period vehicles MOT.

[Flyfisher]

Our 1998 9-5 turbo had a "check engine" warning light a few years ago, which turned out to be a small perished hose somewhere. It was 11 years old at the time so perhaps not entirely unreasonable for a hose to fail. Not expensive to have repaired and it's still going strong.

 

[Keith Bowman]

I'm not convinced turbo chargers and Lambdas are "period" in any normal sense of the word! But how would I know, my knowledge stops at chain drive

 

[Me!]

Saab 900's are chain drive, even the turbo ones!
The top shaft is linked to the engine, and the bottom one to the gearbox -


It is a triple chain though, ... you could* never accuse Saab of under-engineering things!


*Could, sob, past tense What am I going to buy now they have gone?

 

[Flyfisher]

*Could, sob, past tense What am I going to buy now they have gone?

Yes, being on my fourth Saab, I have the same feeling
(although I realise that true afficionados tend to sneer at the 9000/9-5s as not being 'real' Saabs :wink: )

 

[Keith Bowman]

Well if your are going to have three chains, why not have four and scrap the gearbox altogether?

 

[madworthy]

Well if your are going to have three chains, why not have four and scrap the gearbox altogether?

Now that looks like fun, but better keep fingers clear when running. :lol:

 

[Feltwell]

It is a triple chain though, ... you could* never accuse Saab of under-engineering things!

Oh I don't know - some of the GM-based late Saab's were less than perfect. The 9-3 convertible was renowned for scuttle shake, although the hardtop 9-3 I thought was a nice car. I drove a company 9-5 quite a bit as well, again I quite liked it's quirkiness. I didn't even feel the need to wear a black roll neck or "interesting" glasses either. :wink:

Did you see the Top Gear episode on Saab's? Apparently the very first Saab had fully enclosed front wheels, with clearance for them steering of course. However if you drove it in the snow, the snow built up round the front wheels so that on the first corner you came to, you discovered that your steering was locked straight. Not a great design feature in Sweden.

 

[Me!]

some of the GM-based late Saab's were less than perfect. The 9-3 convertible was renowned for scuttle shake

That is true, we have one and on some road surfaces the scuttle shake is quite alarming.

Although Saab made some very strange mistakes over the years, their actual build quality and engineering was always way above most other manufacturers. Until, ... GM, when they were still good cars, just not as good as before GM!

I have owned two original 900 turbos, still own a 9000 turbo and also have a 9-3 convertible.
The 9000 (a pre GM design) is the best built of them all. The 9-3, whilst I can see plenty of Saab blood in it, has also been very watered down by GM.
But, the coolest Saab ever -

 

[philpjuk100]

Well if your are going to have three chains, why not have four and scrap the gearbox altogether?

Ah! "chain gang" Frazer Nash,the last one I saw on the road was driven by a cleric in his robes,he had it sideways on the cobbles around Litchfield cathedral! phil.
ps, dont real Saabs have three cylinders and no valves?

 

[robgil]

I would have thought a vacuum leak would increase oxygen levels and so produce an increase in CO2 and a reduced CO level.

The ecu compensates by adding more fuel thus making the mixture too rich.

 

[Me!]

Have you checked all the engine and air temperature sensors? If the ECU thinks the engine is cold, but it isn't, then it gives too much fuel for the amount of air.
Have you got black sooty spark plugs?

 

[robgil]

The plugs are fine, showing signs of start stop short journeys but fine all the same. There are three sensors to worry about, the air mass sensor, lambda sensor and the coolent temp sensor. The air mass sensor is a bit dirty but isnt the problem, the coolent sensor (not to be confused with the coolent temp sender) is operating within tolerances. The lambda sensor is fluctuating between .1v and .8v so should be working OK.
I have found a few split hoses on the inlet side after the amm which would have been causing issues and sealed them up so fingers crossed it will bring the CO down. The car is a 2.3 900 convertible which is nice to have in this weather but if I dont get it sorted I am after a nice 9-5 Aero, a much more practical car.

