Saab B204e to Calibra SE5 - & So It Begins.....!

[Rangie1]

Ok !! Done and dusted at last !!

I'm just reserving this post for a write up on what we did and why, particualy the bit when we made decisions that people didn't understand but it will be done purely on the basis of this car and parts vehicle and what we found as we went. Hopefully it will become a bit of a "go to" post for anybody doing this job or something like it in the future

Andy

[Miscbrah]

Well, a few months in service as daily driver and a few updates (which I promise I'll type a little more on in future when I get time!) Few things worth a mention but nothing 'doom and gloom' as such, and a fair few thousand miles on it now! Long and short is speed signal thing with the brake wire and whatever is all but sorted, the F20 might not be holding up great (small oil leak behind release bearing, black oil and much metallic marmite on the swarf collector magnet on level plug) BUT there is a Saab alternative in the FM55 (cable clutch type, so need leccy speedo and gear-linkage fiddling which take happily to 300ft/lbs of torque so the legends go. Can be had for £100-odd.)

We've also learned you can't change the clutch through the F20 access plate as the dowels in the Saab flywheel for the Saab pressure plate mean there's not enough room there; you'll be at the back of the bellhousing before you get it clear. BUM!

Speed signal input was an issue, which I haven't sorted yet but have researched to the conclusion. My pink wire on Nige's loom adapter doesn't go anywhere on the Saab block:


Turns out Saab just LOVED mixing and matching the odd pin on the odd plug between the 900 and the 9-3 and different years of 9-3. It's not quite a complete crap-shoot but some stuff is amiss and this was on mine. Nige (the man the legend) suggests, in my case, swapping the homeless female end with the pink/black wire on pin 24 on the plug:


ECU direct speedo in is pin 39/green wire *I THINK* so that might be a direct workaround if anyone in future is reading this and tearing their hair out. I'll report back on the success (or otherwise) of this. Should net me an extra 10mpg around town and mean I'll get > 200 miles/tank out of the b******!

I've a very small oil leak which MIGHT WELL be related to high crankcase pressure. Or perhaps sump. I hear strong rumours this high crankcase pressure happens with B205 and some B204 engines, and there IS an updated kit (6th revision, nicely done Saab) which relieves this, so maybe worth a lil stab at. If that subframe ends up coming off to change the gearbox though I'll get under there like a ferret down a trouser leg and re-re-seal that f-ing sump, and at least be prepared to renew BOTH crank oil seals and that massive o-ring on the oil pump so I can be SURE they're in 100% if it turns out they are leaking. We did a good job on that sump for sure, but we did it in a minus 30 snowstorm with penguins walking past so heaven knows if that sealed right. It could also be the oil pressure release valve (or something that sounded like when Andy mentioned it) which might just need fiddling with.

Thanks again go to Andy and Dan for our diagnosis session the other weekend, and for Andy sorting my MOT! Only advisory was rear tyres getting close. Has to be said, the camber on the rear wheels that the Calibra came with is visually a bit more than the new camber at the front, so I can promise (given the car is my commute) the front tyre consumption we all wondered about really isn't that big an issue.

Last night it wouldn't start, but traced that to a dodgy grey relay (you get two of those to put in Nige's adapter, and conservatively a thousand come in the Saab) so carry spares. Bosch relay 0 332 209 159.

Got a boost gauge in there (fixed temporarily) enit sorry i can lok cuul wiv Bazza an Kev in McDonald's car parc.

[Miscbrah]

It's also probably time I introduce you all to the fictional "Bazza and Kev", who have been a long-running joke between us three.

If you post on a forum, say, something like "Will my F16 gearbox fit onto a C20XE for my Calibra?" you'll get Bazza and Kev along. Bazza will reply with "Yes m8 will fit N0 Problim my m8 got iz Fsicksteen bocks an it no bovver runnin 800bhp thru it!" and then Kev will say "Nah m7+1 I got one in my Cavalier u'll nned a Corsa enjin mount an a Volvo gearstik and a Peugeot wing mirror plus it'll break running over 0.7628bhp thru it."

Whilst it's very nice of them to take time and offer advice, you'll find sometime that you're there in the real world holding, say, a driveshaft up against a block that Bazza and Kev have told you ("I swear on me mam") will fit that just plain 100% isn't right.

I'm sure MANY (in fact, probably EVERYONE) who's undertaken a project like this has had some trial and error trailblazing to do. Hell, swapping a whole engine over is major surgery and we relied on and found 90% of the time some real real awesome advice from some very kind people who took REAL TIME to steer us right for nothing but our gratitude, but "Bazza and Kev" sure sent us wrong on occasion!

[Bazza]

U wot m8?

[Kev]

U wot m7+1?

[v6 steve]

It's also probably time I introduce you all to the fictional "Bazza and Kev", who have been a long-running joke between us three.

If you post on a forum, say, something like "Will my F16 gearbox fit onto a C20XE for my Calibra?" you'll get Bazza and Kev along. Bazza will reply with "Yes m8 will fit N0 Problim my m8 got iz Fsicksteen bocks an it no bovver runnin 800bhp thru it!" and then Kev will say "Nah m7+1 I got one in my Cavalier u'll nned a Corsa enjin mount an a Volvo gearstik and a Peugeot wing mirror plus it'll break running over 0.7628bhp thru it."

Whilst it's very nice of them to take time and offer advice, you'll find sometime that you're there in the real world holding, say, a driveshaft up against a block that Bazza and Kev have told you ("I swear on me mam") will fit that just plain 100% isn't right.

I'm sure MANY (in fact, probably EVERYONE) who's undertaken a project like this has had some trial and error trailblazing to do. Hell, swapping a whole engine over is major surgery and we relied on and found 90% of the time some real real awesome advice from some very kind people who took REAL TIME to steer us right for nothing but our gratitude, but "Bazza and Kev" sure sent us wrong on occasion!

can you please type full words and not use TEXT (some of us old guys cant read it )

[Callyman]

Put simply Who the F*** is 'kev' and 'Bazza'?

[Miscbrah]

can you please type full words and not use TEXT (some of us old guys cant read it )

Haha I do apologise, it was my impression of Bazza and Kev. And I had to think REALLY hard on how to make that the right sort of barely legible!

Put simply Who the ****** is 'kev' and 'Bazza'?

They're, like, every second poster on every other automotive forum who has twenty spoilers on his 106 gti and a Fast and Furious tattoo on each limb.

Wow that gag backfired didn't it?

[DanSE4]

FLOL!

Well, that certainly passed over a few heads, by about a mile!

Kev & Baz are representations of the "yeah, that'll fit fine mate" people who's instructions are followed only to find that their info is total garbage & you've wasted a day (& often a few quid) trying to do what will actually never work in a million years.

They are also a representation of the oh so annoying TXT speak.

Heard the term "pub BHP"? That's another example of a Kev or Baz.

There is however an actual Kev in existence, not sure if any of you have seen this before (it's done the rounds on several forums) but grab a coffee & have a read of the below.

http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=32504

[Hewey94]

I know this thread is years old but thought people might want to see how this car looks today.
I purchased the car in January 2018 and have just come across this thread.

[Phill]

Hi Hewey94 and welcome to cc.net, keep us all updated if you do any more or have any issues with the car.