how do u replace a 5th bow motor in a saab 900

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I thought only ships had bows !

Graham

Reply to
Eeyore

It's complicated, and you need a dealer to set the top computer after that with a Tech-II and their best top-man. The procedure seems to indicate that you need one just to do the replacement. YMMV.

If you subscribe to alldatadiy.com ($20/year well spent) you will find a TSB that was issued for the 5th Bow Motor Replacement campaign with detailed instructions. On the 1995's there was an issue and they replaced a lot of them. You can use the TSB to guide you.

FYI - Replacement is only an hour of labor according to the book. You might want to just pay for it to be done at a dealer.

Reply to
still just me

Bow as in 'bow and arrow' ?

Still mystified here. Yet another bizarre US term to puzzle me. Why do you need FIVE of them btw ?

Graham

Reply to
Eeyore

Eeyore gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I *think* it's the across-the-car bit of a convertible roof's framework. I might be wrong. It would have been useful if the original posted had given a little more detail - not least which model of 900 he was wittering about.

OTOH, if I'm right about what a "fifth bow" is, it would rule out a c900, since the NG900 was the only one on which Saab were penny-pinching enough to put an electric roof mechanism. The c900 had a hydraulic roof, as do both shapes of 9-3. They learnt their lesson on the NG900.

Reply to
Adrian

Yes exactly. The "bow" is one of the steel bands across the top. There are (apparently) 5 bow motors, although I've never see the first four except for sale on Ebay.

Well, Saab was still majority Saab when that car was designed, IIRC. It features a few innovations that were changed back with the 9~3. They are funky enough that I credit Saab for them vs. GM. One is the roof as you noted. The other is the cable operated clutch.

The roof is not all that bad. There was one major issue with the tonneau motor (a part made of soft alloy should have been made of steel) and the 5th bow was a problem on the 1995's. The 1995 5th bow problem was almost corrected by a TSB/campaign. Otherwise they are fairly reliable. Sometimes the micro switches and potentiometers have issues but that happens with the newer ones too. In addition, there are plenty reports of leaking hydraulics on the later models.

The cable clutch is also not a bad idea. Minimal parts compared to the hydraulic. However, the cable tends to wear and need replacement every

50K miles. In addition, it's not always obvious that it's worn, so you have to keep an eye on it. Otherwise, aside from the stiffer manual action, it's a nice idea.

I can't think of any other items that they reverted back on the 9~3.

And right now as I type, I am crossing my fingers that my top keeps working and my clutch cable doesn't break :-)

Reply to
still just me

still just me gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

50% owned by GM, the other 50% wasn't sold until 2000. The NG900 is a Vectra A (last shape Cavalier) underneath.

Other than changing the floorpan to that of the Vectra B...

Reply to
Adrian

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