Saab goes to the doctor

[mckitterick]

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted about my "new" 1994 Saab 900S convertible blowing a head gasket? (Strangely, I can't find a photo of it! Looks like the red one in my icon, but it's green.) Well, I finally bit the bullet and sent it off to the Saab car doctor here in Lawrence, Bob's Imports. I'm looking forward to having my fun convertible back on the road for the warm weather, but not so much looking forward to the doctor bill.

Chris

Comments

[bodandra.livejournal.com]

Bob's is great! I used to take my Renault to him. One time, he did something that took only a moment for him and charged me nothing, because he said I could have done the fix myself.

[edichka2.livejournal.com]

Before I got the Miata, I thought about getting a Saab convertible. But then I thought about Saab repair bills.

Good luck,
- E

[chernobylred.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Woo for driving around with the top down before it gets all crazy hot.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I love Saabs. They're handsome, they handle great, they're well-engineered... for expert shop mechanics. To replace the head gasket, one needs a variety of specialty tools and knowledge that I simply don't want to gain at the possible expense of ruining the engine. Geez. Most engines, well, any old garage mechanic can easily fix them and get them back on the road. Not so much with Saabs.

A year or two ago, I had to replace the water pump on my previous Saab (a turbo convertible). This required removing half of the (wait for it...) REAR of the engine. Yes, Saab installs their engines backwards, with all the external moving parts just inches from the firewall. I'm sure there's a good engineering reason for it (saves lost fingers, maybe?), but it makes for a hella lotta work when having to do something as simple as change belts.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it!

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to top-down-ness!