Solved the Misfire

The stock coil that was in my 1986 Saab 900s

How's this for an interesting symptom?

The copper washers didn't last.

New banjo seals at the fuel pump
Part # 4443883

Well they did last. For about a day. So I got the part number of the correct washer, 4443883, which is the same part number as the seals that go on the narrow side of the fuel filter.

I bought the washers from Mike Shaw Saab's parts department for (you might want to sit down) $11 a piece. Thinking about it now, I could have bought a fuel filter from Autozone for the same price, but not had to drive into Denver.


I've installed the washers, so we'll see just how long they last. Hopefully longer than the fuel pump!

Close up of the step in the rubber seal.

Bracing the fuel pump with vise grips to
keep it from spinning in the boot when removing
the 19mm nut.

Misfiring under load

Worn out fuel pump banjo fitting washer.

Off and on for the past six months or more, the Saab had been misfiring under load. It seemed to only happen when I'd been driving in stop and go traffic for 2 hours or more.

Recently it started getting worse. I couldn't even make it up a hill anymore. I'd tried working on the distributor, the hall sensor, plugs, wires, fuel filter, etc etc etc. Nothing seemed to make a difference.

Yesterday I decided to test the fuel pumps. When I pulled the cover off the pump, I found a puddle of gas in the rubber boot. I dried it out and started the car. After a few minutes I saw fuel accumulating in there again. The washers around the banjo fitting were weeping.

I called around and NOBODY could sell me just those washers. Several parts sellers offered to sell me the pump, which had the washers in the box. Sooo... $150-ish for two washers?!?!?!

I visited my local Napa and they stock copper washers. The ones they had in stock were a bit too big, but I tried them anyway. Two days of driving with those washers in place and NO LEAKS!

Top that off with the fact that my misfiring has gone away!

I still need to find a source for the correct washers, but it was nice to finally solve the problem!

To louver or not to louver...

With the louvers...

UPDATE: I decided to list it on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330522345985

When I bought my Saab, it came with those funky 80's louvers on the back hatch. I kinda like how they look, so I left them.

All last winter, all they did was collect the snow and make it really hard to lift the back hatch. A pain in the butt. So this year I took them off.

Without!
The tags are whited out in this pic as those are my current tags. The first pic are the plates from the previous owner.

I think I like the look better without them. And I've noticed less wind noise on the freeway, and slightly improved gas mileage. Yeah, they're going up for sale.

Now I just have to un-silicone the mounting brackets from the rear glass. Sigh.

Wow.

My last post here was March 30, 2010. It's now January 12, 2011.

The Saab has just been humming along. I had the coolant reservoir develop a crack, but I had one in the garage from a junkyard trip. So swapping that in was a matter of just a few minutes.

My biggest need right now is TIRES. Man they're expensive. Even cheap crap like Douglas costs $300 for a set. But the tires the car came with are absolutely worthless in snow. I got stuck 3 times during the last snowstorm from lack of traction on an inch or two of snow. Scary.

Results of Emissions Test

HC GPM: 1.2190 ... Allowed: 2.5000
CO GPM: 8.9143 ... Allowed: 20.0000
CO2 GPM: 335.9514 ... No Allowed Listed
NOx GPM: 2.8355 ... Allowed: 4.5000

Needless to say, the saab with 286k miles on it passed easily.

Sweet.

When I got the 900s, the Check Engine light was on solid. A replacement AMM (Air Mass Meter) took care of that. Some air in the tires and coolant reservoir tank hippie repair has it running decent.

I've been driving the thing every day, last weekend spent some time fixing the critical shit mentioned above. Today I did a thorough walkthrough and found I need the following:

• Coolant reservoir tank- I fixed cracks on the nipples with JBWeld, but it needs replaced. $72 for a new one. $5 for a junkyard one.
• Knock sensor- Flakes out at high rpms. $42
• Brake Master Cylinder- The seal to the rear circuit is worn. $150
• Brake pads all around- They still have meat, but not much. $40
• Hall Sensor- Actually, just the plastic plug that holds the wires in place. It works fine. I've got seal-a-gasket holding it there now. I'll probably leave this alone.
• Passenger side washer fluid nozzle- Plugged and I can't get it clear. A few bucks.
• Bushings- It's got 280k. All the suspension bushings are tired. Urethane bushings for the whole car ... $200 or so.
• Vacuum lines- Lots of dried out lines. They're still holding but I need to plan replacements. $50 if I replace them all with silicone. $20 if I just use rubber.

Not as bad as I had feared. Interior stuff also needs to be done, like a stereo. Idiot PO had tried to install a CD changer and forked the stock Clarion stereo. Dipshit. Anybody wanna buy a crappy CD changer? LOL!