i'm trying to find a good place to take my saab 900 se turbo convertible for the 60k mile tune-up. could anyone give me any tips on an honest mechanic? also, what should be done to the car in this tune-up? thank you very much.
I'd bring it Zimbabwe. I hear they are all honest there.
Where the heck are you? At least a continent would be a good start...
-Fred W
I can recommend Saab Higher Oak, or Malbrad.
i guess that would have helped. im in los angeles, california. like i said, i'm also interested in what is included in the 60000mile tun-up, and maybe what i can expect to pay. thanks again.
Sorry couldn't resist it. We get a lot of Americans come on here, and not post where they are (even in america), asking for decent garages.
We are a pretty mixed bunch here, with US, UK, Mainland Europe and Austalian regulars.
The aus.cars group gets lots of Americans thinking they are posting to austin texas cars.
No country does parochial quite so well as the US.
Do you mean a service ?
Maybe I missed something exotic here but the engine management 'tunes-up' your engine continually !
Graham
Playing word games?
Not at all. A 'tune-up' in the UK would mean taking your car to a tuning specialist for a performance upgrade. Things like re-chipping, adjusting turbo boost etc.
Regular periodic maintenance is called servicing.
Graham
In the US, "tune-up" more or less used to mean "adjust the fuel and ignition systems", back in the carb & points & distributor days. Now that most people don't have cars with such equipment, the term isn't used much. A performance upgrade, though, would be something like "speed shop" work or something.
I kind of wondered about that. Those were the days - days it's nice to forget ! I recall stripping and rebuilding the classic Lucas 25D4 distributor to replace worn plates that were causing timing jitter.
Jeez, you had to replace the points, gap them - set the timing and replace plugs since engines didn't burn so clean then. Not to mention adjusting carb(s) to get the mixture right. Oh and cam follower gaps. And a fauly condenser could screw the whole lot up. Actually makes ECUs look quite friendly !
As ever, UK and US terminology intruigingly differ. We'd call it a tuning shop. Well, probably not 'shop' actually but I'm sure you get my point. There is one very near me actually with dynos and all that stuff.
Graham
Oh, I dunno, I rather enjoy wrenching on my older Saabs.
plates that were
I suppose it being Lucas, rather than Bosch, would change the enjoyment factor quite a bit.
plugs since engines
Yup. What better way to spend a sunny saturday afternoon?
makes ECUs look quite
I like machines that I can see working, myself. Dwell relates directly to points gap, can be visualized, and is obvious when something is mechanically wrong - because you can see it. Not saying it's a better technology than the ECUs, but it's certainly more approachable.
You like the 'wrench knuckles' too ??? ;-)
replace > worn plates that
Actually it wasn't too tricky. Lovely vernier timing adjustement. ( Rover called it the 'octane selector' on the 2000TC ) Haven't seen a Bosch close-up to compare sadly.
plugs > since engines
Thankfully those were my student days. I was quite unusual in even being a student with a car back then ! Today they all have one and unlikely to be as much as 10 yrs old.
Self-maintenance was the only option. I reckon I've done pretty much everything on a car bar welding and a gearbox strip / rebuild.
up. Actually makes ECUs
I still have a sneaking regard for this. It's so much more *tangible*. I wouldn't like to rely on it for my everyday travel though !
Graham
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