[asahartz]

Hi all, just bought my first Saab - 1990 9000S 2.3 - after my Merc died. It has 150k on the clock but a full history including a £750 service at Christmas.

Soon after collecting it I noticed a "coolant"-type smell but no obvious signs of leakage. Next day I found a dribble of water on the passenger rubber floormat. I found the felt pad above was wet and removed it to dry. Examination with a torch showed water coming from the sleeving round what looks like the rear washer feed pipe. Now the washer bottle does seem to get hot from the radiator, and it does contain an additive, which might explain the smell, but it doesn't seem to leak when I operate the rear washer! Significantly here no water emerges from the washer jet. The pump for this does work, but if I take the pipe off the water just flows out of the pump outlet even if the pump isn't running.
Any thoughts? The pipe, sleeved as it is, looks a swine to access.

Also, now it's started raining, I seem to have a leak on the rear parcel shelf, almost above the speaker. Again, any thoughts on where this is likely to be from?

 

[scminks]

welcome asahartz and welcome to the pain and pleasure of the life that is saab!!first off i would say it was your heater matrix leaking .does the water level drop in the expansion tank??.try a bottle of "bars leak".pour into the top rad hose NOT the bottle(it will just sit there!) and take for a spin.tail leak,check all seals are ok and seated properly.
BOL
simon

 

[colinC]

Are you sure you have a leak above the parcel shelf, there is a design fault in that if the car is wet some of the surface water drips onto the rear speakers when you open the tail gate , BTW has anyone found a way of stopping this ?

col

 

[asahartz]

Well Simon, I haven't had the car long enough to see if the water level drops, as I said this is literally a dribble, but if I squeeze the sleeving the water comes out exactly where the drip is. I did think heater matrix, but coudn't see how it was getting to that place! I shall be going for a motorway blast tomorrow, so that should be more revealing.
Pain & pleasure eh? Well currently I own 13 cars (mad), and my track record involves about twenty more. I bought the Saab 'cos I wanted an automatic that would cope with a fast motorway blast and be big enough to hold an ice hockey kitbag (can't stand small hatchbacks!), and it was the best car for my (measly) money on Ebay last week. £645? Bargain I reckon. 12 months test, six months tax, FSH, a cheap years motoring I hope.

Colin, you may be right; the water was evident when I opened the boot, but I had one hand full and it's a heavy tailgate so I didn't see exactly what happened, except that the plastic moulding was wet inside afterwards. Again, with tomorrow's weather forecast I should get another chance to check!

I'll let you both know.

 

[asahartz]

OK then, 50 motorway miles later there's a noticeable smear of water on the rubber mat. But it was warm today and I had the heater turned off throughout. This has the effect of getting rid of the smell, so the matrix probably is leaking - get the BARS out I guess. (Any idea what kind of a job removing the matrix is? My other motoring passion is Minis and they're a ten-minute job!).

But the water on the mat, and where it seems to be coming from still suggest a problem with that washer jet tube. Where might that be?

 

[djtaylor]

Well I have heard it described that Saab designed the heater matrix and then built the rest of the car around it.

I have a matrix to fit and look forward (?) to the day I feel brave enough to tackle this little job.

David.

 

[Harry Lake]

Originally posted by ColinC_2.3T:
[qb]... there is a design fault in that if the car is wet some of the surface water drips onto the rear speakers when you open the tail gate    , BTW has anyone found a way of stopping this ?

col [/qb][/b]

Not exactly, but in my experience it is absolutely vital to carry out regular and frequent checks to make sure gunge doesn't accumulate under the bundle of wires that has somehow been designed to negate the water seal in the middle of the top of the hatchback opening. Otherwise in heavy rain or overenthusiastic washing the gutter can overflow.

Cheers,
Harry
1993 CSE2.3T auto