The thread of rehabilitating Li'l Red

aireeca · 03-01-2008, 03:24 PM

So, in preparation for my little drive in the Canadian north woods this summer, I'm starting this thread to help document as well as troubleshoot some of the crazier things involved with owning/repairing/maintaining Li'l Red, the 1992 c900 base.

Here's the steering wiggle issue (upper steering bearing throwout)

Steering column wiggle

The low-end miss (spark plug wires)

Low end miss (B212)

And now...notched oil pump gears?!?!?

The good news? The oil light has never come on and, between Greg Abbott and I, the car has gone from Minneapolis to New London, Conn.

The even better news? Very little in the way of metal shavings in the oil upon the oil change this afternoon.

But, still, damn. What could have caused this?

DeLorean · 03-01-2008, 05:01 PM

something got in there, why was the oil pump out of the car? Was this to correct an issue with the front main seal /oil pump O-ring/ crank pulley? More than likely some foreign object got sucked into the oil pump and smashed... who knows what, but the oil pump draws in oil before the oil filter so what ever it was was probably safely filtered out.

GA · 03-01-2008, 06:41 PM

Wow.

Lil Red has had an interesting life.

Palmer · 03-01-2008, 08:59 PM

Geez, that's lucky.

What's the plan?

DeLorean · 03-01-2008, 09:28 PM

I would imagine the plan is to pop a new or good used set of pump gears in there. They are pretty rarely an issue with C-900's and if they are, it was either a very odd fluke, or you have got bigger problems than just the oil pump.

Oh, also as for as the crank sensor. We have a unit we rigged up that will bypass it and run the car off of a distributor hall sensor if a failure should occur. The CPS is something that could kill the car, takes hours and hours to change without a lift + a special tool... the rig basically takes the CPS out of the loop so it's not needed and will allow the car to run on a conventional hall sensor distributor.

aireeca · 03-02-2008, 03:54 AM

The plan for now — based on the fact that the oil light hasn't come on in roughly 1,500 miles (many of which were really, really hard and hot) and there doesn't appear to be an alarming amount of metal in the oil — is to put it back together and eventually, pre-trip, do the gears. They're about $107 OEM new through thesaabsite but I haven't checked with my local indy foreign car parts place yet.

The oil pump was off of her to remedy the O-ring seepage issue. I took Li'l Red over to my mechanic's place to have him take a good look at the engine mounts and one thing led to another. He was actually just about to throw out a perfectly good c900 upper steering column so I cut a deal on him putting that into the car and fixing the O-ring issue.

I'm going over there this morning to do the skidplate and front and right side engine mounts in his nice, warm indoor garage. That should make her road-worthy again.

xassh · 03-02-2008, 05:59 PM

it's far easier to take care of the oil pump now, rather than having to take it apart again later...

DeLorean · 03-02-2008, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xassh

it's far easier to take care of the oil pump now, rather than having to take it apart again later...

yeah, I got to say I agree there. it is a PITA to remove

aireeca · 03-03-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xassh

it's far easier to take care of the oil pump now, rather than having to take it apart again later...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeLorean

yeah, I got to say I agree there. it is a PITA to remove

Agreed, but the car was eating up the work bay at the mechanic's house and the problem was discovered too late Saturday for any of the parts houses that might carry the gear to be open.

aireeca · 03-03-2008, 04:59 PM

Her newest quirk, by the way, is to have her brake lights stay on after the car is shut off. Hello battery drain. Jump number one tonight here at work. Yay!

Palmer · 03-03-2008, 05:10 PM

Your switch is not contacting the pedal correctly.

When you press the brake, it moves away from a plunger and the brake light goes on. When you let off the brake, it presses the plunger, and shuts the lights off. I had to spend a while fiddling with mine to get it to work right.

Have you been digging around up under the dash? Maybe you bumped something.

DeLorean · 03-03-2008, 05:12 PM

yeah, sometimes that switch just craps out on it's own too, but generally you start having brake lights that just stay on just after you fixed something else under the dash... same with the cruise control quitting.

aireeca · 03-03-2008, 05:20 PM

Well, that makes sense. My mechanic re-did the upper steering column over the weekend. Is it time to get the knee bolster off again? Yippee!!!

aireeca · 03-03-2008, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeLorean

yeah, sometimes that switch just craps out on it's own too, but generally you start having brake lights that just stay on just after you fixed something else under the dash... same with the cruise control quitting.

You know, I didn't check to see if my cruise was working again. Hmmm....

DeLorean · 03-03-2008, 05:37 PM

the knee bolster should not have to come out for that, you should be able to access the brake light switch by just pulling the air duct down and reaching up there.

aireeca · 03-30-2008, 02:31 PM

OK, so I finally got all up under Li'l Red's driver side footwell today.

Two questions: There's a spring loose just above the brake lever (up back behind the black panel just behind the knee bolster), could that have something to do with the brake lights not always releasing the first time?

Also, the black panel just behind the knee bolster=air duct? If so, removal...just yank or what?

Sorry for the probably way too obvious questions and I shouldn't really worry about damaging this car any further (I mean, really...) but I'd like to avoid collateral damage while I'm trying to ostensibly repair the car.

