They couldn't have made this alternator more harder to get at. I've replaced the brushes ( To do this I had to remove the oil filter to get at the bottom VReg/Brush-pack screw) but I still get no output from the alternator. Is there a net site that covers the removal of this vintage alternator? This is a non-turbo model. Thanks for any advice. Mark
At first remove right wheel and plastic shields between wheel and engine, and it appears that the alternator is much easier to access than it seems at first sight.
br Vesa
Thanks for the information. After I get rid of this 9000 (it's on it's last legs) I'm getting another Classic 900. I like them much better. I think that they should start making them again. Mark
"At first remove right wheel and plastic shields between wheel and engine, and it appears that the alternator is much easier to access than it seems at first sight. br Vesa"
I don't have an answer for your posting, but allow me to attach a mild rant:
Do the design engineers for products in general (and Saabs in particular)
*ever* take into account the ability to perform maintenance when they pack everything but the kitchen sink into a box?What led to this posting was a problem that I had with my '97 900T for which I took the car into the shop a couple of weeks ago. While the car was being given TLC the shop gave me a loaner; this time the loaner was a 2004 9-5 (dealer demo; 2700 miles on it). Nice car; the only squawk I've got is that the clutch pedal has an absurdly light pressure, making it hard for me to judge just where the clutch was going to engage.
But since I had the car overnight I went through the engine compartment to see how it was laid out. It took me more time than expected to find where they had hidden the accessory belt, and then I spent much longer trying to figure out just how it could be replaced without major surgery.
(I've had to change the belt in my 900 while parked on the side of a rural Interstate in January. *Not* my idea of fun...but it was possible.)
You can't even *see* much of it besides the tensioning pulley on the new 9-5.
When I took the car back, I asked the service department about this. It turns out that part of the engine mount must be removed, and the flat- rate entry for changing the belt is 1.5 hours. The service rep was a bit apologetic about this.
I'm at the point where I'm thinking about a new car; while it's not a show-stopper, design problems like this don't help to convince me that my next car should be a Saab.
OTOH, the dealer's support for me has been a decided plus. It ain't cheap (what is these days?) but I've had good results from International Motors in northern Virginia.
Joe Morris
And Marketing says: "they're not going to buy it with last year's hood design, could you squeeze it down another few inches?"
And the safety people say:
"you know, you really have to put the super airbag in there, and we're not getting enough space for that...."
Stuff like that one. That also assumes that there's someone who is really in charge, and that the design and engineering teams get to talk to each other.
Harvey
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