 

[robgil]

Well , got all the work done for the mot, then some **** smashed into it in Tescos car park and wrote it off.
He managed to persuade Ms Robgil not to inform the police or insurance and said he would pay out of his own pocket.
Now of course he has changed his mind and is blaming Ms Robgil on the accident even though he reversed out of a parking space and hit our stationary car.
Gutted.
What a complete and utter barsteward.

 

[Keith Bowman]

Ask Tesco to check and save their CCTV footage. Don't leave it too long - they might have a policy of wiping it after a week or so. Good luck.

 

[Flyfisher]

Good advice.

During my student days, on a roundabout, a lorry clipped the rear wing of my car with its wheel. I was stationary at the time, waiting to get onto the roundabout. Being a large lorry wheel with protruding wheel nuts, it made a bit of a mess. The lorry driver was very apologetic about it and gave me all his company details.

I wrote to the company and their insurance company replied saying the lorry driver said I had driven into him and denied all liability. I wrote back with a detailed explanation of exactly what had happened and they simply asked for any witness evidence . . . which, of course, in my naivety, I hadn't thought to collect.

A lesson for life!

 

[AMc]

Well , got all the work done for the mot, then some **** smashed into it in Tescos car park and wrote it off.
He managed to persuade Ms Robgil not to inform the police or insurance and said he would pay out of his own pocket.
Now of course he has changed his mind and is blaming Ms Robgil on the accident even though he reversed out of a parking space and hit our stationary car.
Gutted.
What a complete and utter barsteward.

Call your insurance now, tell them he promised to call with his insurance details so you could pass them on but is now denying liability.
A short delay in reporting a fender bender doesn't mean the insurance company will refuse the claim.
I very much doubt the police would have responded to an accident in a private car park with no injuries.

I would definitely go and see the Tesco manager, MrsRobgil has a right to the footage of her, print this page and take it with you.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx

When can CCTV images be disclosed?

You have the right to see CCTV images of you and to ask for a copy of them. The organisation must provide them within 40 calendar days of your request, and you may be asked to pay a fee of up to £10 (this is the maximum charge, set by Parliament). This is called a Subject Access Request. You will need to provide details to help the operator to establish your identity as the person in the pictures, and to help them find the images on their system.

Hopefully it will be obvious what happened.

There is a chance that he isn't insured in which case you may end up with the claim counting against you - depending on your policy - but the alternative is this pillock will continue to drive around without cover.

You have my sympathy there are some right sods out there.

 

[Flyfisher]

There is a chance that he isn't insured in which case you may end up with the claim counting against you - depending on your policy - but the alternative is this pillock will continue to drive around without cover.

Isn't there some sort of insurance-industry scheme to pay out when uninsured drivers are involved?

Edit: just found this: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/owningavehicle/motorinsurance/dg_067639

 

[robgil]

While we were getting quotes he was at Tesco looking for footage, he then called the police and reported it.
Ive been to Tesco and there is no footage, they told me they could only hand footage over to the police anyway.
He is insured , Ive checked. His car is modified to go off road though.
We are building a case against him and might even sue him directly. There is an investigator coming next week to look at the car, hopefully the damage will signify that our car was stationary. He was very intimidating to ms robgil and my 2 year old when the accident happend, she was scared out of her wits.
I called him last night to get his insurance details and he refused so I told him I was going drive down there and get them in person, when I arrived outside his house I got a call from Ms Robgil saying the police had called and given us his policy number, except they know nothing about it, It was him pretending to be the police :shock: . When he was pretending to be a police man on the phone he told Ms Robgil that we were to have no more contact with him and we were to drop it as we had no case against him.
The man is a proper scum bag.

 

[AMc]

Impersonating a police officer is crime isn't it?

Robgil - glad you got his policy number, get your insurance onto it and try and step back. Tesco are wrong, you have a right to the footage under the Data Protection Act. If you think there is a possibility there is a camera that shows the accident then I would make a formal request (see previous link) it can only cost you £10 and would be definitive.

The uninsured driver problem is that it can (depending on the insurer) they (inexplicably to me) count it as a "fault" accident and wreck your no claims bonus.

 

[MatthewC]

Impersonating a police officer is crime isn't it?

Absolutely. I'd report that to the police without delay (but then I do have a son who is a police officer...)