The throttle switch is dead, Jim

One issue I am having is that when I decelerate to a stop, say I am coming to a stop sign, the car will stall. Just for fun, I decided to first check the throttle position switch and see if it is working. After all, it is just a matter of disconnecting it and checking for continuity at the two extremes. So, I pull the harness connector. It does look rather nasty:
The switch end is not very pretty either. I then test the switch pins. No sign of life here.
Well, it seems I should take it out of the car and take a better look at the switch. It is not as easy as a Volvo since it is buried under a few hoses (from left to right, the hose from the compressor bypass valve (or blowoff), a coolant hose, and one of the hoses that feed the idle control valve).
Let's take the idle control valve hose and see if that gives us enough room.
I tried to pry the hose by hand and it did not bulge. So, let it talk to Mr. Big Plier,
Ok, that did not work. How about taking the clamp completely out and then trying to brake the hose loose? Well, the clamp had a different idea of what it meant to be completely out:
I did wrote down on my list that I will need a new clamp. Next I used a skinny screwdriver to break loose the corrosion between the hose and the throttle body.
Which finally allowed me to remove the hose. Now I had more space, a wrench and a short 10mm socket were all I needed to remove the throttle body switch.

Now, why is it called a throttle switch instead of a throttle position sensor? Well, if we look inside it, we will see it has two switches: a white one on the right (throttle closed) and another one that looks like exposed copper strips on the left (throttle open). Now, if I am not mistaken, in this car (turbo LH 2.2) the open throttle switch is not used. But, it is there. If you press the little tab on the top of the white switch, you will hear the switch click. That is very important clue because it is used to adjust its position when it is back in the car. But, for now, we can see that it looks rather clean inside.
That is possibly due to the light oil that coated all the parts inside the switch. The connectors on the outside are a different story. So, I used a piece of fine sand paper -- Emory cloth would have been a better choice but I had none -- to clean the connectors until they were shiny again:
Also, between sandings, I used this contact cleaner to remove the goo.This time I got a good signal. So, I closed the switch and bolted it back. I started finger tightening the bolts, then using the 10mm socket between my fingers to get a bit more torque.
But, it has to be placed just right to work. If rotated too far one way, when you let go of the gas pedal it will stall because it would not click the closed throttle switch and go to idle mode. If you rotate it too far the other way, you will actually pull the throttle plate open some, making it idle high. In my case I did that and was idling at 1500RPM instead of 700. Very annoying.
This was th

Now we are slaving! II

So, it is finally time to replace the slave cylinder. After all, I put a new master and have made a new clutch line. It is probably a good idea to just do it and then know the entire clutch system is a known and reliable quantity. So, I bought a new slave cylinder:
I think I will also put my new clutch line while I am at it. So, let's get busy. I chose to begin by blocking the rubber hose that goes from the brake reservoir to the clutch. Reason is that we are going to have the clutch system opened; there is not point in wasting more brake fluid than necessary.
Next I thought on cleaning as much as I can around the slave cylinder. You know, I do like to have as little goo in my way as possible.
We need to remove the pin that goes from the slave cylinder through the clutch. As soon as I remember its name I will add it here. In any case, we have to pop the cover on the front of the transmission to slide the pin out. We will also need a proper instrument of persuasion:
After some persuasion, the pin is out:
Then, we need to remove the clutch line from the slave cylinder, which requires to first remove the bleeder valve. I really need to find a better way to do this, like make a special tool to disconnect the line or something. In any case, once the line is out, it is time to unbolt the slave cylinder itself. I found the best way to use it was to get a L-shaped 5mm Allen key. With a long L so it is easy to break the bolts loose. But, I have to say Allen bolts scare the hell out of me; I tend to round them off. I may replace them with more normal bolts later on...
Ok, slave cylinder is loose. Now we need to also loose the clutch itself. Reason is there is not enough space to remove the slave cylinder by itself; we have to remove it with the clutch. And, yes, the flywheel could use some cleaning.
Now it is a matter of walking the slave cylinder and the clutch out. It is a bit of herding cats, but it is doable. Just do not be in a hurry. That said, putting them back in will be much easier. More on that later.
Here is the clutch still sitting over the pressure plate. I thought on keeping them together so I do not get confused or lose anybody.
Here is the other side of the two, showing the clutch tool still holding the pressure plate fingers.
Now, let's make putting the new slave cylinder easier: zip tie it to the pressure plate. This way you have one less cat to herd.
Now, do not separate the slave cylinder from the pressure plate or install the pressure plate against the flywheel just yet. You need to be able to reach the clutch for the next step. Then we need to put the pin back in place. It is not as hard as it sounds. While the slave cylinder is still tied to the pressure plate, try to grab the clutch plate and line it up some. I did by pulling the pressure plate away from the flywheel and then lifted the clutch plate as I slid the pin through the transmission. You will know it went through the clutch plate because it will be about an inch or so out. After that you need some persuasion because it kinda has to pop into place. The same tool I used to take the pin out is the same one I am using to press it back in. All was need is a place to lever it.
Make sure the pressure plate is lined up with the flywheel's pins. This way we can only worry about the slave cylinder. Once the pressure plate is sitting on the pins, it would not hurt to run one of the bolts that hold it against the flywheel, so it will not fall out while worrying about the slave cylinder. After that, line up the slave cylinder, cut the zip ties, and bolt it in place.
Finally, it is a matter of bleeding it, putting the cover and the rest of the stuff back, and trying it out.

