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Other Car Projects (Non-Rotary) / Re: The rest of the fleet...
« Last post by toplessFC3Sman on March 23, 2021, 10:54:36 AM »
Well, Kaylee hasn't been quite as trouble-free as I thought... There has been a persistent oil smell in the cabin since I got home, and finding the source of that sent me down the rabbit-hole. On the drive home I didn't notice it at all, but I had spent an hour in the car with my mask on driving it from the airport with the salesman so I may have acclimated without noticing. Then of course, I picked up the old transmission, driveshaft, and rear end from the RX-7 to bring out to MI, so any oil smell was easily dismissed as coming from them.

However, that smell lingered for at least a month, and got me worried about something else burning oil. I couldn't find any signs of external leaks hitting the exhaust or manifold from the engine, trans, driveaxle boots etc, but there did seem to be very strong air pulsations out of the oil cap - more than enough to pop the cap off if it was sitting loosely on the fill hole. The pulsations seemed to line up with the frequency of one cylinder as well. Typically, this is due to high blow-by and possibly a failed PCV. A cold compression test gave about 140 - 145 psi across the board, so there weren't any stand-out cylinders - all were low. Hot compression was about 150-155, so a bit better, but the range for this engine is 134 - 192 psi so I'm still at the low end. Even more telling is that hot compression with a bit of oil poured into the cylinders to help the rings seal was around 180 psi. Well... crap. Not terrible, still within specs, but not great either.

Anyway, to try to get to the bottom of things, I picked up a cheap bore-scope that's basically a tiny camera & lights that plug into your phone for about $25. The quality so far is about as good as other bore-scopes that I've used, and the very stiff cable allows some ability to point it in a certain direction. Anyway, for the most part the bores looked good, with notable cross-hatching on all of them. The most wear that I could see was on the thrust-side of Cyl 3, where you can see a number of vertical lines, but none of them appeared very deep - I couldn't see any shadows but again it's hard to tell. In this picture, the piston top has some MMO on it since I had been soaking the engine for about a week to see if I could free up any stuck rings.
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I also used some PB-blaster to soak the rings for a day or so, followed by an oil change to see if that'd help the rings seal any better. Changing the PCV required removing the intake manifold which was a bit of a task, with a few of the bolts requiring blindly feeling around with a combination of extensions through holes in the manifold. It was a four-hour job, with a lot of that from unfamiliarity.


Once I got down to the PCV it appeared to be working fine, and all the hoses and other connections were not blocked. There was a bit of oily residue on the inside of the manifold and ports, but that's expected with EGR and the PCV connected. The intake and cylinders got sea-foamed shortly after reassembly to try to clean things up, and the MAF and throttle were cleaned independently.


All the time she's been driving fine, and I haven't noticed any changes in performance from the driver's seat. I did a bunch of cleaning in the interior (it was already very clean, with the carpets appearing almost new and only a couple minor stains on some of the seats). For a while, you couldn't smell much over the vinegar and lemon smells, but baking soda sprinkled on the seats and left in an open container seems to be absorbing most of the smells. So far, the oil smell seems to have mostly gone away, but I haven't driven Kaylee very far since then or done much highway driving. All the cleaning and soaking of the rings seem to have helped a little - the compression pressure increased another 5 psi or so since the last warm test, so we'll see how things go on that front. Worst-case scenario, new engines for these are $500 - $700, so that'll probably be the way I'd go for minimal down-time instead of rebuilding and reinstalling the current engine.

Otherwise, two of the tires are pretty worn, and one of the ones that still had a bit of tread depth just developed a nice sidewall bubble, so it's time to get a set of 17" summer wheels & tires, with the OEM 16" wheels pulling winter duty. I got a set of 17" x 7" OEM Mazda 6 wheels for $80, and one of them was cracked so a good junkyard replacement was $50, so $130 for the new set. A few cans of paint later, and...