DeLorean · 03-30-2008, 02:42 PM

There are 2 springs up there, both have fixing points that are part of the steering shaft housing & then on a pedal (brake & clutch). the steering shaft housing is the gold cad-plated thing under the dash. You will need a flashlight to see it probably.

The plastic duct thing is just a duct for the climate control system. It's held on by a torx or an 8 MM screw. That screw may or may not still be there. You can just un-do the one screw, and pull the duct down so it's out of your way. You can bend it real good and it won't break, just bend it out of your way, it is also bolted in other places, but don't worry about that you don't need it fully removed.

And yeah the pedal return spring not being connected is probably causing the brake light issue. Once hooked back up, it should correct it.

aireeca · 04-14-2008, 02:19 PM

Anyone ever do a swap on a rear pop-out window? Care to elaborate or did you pay plenty for therapy to forget the experience?

Other Li'l Red updates:
Brake issue, fixed.
Headlight bucket...not so much. Better than it was before but nothing like having the brittle adjusters just crumble in your hand as you're about to install one you just nabbed from the u-Pull-it nearby. I see a novel in repairing this car, "Tears falling on torx drivers."

GA · 04-14-2008, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aireeca

Anyone ever do a swap on a rear pop-out window? Care to elaborate or did you pay plenty for therapy to forget the experience?

Other Li'l Red updates:
Brake issue, fixed.
Headlight bucket...not so much. Better than it was before but nothing like having the brittle adjusters just crumble in your hand as you're about to install one you just nabbed from the u-Pull-it nearby. I see a novel in repairing this car, "Tears falling on torx drivers."

You're doing God's work on this car.

Now it may be the One True Cylon God, but still . . . divinely inspired.

Jack Straw · 04-14-2008, 02:33 PM

Getting the pop out windows off isn't a problem, I believe they are riveted on, at least in some years, then some screws on the latch. Never put any on, so can't comment there.

03-01-2008, 05:01 PM	#2
DeLorean Moderator Elder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a compound on a hill Posts: 7,550	something got in there, why was the oil pump out of the car? Was this to correct an issue with the front main seal /oil pump O-ring/ crank pulley? More than likely some foreign object got sucked into the oil pump and smashed... who knows what, but the oil pump draws in oil before the oil filter so what ever it was was probably safely filtered out. Last edited by DeLorean; 03-01-2008 at 05:08 PM.

03-01-2008, 06:41 PM	#3
GA Elder Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,978	Wow. Lil Red has had an interesting life. __________________

03-01-2008, 08:59 PM	#4
Palmer Moderating your moms Site ModeratorElder Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: St.Paul MN Posts: 15,410	Geez, that's lucky. What's the plan? __________________ 1977 911/2006 325i/2003 330i

03-03-2008, 05:10 PM	#11
Palmer Moderating your moms Site ModeratorElder Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: St.Paul MN Posts: 15,410	Your switch is not contacting the pedal correctly. When you press the brake, it moves away from a plunger and the brake light goes on. When you let off the brake, it presses the plunger, and shuts the lights off. I had to spend a while fiddling with mine to get it to work right. Have you been digging around up under the dash? Maybe you bumped something. __________________ 1977 911/2006 325i/2003 330i

03-01-2008, 09:28 PM	#5
DeLorean Moderator Elder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a compound on a hill Posts: 7,550	I would imagine the plan is to pop a new or good used set of pump gears in there. They are pretty rarely an issue with C-900's and if they are, it was either a very odd fluke, or you have got bigger problems than just the oil pump. Oh, also as for as the crank sensor. We have a unit we rigged up that will bypass it and run the car off of a distributor hall sensor if a failure should occur. The CPS is something that could kill the car, takes hours and hours to change without a lift + a special tool... the rig basically takes the CPS out of the loop so it's not needed and will allow the car to run on a conventional hall sensor distributor.

03-03-2008, 05:12 PM	#12
DeLorean Moderator Elder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a compound on a hill Posts: 7,550	yeah, sometimes that switch just craps out on it's own too, but generally you start having brake lights that just stay on just after you fixed something else under the dash... same with the cruise control quitting.

03-03-2008, 05:37 PM	#15
DeLorean Moderator Elder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a compound on a hill Posts: 7,550	the knee bolster should not have to come out for that, you should be able to access the brake light switch by just pulling the air duct down and reaching up there.

03-30-2008, 02:42 PM	#17
DeLorean Moderator Elder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a compound on a hill Posts: 7,550	There are 2 springs up there, both have fixing points that are part of the steering shaft housing & then on a pedal (brake & clutch). the steering shaft housing is the gold cad-plated thing under the dash. You will need a flashlight to see it probably. The plastic duct thing is just a duct for the climate control system. It's held on by a torx or an 8 MM screw. That screw may or may not still be there. You can just un-do the one screw, and pull the duct down so it's out of your way. You can bend it real good and it won't break, just bend it out of your way, it is also bolted in other places, but don't worry about that you don't need it fully removed. And yeah the pedal return spring not being connected is probably causing the brake light issue. Once hooked back up, it should correct it.

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