QuestionHello Jerry:
Several months ago I purchased a 1990 SAAB 900S from someone I thought was completely honest with me about the problems and issues with the car. He and his mechanic assured me the vehicle had lots of good years left despite high millage. (over 200K) I have always thought about owning SAAB so I purchased it. For the first few months she ran fine, but with the onset of winter problems starting showing up. I recently replaced the several radiator hoses and replaced the alternator and put in a new muffler system. There is an ongoing problem with the manual transmission slipping out of reverse. If I am trying to back up on a hill reverse will not hold. If I hold the gear shifter in reverse it will hold a level ground. Does this mean the transmission is on its way out? If so how much to repair or purchase rebuilt? Do you sell this kind of item?
Question #2 I was told that my front axle is broken and needs to replaced, but was not an emergency. I was told it involved some kind of rubber covering. I was told that eventually I would not be able to turn the wheel and I would hear a grinding noise if it was not replaced. What does this mean?
Question #3 Car would not start after sitting several days in garage. (very cold 21 deg) I was told the gas lines might have frozen, so I purchased gas line anti-freeze (Heet) I also tried to heat the car with several heater blowers, but vehicle would not start. Battery is fully charged and the engine cranks, but will not catch. It did briefly after heating, but ultimately it never started. I changed plugs and checked distributor cap and wires. OK still won't start. Any ideas?
I apologize for the long winded series of questions and so much back story information. I feel burned by local mechanics, but where I live I don't have much choice because the pickins' are real slim. I don't know what to do and if I should continue investing money in a car I love, but is becoming very costly very quickly.
I am hoping to find a reliable mechanic either locally or online whom I can trust.
Question #2 With exception of the problems I mentioned above the car seemed to running fine
Thanks for the time and consideration
David
AnswerDavid:
Lets tackle the problems in order:
1. Reverse gear: You need a get a set of reverse gears. I may have some used ones. But the real problem is the labor...the transaxle needs to be completely disassembled to make both the replacements (one of the gears does not require complete disassembly, but would probably not fix things either. Disassembly requires engine removal. I doubt you'd be willing to pay for all that work (I estimate $2,000 MINIMUM. Another alternative would be a find a used transaxle which could be a challenge! Can you live with the problem?
2.Rebuilt front axles are readily available for less than $100 (and another $150 estimated) labor. A good mailorder source is <http://www.foreigncarpartsonline.com/>; AutoZone and Parts America also can get them.
3. Sounds like a fuel issue; A temp sensor, vacuum leak, or weak fuel pump are all candidate culprits..it will simply (or not so simply) require some logical trouble shooting. So yes, a good, honest mechanic would be a must! One way to help find one is to go to the website <www.cartalk.com>[scroll down, right side "find a great mechanic"]
Hope this helps
By the way, where are you located?