It's a bronze/gunmetal color that should hide dirt and brake dust pretty well. I kind-of wanted to go with a brighter gold, but couldn't find a specific color that I liked. The greens that I've been using for the RX-8 and the Saab before would clash terribly with the red paint, so those were out. The tires that came on the wheels are shot, so new tires are getting installed later this week (and I didn't bother to mask the old ones since they were getting tossed anyway).
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Rx-8 Build Thread / Re: New Wheels
« Last post by Twisted on March 23, 2021, 08:23:05 AM »
Thanks I wasn’t sure how they would look but the price was right for those and the exhaust I only paid 600
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Rx-8 Build Thread / Re: New Wheels
« Last post by ~Groll69~ on March 23, 2021, 06:21:12 AM »
Those rims look good on there
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Rx-8 Build Thread / New Wheels
« Last post by Twisted on March 22, 2021, 06:32:19 PM »
Finally got the new rims and tires on and the new racing beat cat back installed
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Other Car Projects (Non-Rotary) / Re: The rest of the fleet...
« Last post by ~Groll69~ on February 19, 2021, 05:58:23 AM »
great buy.  didnt know a mini van existed in a manual anymore.
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Other Car Projects (Non-Rotary) / Re: 2000 FRC Corvette
« Last post by ~Groll69~ on February 19, 2021, 05:54:53 AM »
You going to get her running anytime soon?
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Other Car Projects (Non-Rotary) / Re: The rest of the fleet...
« Last post by toplessFC3Sman on February 18, 2021, 11:56:19 AM »
Well... A bit has happened since the last time I put anything in this thread! Vera the RX-8 has been added to the family, we've got Gina's Subaru outback (A boy named Sue), and Nina the Saab Wagon was sold about 2 weeks ago for $4500, so $700 more than I paid back in 2018 although the used market is stronger now than then, plus she got a lot of maintenance in that time. Finally, last weekend I flew out to CT to pick up a 2012 Mazda5 minivan, with manual trans of course!


She has 108k miles, feels like everything is in good shape, minimal rust(!!!), and should be just what my growing family needs. The 2012s have a much-needed 6th gear for the highway in the manual trans, and more sound deadening, so the 700 mile trip back from CT to MI was pretty comfortable. I'm ordering a trailer hitch, roof racks etc for road trip duty, and will need a new set of wheels for summer tires (the 16" OEM ones are in decent shape, but will need new tires soon so they'll be the winter wheels). However, for the most part she'll be staying stock. Still need to decide on a name for her...
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Dam Nina looks good.  My wife would shoot me if i brought another car home.  I hope she finds a worthwhile home
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Please allow me to introduce... Nina. She is a 2009 Saab 9-3 Sportcombi (wagon), with the preferable 2.0T engine and 6-speed manual transmission. I bought her a few years ago looking for this exact combination because of the driving enjoyment, efficiency, and practicality that this car is capable of. These cars represent the pinnacle of Saab ingenuity and performance, and GM durability. Despite Saab as a brand disappearing from the marketplace, most of the parts are still available due to GM commonality so maintenance and repairs are very cheap and easy. This is the second 9-3 I've personally owned; my first I took on multiple autocrosses, trackdays, ice racing events, commuting, and plenty of maintenance upgrades (check out my clutch & flywheel replacement thread!) and she was still going strong at 220,000 miles when I sold her since I needed the space of the wagon. I also have helped my extended family buy and maintain 2 other 9-3's which are also still performing very well. Until very recently, I was planning on keeping Nina until her wheels fell off (and even then I could fix that), but with the need for a larger vehicle for a growing family and reduced commuting from COVID, I unfortunately have to let this unicorn go. She has a bit over 180,000 miles on her, but still feels almost new due to the rigorous maintenance she has received.

The engine is strong, and has been cared for, as is the transmission. The clutch still grabs well, and she is very easy to drive. The body and undercarriage are in good shape, with minor dings & scrapes over her 12 years. Any body rust I've sanded and painted, and the underbody, subframes etc only have minor surface rust (which you're welcome to inspect). The interior is in great shape, with dual-zone climate control, bluetooth phone connection, aux-in audio support, heated leather seats, and speaking of those seats - they are the most comfortable I've sat in. Even after 10+ hour drives, I've felt great afterwards! No sunroof, which in my opinion is a positive since it allows for more headroom and a more elevated driving position. She also has a trailer hitch and wiring installed to increase her usefulness with bike racks, small moving trailers etc.

