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Looking for home for 900S Saab in very good condition but doesn't stay running

2K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  srp 
#1 ·
My 900S Saab, which has been giving me many great years, has recently refused to stay running after a few minutes. I had the fuel pump, alternator, ignition coil, distributor cap, plug cables and spark plugs replaced, all to no avail. Though probably unrelated, I also had the clutch replaced a couple years ago. I've checked a number of forums on this issue, all without success.

Bottom line, After spending about 2 months on this, I'm now quite frustrated and would like to: 1) try to sell it to a discerning Saab connoisseur for $500 or, if no one is interested, give it away to some charity. The Saab has 140K miles and is in excellent outside (navy blue) and quite good inside condition (always garaged). Until the issue described above, the engine was also doing quite well. I figure that someone who is good at fuel-injected engine troubleshooting may find this a rewarding project.

Any interest, recommendations or thoughts?

Regards, Wilhad
 
#5 · (Edited)
Updated post on 1984 Saab 900S

Ok, now for the more complete info on this vehicle:

The Saab has 153K miles (hadn't looked for a while) and is in excellent outside (navy blue) and quite good inside condition (always garaged). I had the fuel pump, alternator, ignition coil, distributor cap, plug cables and spark plugs and clutch replaced in the past few years ago. Pictures of the vehicle are now included below. Until the engine cutting-out issue described earlier, the engine was doing quite well.

The location is in my garage in Stormville, NY, (near the intersection of I84 and Taconic State Parkway) and I will add pictures shortly.

I'd like to sell it for $500 and I figure that someone who is good at fuel-injected engine troubleshooting may find this a rewarding project.
 

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#8 ·
Hey Wilhad,

If you want to give one more shot at repairing it, the hall effect sensor in the distributor functions like the crankshaft position sensor in modern cars - when it gets hot it will sometimes stop working and will then work again once the engine cools off. They can be a little tricky to find, you might need to look for whole used (but claimed working) distributors on eBay or in the classifieds here. Any 8-valve non-turbo distributor from 1981-1987 should work. They made the 8-valve in Europe a few years longer than in the US if you look there too, up will 1989 I think.

Sharp looking car!
 
#12 ·
Interesting and certainly something I hadn't known about - Thank you! Not quite sure what a Hall effect sensor looks like, though I'm assuming that it is connected to the distributor. Must one replace the entire distributor to replace?

Also, thank you for the steer re RockAuto.
 
#9 ·
Ibid on the Hall sensor; one can get a new sensor from RockAuto for fairly cheap. It may also be a fuel problem, although if you replaced the fuel pump no doubt the system is free but filters clog, lines silt.

As is well known, if you have fuel, spark, and oxygen an internal combustion engine should run. You might try Troll motors in Seattle (Georgetown), they have quite a number of parts and are quite amenable.
 
#11 ·
I have several anecdotes that may give you ideas.

My 1989 900s had problems with bucking under acceleration for years that nothing seemed to fix. This ultimately turned out to be a loose solder point on the ECU. I can't take credit for finding that because I'd given the car back to my dad by then. He and a good indy mechanic figured it out somehow.

My 1992 900 turbo had a similar problem that turned out to be a totally clogged fuel filter. It was like dredging mud in there. The fact that it was so badly clogged also convinced me to remove and wash the gas tank. After reassembly and running for a while, I also sent the injectors to RC for cleaning. If yours is the original fuel filter, that's an obvious thing to try. They're like $10 and easy to reach.

I had problems with a 2001 viggen leaning under boost that I verified with a fuel pressure gauge tucked under the wiper arm while I drove and filmed. Under load, the pressure would drop considerably. Not like I know what's normal, but I assume it should be roughly consistent. I tried the filter, and then checked on the hard plastic fuel lines. The supply line turned out to be badly pinched in a spot up under the gas tank where I couldn't see it. Replacing it fixed the problem.

Not really related, but I had leaky check valves in the ends that fit into the pump unit on both that and my other viggen. These valves are responsible for a lot of hard starting/long cranking problems.
 
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