Now we are slaving!

Just a quick update: today I received the slave clutch I ordered to replace the one currently in the car. I will probably keep the one in the car around, now that I know how to take it apart, and rebuild it. But, I feel like I finally have all the items I need to put the clutch system to work. It seems that I have an appointment with the Saab this weekend. Wish me luck!

Clutch does not reply II

Ok, I have changed the clutch master cylinder but it still not working. So, I think it is time to change the slave cylinder in my Saab. To make my life easier, I broke down and bought the Saab special tool to hold the clutch fingers in place. Let me explain the tool by first explaining how the clutch is operated. If you look at the slave cylinder (green in the picture below) and pressure plate, you will see the slave cylinder disengages the clutch plate by pressing on the fingers (pink) on the pressure plate. On the top of each finger, on the outside, is a tab (blue) that probably is there so the fingers will not overextend.
Now, let's go back to the tool. It looks like a loop where one of the ends is turned perpendicular to the plane of the loop into a tab. It works by slipping between the fingers and the tab so that it keeps the fingers pressed and away from the slave cylinder.

Now that we know how the tool work, let's see if we can get it in place. At first I thought all I had to do was to line it up with the tabs and then press the clutch, but that did not do much; it felt like the slave cylinder would extend almost far enough to put the tool in place. But not just enough. So, time to unleash heavy weapondry.
In this case, the weapon of choice is an adjustable wrench. An orange one at that. And, it is the one that comes in the Saab tool kit. What I used it for is to gently persuade the tool to slide into place. It did the job rather nicely but it took a bit of time. I started at the end of the loop that did not have the tab and then pressed the exposed session of the clutch tool between two pressure plate tabs. After that I turned the flywheel, using a screwdriver, a bit so the next exposed tool session was lined up with where I could use wrench comfortably. And so it went.
That was not very fast but it had to be done. And, after turning the flywheel all the way around, I finally reached the end of the clutch tool with the tab. By then the tool was completely placed between the pressure plate's tabs and fingers.
Now we have some room!
In the next episode we will see about removing the slave cylinder.

I see dead clutch pedals! II

After learning how to do it in the junkyard car, I decided it was time to replace the master cylinder in my convertible. I can't say I am looking forward to remove the center console and knee panel just to get to it.

As I stuck my face on the floor and looked under the knee board, I noticed there was this piece of foam-backed cardboard covering the top of the pedals.
I tried to carefully remove it but it did not come out as nicely as I would. But out it went.
Time to look up again. What do I see? There are the pedals and the master cylinder in all their glory! I stuck my hand there and found out I could reach them all without having to take all those parts I did in the 900 in the junkyard. Not bad at all.

Am I annoyed that I spent all that time in the junkyard for nothing? Not really. I am actually glad because I now feel I learned a better mousetrap. So, time to get busy!
First I disconnected the rubber hose that goes from the brake fluid reservoir to the master cylinder. To avoid it dripping all over the place I just turned it so the end that was connected to the clutch master cylinder ended up above the reservoir.
Before unbolting the master cylinder, I chose to loose the line that goes to the slave cylinder. This way, I take care of all the connections in the engine bay. I broke the line loose using my 13mm crowsfoot wrench because rounding off the nut in the end of the line would spoil my day.
Then it was a matter of turning loose the nut with a normal wrench. Not very fun because my hand had to be shoved stuck in there and then I could only turn a little bit at a time. Every so often I had to take my hand out and massage it. But loose it came.
Next on the list was to remove the little bracket that holds the clutch line against the left shock tower.
Reason for that is so we have a bit of play and be able to remove the line from the back of the master cylinder. Just to be on the safe side I placed a rag under it so it would not eat up the paint.
Now that is taken care of, it is time to remove the master cylinder. It really was just a matter of removing the two bolts that hold it to the firewall, and separating it from the clutch pedal (a clip holds a pin that goes through it and through the pedal). Here I am putting the new master cylinder in place. The picture would look the same for the old one.
After that it is a matter of connecting the rubber line back to the master cylinder.
And the metal line that feed the slave cylinder. After all that is done, we need to bleed the clutch system. I would like to have some help doing that but it feels like I will be on my own. So, I need to find a way to do it alone. But that is for another episode...