She was in good shape when I bought her, and since then I have added or replaced the following:
- Springs and shocks/struts (upgraded to Bilstein B6 shocks, which are much more durable and responsive than OEM, but still keep a supple, composed ride)
- Front wheel bearings
- Replacement suspension, including control arms front & rear, strut bushings, spring perches, and other bushings to make the suspension as tight as new
- Rear brake calipers (failing emergency brake), all brake pads and rotors, and all rubber brake lines with braided stainless lines.
- Replaced AC components and refilled AC system
- Cleaned or replaced various engine components such as the MAF, spark plugs, coils, filters
- Flushed brake fluid & replaced with DOT4
- Flushed coolant, replaced thermostat
- Flushed power steering fluid
- Oil changes every 6-8000 miles (vs the owners manual recommendation of 10,000 miles)
- New General G-max AS-05 summer tires on 17" OEM wheels (from an '06 model, since I thought they looked better) with less than 2000 miles on them

There are also the following additional parts or other improvements that come with the sale, since I had collected them planning on keeping the car for decades:
- Roof racks, plus a bike-holder add-on
- Another set of Michelin X-ice3 winter tires on 16" OEM wheels painted green (also from an '06 model, the OEM clear-coat was failing and causing them to lose air, so I painted them) that come with the car. These are fantastic on ice and snow - I have used these on this car and others for commuting in deep snow and racing on frozen lakes, and they are very competent tires.
- A new clutch, dual-mass flywheel, throw-out bearing & clutch slave cylinder, rear crank oil seal, clutch hydraulic line, and manual transmission fluid come with the car, uninstalled. I was planning on installing these this summer because the stock flywheel and clutch will not hold up to aftermarket tunes like the BSR, Nordic etc that increase engine torque. The engine has not been tuned yet, and the clutch still feels solid - these were all preventative upgrades for a future engine tune that COVID ended up getting in the way of (less $ and less time available...) This is roughly $600 in parts.
- Another set of street brake pads (Akebono ceramics, great for brake feel and low dust) and track EBC yellow brake pads (I used to do track days with my 2006 Saab 9-3 sedan, but have not done any with this '09 wagon). The set of street pads are ~$80 new and are fantastic, and the track pads are necessary for any track use due to the high temperatures.
- Other assorted suspension parts like front sway bar end links and rear upper control arms (I accumulated these when tracking the '06 - not this car - since those bushings tended to fail quickly on the track) - these are left over from not needing them since I didn't track this car.
- The tire pressure monitoring system is physically intact but electronically deactivated since it is very intrusive, especially when swapping the winter set of wheels on. Plus, replacement sensors for the wheels can easily add $200 to the cost of a tire change.
- This car originally came with automatic rain-sensing wipers. However, these never worked well in this car even when new (and the OEM system was infuriating me with it's poor choice of wiper speed!), and replacement windshields for rain-sensing cars cost $300 more than conventional windshields. Therefore I swapped the rain-sensing actuator stalk with a manual control one (The original stalk can come with the car) and re-flashed the computer so it would work logically.
- 2 spare new ignition coils, since these tend to wear out occasionally, and the 9-3's require special coils to sense combustion efficiency.

I love this car, and would trust it to take me for another 200,000 miles (that was the plan when I bought and maintained it!). However, my situation demands a larger vehicle so I need to let Nina go, so I hope you will appreciate and care for her so she can provide many years of comfortable, quick, and dependable service.


























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Upcoming Events / Michigan Super Rotary Meet - June 5th 2021
« Last post by ~Groll69~ on January 21, 2021, 07:01:23 AM »
Michigan Rotary Club is hosting a Michigan super rotary meet for all rotary cars and enthusiasts!  It is being held at: 777 S Hadley Rd, Ortonville, MI 48462 from 1pm - 6pm

Bring out your Rx7, Rx8, rotary powered or swapped car. We look forward to seeing it and meeting in person.

Possible car judging to take place.

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