Used to understand cars when they ran on petrol and had carburettors. Diesels went in tractors and lorries; high revs, low gears, plenty of torque for work horses. Who thought putting them in cars was a good idea?? Anyway, due to the cost of fixing a Saab engine, my partner and I are now having to learn to do it ourselves. Neither of us are mechanics but we aren't afraid to have a go. Garages seem so keen to replace parts and throw the old ones away. Just repaired our actuator rod for less than a tenner thanks to a tip on here. I can't believe you cannot buy replacements for these. Anyway, garage wanted £800 for new manifold and motor. Our car problem not yet fixed and bank balance not getting any healthier, so we decided to join, not just for help, although we need lots of that at the moment, but also to give feedback on our experiences. Happy to help others and hope someone can help us.

Good on you for having a go at fixing the manifold yourself, but unfortunately reattaching the swirl bar rod is only a temporary fix. It detached because the swirl flaps that it's supposed to move are gummed up with coke deposits, and those deposits are still there, hence why the common fix is to replace the manifold. In theory you could try cleaning the manifold, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing that.