So here's the problem...
At the beginning of the year I bought a 1998 9000 CSE 2.3T "Anniversary". Very nice condition, 96000 miles.
Soon afterwards she developed a minor bump just before coming to a stop. So off to my Saab dealer who diagnosed an "internal fault", took the transmission out and sent it off for a rebuild. Some time, and quite some money later the car came back - exactly the same as before - no change. I did post a query here about what to do next then and received very helpful replies. The other possible causes seem to have been eliminated so to cut a long story short I think I have four options now.
- To have the box rebuilt again (garage to pay) at a ZF approved workshop this time! (Original rebuild cost 1400 pounds after refitting). No extra cost to me.
- The garage to put a replacement "known to be good, low mileage" unit (again at their cost) - this seems the least satisfactory since it could develop a fault at any time and I would be the 1400 pounds down with no guarantee. No extra cost to me.
- To put in a re-manufactured unit from Saab/ZF at around 2500 pounds plus fitting (minus the original 1400 paid to the garage) This figure was an estimate from the dealer.
- To import a NEW transmission from thesaabsite.com (there are no longer stocks in the UK or in Germany of the 4hp-18). Link here -
Option 4 seems the most logical as I want to keep the car for as long as I can, plus I have an insurance policy that will be paying 60 per cent of the bill. Surely a brand new box is the best option anyway - right or wrong?
So, if I go with option 4, is there anything that I should check and double check before the unit starts its voyage to Europe?
Thank you for your time.
P. (remove xs to email)