2005 9.2x Linear

Update your progress on your various car projects.

Moderators: MostMint, wxo, Fred32v, Basement Paul, ttamrettus

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GMJohnny
Posts: 1228
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:56 am
Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

I was thinking about a spray paint instead of dye... I guess I could check with an interior place
that could dye them for me, but I think I'm more than capable of painting the gray myself,
I paint well, especially with rattle cans...... I've found some internet sites that say they
have a paint that you can paint upholstered furniture with, but have not looked deeply
enough into them to really see what the deal is. I did find a d.o.a. 9-2x in Painesville with
the same interior as mine has. I figured if I goofed on a seat, I could buy a replacement
and deal with seat covers or stains.....I have found several factory seat cover take offs
for sale cheap on ebay, but they are all for newer vehicles...... I'll figure something out....

GM
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Basement Paul
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm
Location: In the dirt.

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by Basement Paul »

What about Impreza seats? If you're just putting them in to get destroyed anyway...

-BP
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MostMint
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Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:11 pm
Location: planning a race

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by MostMint »

If this fails I am sure you could get a professional upholsterer to sew in something palatable. I think Peltz redid the seats on tiresmoker Sr's Vette IIRC. That could always be your fall back position if the dye starts bleeding out.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

Over the weekend, I had a chance to take the Saab a bit offroad. I hunt a farm in
Thompson (very close to TRP -- close enough to hear a 10 second car burnout), and
to get to the middle of the farm where I was hunting, I wanted to drive and not walk,
as it's about a 1/4 mile walk uphill to get out. I slowly drove down the mostly gravel and
mud road, which was simple. Coming out after 2 hours of rain was interesting. There's a
decent pitch sideways, maybe 20 degrees, on one part of the road. It happened to be
very slimy there, and the backend of the car started kicking out, kind of like I was drifting.
I don't know if it was because of the gearing of the car, or the lack of weight in the rear, but
the sideways stuff had me a bit skeptical on whether I would make it out without assistance.
I just kept rolling and didn't stop and I was fine. I was impressed with the ground clearance
the car had and it's ability in the mud. I'm not certain that Saab (or Subaru) had designed
that car to do what I was doing with it, but it did it. I continue to get 28-30 mpg, and I love
the utility of this car. I'm a bit bummed it's a stick shift, because I have surgery coming up
on my right arm this weekend. I will have to shift lefty (which I've been practicing) for 4 - 8
weeks.......hmmmmm...

GM
AKROVER
Posts: 177
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 2:49 am
Location: Anchorage, Alaska

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by AKROVER »

I have owned quite a few AWD vehicles (Audi, BMW, Mercury, Land Rover, Subaru, and your Saab) and the two Subaru drivetrains were truly different than the others in feel. They feel very rear biased. The rear tires always let go first, but the fronts aren't that far behind. On snowy roads, you can punch it around a corner and the tail will slide out just enough to be fun before the car begins a manageable fun four wheel drift. I don't know how the differential accomplishes that, but all my other AWD vehicles required speed and a punch of the emergency brake to get the rear to come around at all. I didn't offroad in much mud in the Saab or the Forester so I never experienced what you did, but it doesn't surprise me.

The Saab is a little low on ground clearance, but I never bottomed it out. The soft long travel independent suspension really does make offroading very civilized, but I was always nervous about the relatively light duty drivetrain taking a hit on rutted or rocky trails so I was very cautious. It is quite capable, though.

Good luck with that cross arm shifting.
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

In an effort to make the Saab more "truck-like" (used as a daily driver, low maintenance &
very versatile) I opted to get rid of the factory carpeted floor mats. The mats that came with the
car were in very good shape, and just needed a good cleaning to be real nice. The material they are
made of was very difficult to clean. I vacuumed them when I first got the car, and it took a long time
to complete the task, and they got dirty very quickly. I began a search online for used factory mats
or used weather-tech mats. The search found that nobody sells their used weather-tech mats, and
anybody who sells their factory Subaru (impossible to find Saab) mats wants to get top buck for them.
I purchased genuine Subaru mats for $53.00 bucks, about two times what you'd pay for universal mats.
Here's a pic of the driver's side mat in place:


Image

I also purchased a used Subaru cargo mat on ebay. I got it for $40 bucks, and it was grey, with a huge
white stain on it. That's ok, I wanted a black one anyway (black is not available that I could find), so I
called on good ol' Krylon Fusion paint. I painted it gloss black as a base, and then satin over it as a finish coat. The finished product was not gloss or satin, but a nice uniform blend of both. It looks like clean vinyl.
That's exactly how I wanted it to be. The cargo area has carpet that is IMPOSSIBLE to clean. The material the carpet is made of is felt-like and it took forever to clean the relatively small area. The mat is easily removable, and should wipe clean or wash clean with a hose. Hopefully a welcome addition to the car.

