Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

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Adrian Thompson
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Adrian Thompson » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:39 pm

hutch wrote:Just got back from the post office, I must have just made the deadline or something because they said it should be there on monday. Hopefully this is the final hump to getting the car running! :luke:


Sir you are a star.

Unfortunately no change. Suns kinda sorta in limp home with no MAF. Barely runs with either old or new MAF plugged in.

So, new or swapped parts:
ECU
FPR
MAF
Fuel filter
Plugs/wires/cap/Rotor
Various vacuum hoses and fittings
Exhaust completely removed so there can be no back pressure
Fuel pump relay jumped as although it and all circuits check out, it doesn't run without being jumped.
New gel cell battery that is on a battery tender al the time so it's always fully charged

When off boost I assume nothing in the APC system should affect the running so I guess I can skip that.

Boost/vacuum gauge seems to jump around. Anything I should look into?
Project Loki - 88 900C - future TSD, Rallycross and track day toy

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Crazyswede
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Crazyswede » Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:33 am

ECU Ground,
Battery ground cable
Good battery?
Alternator charging properly?
All engine and body grounds clean, good connectors, good wires?
Alternator ground wire

All fuses are still good?

Have you considered T5 :lol:
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Adrian Thompson
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Adrian Thompson » Tue Mar 31, 2015 9:37 am

Crazyswede wrote:ECU Ground,
Battery ground cable Hmm, well it should be good, but it's worth double checking.
Good battery? YEs, new gel cell battery kept on a battery tender all the time so it's 100% ready to go regardless of the state of the charging system.
Alternator charging properly? HAven't checked, but the battery is 100% ready to go, see above.
All engine and body grounds clean, good connectors, good wires? I will double check all the grounds, but the wires are brand new Bougicord which I read either here or SaabCentral were the preferred brand
Alternator ground wire Hmm, Will double check

All fuses are still good?Hmm, Will double check

Have you considered T5 :lol:
You laugh, but it's crossed my mind. More than once.

What are the costs though? I'm loath to drop even more money on a non running car. Also this is a toy with the agreement from SWMBO that it doesn't impact family finances so it's funded by selling off bits and bobs from old project and race cars which are getting thin on the ground.
Project Loki - 88 900C - future TSD, Rallycross and track day toy

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Crazyswede
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Crazyswede » Tue Mar 31, 2015 9:49 am

Adrian Thompson wrote:
Crazyswede wrote:ECU Ground,
Battery ground cable Hmm, well it should be good, but it's worth double checking.
Good battery? YEs, new gel cell battery kept on a battery tender all the time so it's 100% ready to go regardless of the state of the charging system.
Alternator charging properly? HAven't checked, but the battery is 100% ready to go, see above.
All engine and body grounds clean, good connectors, good wires? I will double check all the grounds, but the wires are brand new Bougicord which I read either here or SaabCentral were the preferred brand
Alternator ground wire Hmm, Will double check

All fuses are still good?Hmm, Will double check

Have you considered T5 :lol:
You laugh, but it's crossed my mind. More than once.

What are the costs though? I'm loath to drop even more money on a non running car. Also this is a toy with the agreement from SWMBO that it doesn't impact family finances so it's funded by selling off bits and bobs from old project and race cars which are getting thin on the ground.


Go to the junkyard and look got a NG900 Turbo or 9000 from 94-98. Pull the fuel injection harness and ECU if its in the car, grab the injectors, TPS, Map temp etc, DI cassette. You just need a flywheel or crank trigger wheel. You can do a dirty simple install for very little money.
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DrewP
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby DrewP » Tue Mar 31, 2015 11:25 am

If it ran fine before tearing into the interior and front engine mount and such (spent some time last night thread hunting) then it stands to reason that something got jostled, damaged, or forgotten during the reassembly process. I was thinking ground cables same as Crazyswede.

You used the right Bougicord brand plug wires, but smooth running with no load and heavy misfires under load are a common symptom of ignition problems...

Did you mess with the ignition amplifier that's in the left front inner fender at all? I had a car come in once with a nearly separated main ground wire going to that little thing that caused all sorts of weird behavior. Pull the rubber boot back off the connector and maybe check continuity between that and the crank sensor, the coil, ground, power, and the trigger to the ECU? If you pull the connector off and the contacts are all green and fuzzy that may well be causing problems.
"You can educate ignorance, but you can't fix stupid."

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Crazyswede
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Crazyswede » Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:05 pm

did you ever verify that the plugs were gapped properly?
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Saabina
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Saabina » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:14 pm

Hello Adrian - you get that thing running yet? Wondering...

Adrian Thompson
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby Adrian Thompson » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:52 am

Hell hath frozen over........Loki appears to be running right.

I walked away for a couple of weeks in depression, but I headed back out. After pulling a load or stuff off I"d already replaced or checked. I re-re-re-checked it was OK, dangling the intercooler upside down for 3 days to make sure it was dry (it was perfect, maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of oil came out in all that time) Check, re-checking and double checking again on all hoses. Replacing the coil, nothing, still ran like crap. So then in a moment of desperation I changed the ECU again. I'm not sure if I've got the original back in or the replacement I bought but....Tadadadaddadadaaaaaaaa...........https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5h2rT4YISo (can you embed vids here?)

At last. So now what? Well, I need to get various gaskets, nuts bolts and hangers to re-fit the exhaust (you may not be able to tell, but that drive was with nothing after the turbo, no exhaust at all) Then the gear change has more slack than an mommy elephants you know what after a live birth. After that there's the total lack of interior, worn out suspension, wheels, tires etc. But hey, it's running at long, looonnggg last. (:))(:D)(:))(:D)(:))(:D)(:D)(:))(:D)
Project Loki - 88 900C - future TSD, Rallycross and track day toy

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DrewP
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby DrewP » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:24 pm

Nice!
"You can educate ignorance, but you can't fix stupid."

EvanB
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Re: Project Loki - 1988 classic SAAB turbo

Postby EvanB » Wed May 04, 2016 1:11 pm

This one now belongs to me. I picked it up from Adrian a couple weeks ago.

In the process of changing the headgasket and hopefully I will get it on the road soon. My own build thread will come.


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