    April 7, 2011 7:37 p.m. Luke SuperDork

    Thanks, procainestart! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I appreciate the write-up.

    I'm in Australia, but I'll more than likely shop for parts from US suppliers, as local selection is usually pretty limited and expensive.

    "Just as a proverb says, one should always ny escort prepare for a rainy day." - GRM canoe

  • mad_machine

    April 7, 2011 8:46 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

    I know you say it is not rusty.. but I would check the battery area, both front wheel wells, the pickup points for the front suspension arms and the spare tyre well

    Mercenary Stage Hand: When the money's gone, so am I.

  • Luke

    April 8, 2011 5:22 a.m. Luke SuperDork

    Rust status is all-clear! Just one small rusty patch in a corner of the bonnet.

    Man, this car is a gem to drive. Cosmetically it looks pretty tatty (whole roof needs painting), but it's really been coddled by its previous owners. I have a wad of service history as thick as an old Bible, including a novel written two owners ago, detailing every little fix he ever made.

    Lovely steering feel, nice enough gear shift, and the turbo makes a cool whistling noise, which is quite the novelty for me . I'll take some photos over the weekend.

    BTW, how's your 900 running, madmachine? Seem to remember reading you were having some engine troubles...

    "Just as a proverb says, one should always ny escort prepare for a rainy day." - GRM canoe

  • Rusted_Busted_Spit

    April 8, 2011 9:05 a.m. Rusted_Busted_Spit Dork

    In reply to Luke:

    Its funny you mention the steering feel. I seem to remember almost every review in the car mags really panning SAABs for the most part but always saying that the steering was very nice.

  • Jerry From LA

    April 8, 2011 10:24 a.m. Jerry From LA HalfDork

    +1 on saabnet.com. You'll find lots of good info and links for almost every possible task. There's an excellent procedure for setting base boost that's really easy to do. Follow links to the Townsend Import website for more info.

    Reunite Pangea!

  • procainestart

    April 8, 2011 11:35 a.m. procainestart Dork

    Jerry From LA wrote: +1 on saabnet.com.

    Saabnet's c900 board has a couple of indy techs who post there regularly (one is Swedish!), and about a decade of searchable old posts from techs who are no longer there. IMO, the excellent signal-to-noise ratio on the forum more than makes up for the lack of aesthetics, and a somewhat anachronistic policy against linking to other Saab sites.

    Also, I just found out that two other forums -- SaabLink and SaabCentral -- were both recently bought out and will (SaabLink) or are already (SaabCentral) putting tons of ads onto the site, censoring posts that are critical of advertisers, etc.

    The best way to search Saabnet's old posts is via google, using the "site" feature:

    At google, in the search field: search term site:saabnet.com/tsn/bb/900/

    (Remember to put your search terms in quotes to get only the full text string in your results, e.g., "fuel pump" site:saabnet.com/tsn/bb/900/

  • Luke

    April 10, 2011 5:26 a.m. Luke SuperDork

    Thanks for the tips re saabnet. There's some excellent 'how-to's' there!

    I've taken a few photos, and made a reader's ride : http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/5690/

    "Just as a proverb says, one should always ny escort prepare for a rainy day." - GRM canoe

  • digdug18

    April 10, 2011 5:29 a.m. digdug18 Dork

    what is small enough to tow with that?

  • Jay

    April 10, 2011 5:44 a.m. Jay SuperDork

    Looks good from here Luke! I've always like the looks of that model in a "it's weird but it's cool" sort of way. Those must have the most windscreen curvature on anything made since the '60s.

  • Luke

    April 10, 2011 6:48 a.m. Luke SuperDork

    In reply to digdug18:

    Small trailer, maybe a motorcycle or two. It's pretty common down here for people to use their regular car for light towing duties. That said, I only use it to mount a bicycle carrier.

    "Just as a proverb says, one should always ny escort prepare for a rainy day." - GRM canoe

  • procainestart

    April 10, 2011 10:39 a.m. procainestart Dork

    Very nice. That spoiler, a so-called "whale tail," is pretty darned rare, at least, in the States, so take care of it. Also, there's something wrong with one of the pictures: everything is backwards, with the steering wheel on the right side!

    Oh, btw, it's tough to tell from the pics, but it looks like the car may be lowered already?? Might want to look at the springs for those SPG bronze/silver/gold paint marks before looking for replacements...

  • mad_machine

    April 10, 2011 11:18 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

    Luke wrote: BTW, how's your 900 running, madmachine? Seem to remember reading you were having some engine troubles...

    Still taptaptapping along. I should have the Ti back on the road next weekend.. then I can take the 900 off and start some rusteration, paint, and an engine rebuild and upgrade to Turbo.

    a 2.1 turbo running t5 injection should be a lot of fun. I already bought everything to make mine into a "flat nose" SPG.

    Mercenary Stage Hand: When the money's gone, so am I.

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