Image

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

I had a bit of a vacation (which ends today), a dry garage, and a tune up/oil change kit
I got from Fred32v & GrandmaArlene..... so I put it to good use yesterday. The "dealership"
I purchased the Saab from warned me that the plugs were due for a change. He was right.
I changed wires, plugs, oil & filter. It wasn't a terrible job at all. The oil change was very easy.
the only issue with it is that the filter is about the size of the one on my commercial mower.
It's almost too small for my filter wrench, but it came off easily and is in a real easy to get to
location. The plugs I was worried about, but they too came right out. The wire boots that go
on the plugs are about 4 inches long and stick way into the motor. I was a bit concerned
for this too, but there was no need to worry. The worst part about the job is that to remove
the plugs the air filter assembly needs to come off of the passenger side, and the battery and
fuse block bracket have to come off of the driver's side. There's no rust at all on this car, so
everything came apart and went together easily. The car idles way smoother, but my idle seems
low. When I changed the battery, the computer had to do some type of re-learn procedure and
the car stalled a bunch of times until it figured itself out. I'm assuming that's what's going on here.
Time will tell. Here's a pic of the plugs .... the new one is the silver champion -- far left. Two plugs
came out with electrodes partially missing.

Image

The plug change was due at 60,000 miles, the car now has 78,500 on it.

GM
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Basement Paul
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm
Location: In the dirt.

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by Basement Paul »

It took several hundred miles for my S-10's new computer to figure the idle out completely. Give it a week or so and it should be fine. Mine was also idling WAY low in the beginning and it just got better from there.

-BP
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wxo
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:09 pm
Location: Raleigh, NC

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by wxo »

I had a similar experience with Randi's Camry (100K miles). She noticed that it stalled from time to time, so I gave it a tune-up. New plugs, cleaned the air filter, cleaned the throttle body and expected the stalling to be fixed. No such luck. Nothing changed. After some research, I learned that disconnecting the battery for a while will trigger this re-learn process. I did this and, sure enough, over several hundred miles of driving, the stalling went away. I think the PCM had, over time, adjusted to the conditions of the dirty throttle body and reached a point where it couldn't get the idle perfect any more.
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

I've driven the Saab for about 100 miles and already the idle is up to normal.
I'm certain that another tankful of fuel through the throttle body will bring it
to 100% normal. I'm hoping that the mileage improves, not that 27 is bad,
but 28 - 30 would be better!! In the meantime, after the tune up, it was snowing
and it was blizzard-like outside. My daughter decided we needed milk, so I went
drifting my way to and from Wal-Mart!!! The car is a gas in the snow! I've found
that, even in a heavy slide sideways, letting off the gas straightens the car right out.
I'm impressed by the all wheel drive, yet it still performs like a rear wheel drive car.

GM
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TheRookie
Posts: 288
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: Charlotte

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by TheRookie »

I used to have a 92-x Aero. It was a very fun car and a beast in the snow. Ahh, the memories.
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GMJohnny
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Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:56 am
Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

I could use an Aero to get a turbo set up from!....Although I promised
myself I was going to not touch this car and try to make it faster. I say
this, then last night I was searching the 9.2x forum for "hop up" tips on
the 2.5..... Speed is a disease......

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

Lately, I've been smelling a light smell of radiator fluid while sitting at traffic lights
& when the car is shut off in the garage after driving it. I pressure washed the engine
bay earlier in the year, and it is still as clean and dry as it was the day after I did the
wash job. I can't find any leaks and the coolant isn't going down at all . I searched out the potential problem ( praying that the issue isn't a head gasket or heater core! ) on
a Saab 9.2x forum. Many of the owners had radiator cap issues and radiator issues
with the same mileage as mine as on it.... I just flipped 80k..... I changed the cap the
other day...it was less than $8.00... I've driven it for several days now without any
issue or smell... I have my fingers crossed that that was the problem. I'm keeping my
eyes peeled for cracks in the plastic tanks on the radiator.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

The other day I noticed my right front headlight being dim. I'm assuming the headlight bulbs
are the originals. The first day I got the car, I had to do a Fonzie maneuver on the left front
to make it work. So my assumption was that both headlights were on their last legs. I went
to the local NAPA store to buy new ones. Surprisingly, the bulbs were cheap. $15.00 for two.
I changed them last night. It was a pretty easy task, but, on both sides some part of the car
needed to be unbolted to get the cover off the inside of the light housing to expose the bulb.
On the passenger side part of the air intake system needed to be removed, and on the driver's
side, the battery needed to be loosened and shifted over to make provision to take the cover
off. The whole job took about a half an hour, and now I hope to get another 81,000 miles out
of these bulbs......

GM
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GMJohnny
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Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:56 am
Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Post by GMJohnny »

Last Wednesday, I got sick and tired of waiting for nice weather. I wanted to be able to paint
my seats with the garage doors open. No dice. It was cold and crappy out, but I had the time
to do the work, so I did. Here's a pic of the original seat color:

Image

After taping them off with huge masking tape, I sprayed them with Duplicolor satin black vinyl and
cloth paint. They now look like this:

Image

A week later, they are a bit stinky, and still a little crunchy ( as expected from what people said about the paint on
various sites ) but better for hiding dirt than the ivory color... I also did the door skins, which turned out well also..

Image

The whole job cost about $70.00, way better than purchasing a used interior or seat covers. I think in about a month
or so you won't be able to tell I painted the seats and it will just look ( and smell! ) like a normal black interior..... a great solution
for my utility vehicle......

GM
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