Incontinent FPR

Yesterday, while changing the clutch master cylinder in my convertible, I noticed a bit of wetness around the fuel pressure regulator (FPR)'s bracket.
As I looked closer, I saw the top of its dashpot was also wet, so I decided to pull its vacuum hose to take a better look.
This does not look good. There should not be fuel in the nipple the vacuum hose coming from the intake manifold attaches to. It seems the diaphragm inside the dashpot is cracked. So, I will have to get another one. Now, I have at home a 3.0bar one in perfect condition, off a normally aspirated 900 (i.e. the 92 900s I mentioned before). For now, I will try it out and see if that solves the problem. Hopefully the .5bar increase (the turbo is 2.5bar) will not annoy the LH 2.2 ECU too much...
Of course, the fact the vacuum hose (which is actually a fuel hose; perhaps the previous owner had a lot of this kind of hose laying around...) is also cracked does make things a bit interesting...
Since today I will be bleeding the clutch system, I might as well put the 3bar FPR and see what happens...

I see dead clutch pedals!

I may have to take and replace the master cylinder off my Saab. If you remember, in a previous episode I found out my clutch pedal felt like it was connected to nothing until the last 1/3rd of the travel, when it offered a bit of resistance. I was told to get to it you have to take the kick panel out, which is not that fun. But, before I do it I thought I should go back to my old standby, the 92 900S in the local yard.

Suggested tools

1. One 13mm 1/4 drive socket
2. One 10mm 1/4 drive socket
3. A set of torx bits, T20, T25, and T30.
4. 1/4 drive extensions
5. 1/4 drive ratchet.

From what I found out, both from the factory manual and the great people at Saab Central, the kick panel is a single piece that goes from one side of the car to another. It is held by 3 bolts: 2 10mm ones: here is the one on the leftand the ones on the right, which is hidden under the black tar-looking blob shown below behind the white wires.
The third bolt, a 13mm one, is hidden by the center console, right behind the ashtray. The 10mm are fairly easy to get to, but the 13mm is another story; we have to take the center console out:
So, the plan will be to get the kick panel unbolted from inside the car and then get the two 10mm bolts. So, let's get started: first we need to take the center console out, which means we must remove these two T25 bolts,
which are hidden behind a little cover between the shifter and the center console (the cover is removed by just yanking it out). Then, we remove the ashtray and find this 10mm bolt, which also needs to be removed.
And possibly this really long bolt I just happened to see there but looked long enough to hold parts together somehow. Of course, it may turn out it is there to hold the dashboard face, but hey.
Ok, fine. the center console is loose but I still cannot take it out (it seems I have to pull it forward to remove it). What I came up with was to take the black plastic out and then hopefully that will give me enough room to move the center console forward.
If you examine the sides of the black plastic on the center console, you will notice it is being held by 4 T25 screws,
and on the top by the metal plate we took the 10mm bolt from,I did remove that metal plate just in case. When the black plastic cover is removed from the center console, what is left in the car looks rather empty,
But, now it can easily be pulled out, leaving us with this cable I have no idea what it is for:
Now if we go back to where the ashtray was, we will see this strange looking guy. Believe it or not, this is the 13mm bolt we mentioned before that also holds the center console.
So, we take it off.
Time to go back outside and remove the 10mm bolts. I will just show the one on the right side; the left one is the same. Since I was lazy or just thought there was too many wires in the way, I cut the two zip ties that held this bundle to the car. With a long extension you should not need to do this. But I did.
Moving the wires out of the way made it much easier for me to shove my big fat hand and remove the tar blob that was covering the bolt.
Now I can unbolt it. As I mentioned before, a longer (say, a 3in + a 9in extension) would have worked here rather nicely.
Back inside, the knee pad is being held only by friction and some tabs. So, all we need to do is to pull it back (or away from the firewall):
And then it will start moving out.
Do the same in the driver's side and you will end up with the knee pad on the floor. I carefully threw it on the back seat before starting the next step.
Now that the pad it out, we really do not have to get the air ducts out of the car. Probably it will not be a good idea, but I will do it anyway. But first, there is some controller thingie sitting on the top of the duct here,
and some relays on the other side. I wonder what they are there for.
But, I am here to take things out, and out I will take them. To the left of this picture you will notice one of the brackets holding the duct is loose. Someone took the master cylinder out and they way he did it was to unbolt that out and pry the duct away. Technically it is not a bad idea, but I like to work with as much space as possible. And, let's be honest: it was not that bad to take the dashboard out; the hardest was the center console. Of course, I may change my tune when I have to put it all back in.
Onwards with the original plan, I then unbolted the bracket on the right side.
Then there was this torx screw, which I want to say it was T30 but I could be wrong.
After you take that screw out, you would think it is ready to come of. Not quite, there is still this screw here.
I think that where those screws bolt the duct to the car change a bit throughout the production years. Reason is I could swear my convertible has different locations. Just a friendly warning. In any case, we reach this guy here, which you can either leave it alone (remember, duct is loose so it should not be in your way), or remove it. I will leave that to you.
For today, I took it off because I wanted a nice picture of the dash without anything in the way. You know, I personally think it does not look that bad without the center console in the way. What is your take?
Finally, we have a nice clean view to the clutch pedal and master cylinder.
In a future episode we will go about doing this to my car. Stay tuned!