firewall/bulkhead cracks?

[K321]

I been hearing a lot on other forums about this firewall crack on the 9-3 and ng900.
i can hear a creaking noise- only when its dry form the front of the engine

my questin is, IF my firewall was cracked, could i still drive the car or could something dangerous happen?

[Garett]

It was never a recall as Saab or GM didn't deem it dangerous, however it would fail an MOT if it was spotted, however I doubt most would notice it unless it was obvious as you have to remove some of the soundproofing to get a proper look.

How does the car feel? Does it tend to wander a bit? Try moving the pedals from left to right, they don't all do it but if they do then its gone.

If the car has a FSSH you might be able to claim some or all of the cost of the repair through Saab.

[K321]

i spoke to my garage and they said that if i was to turn the steering wheel to full lock i could hear a metal clacking noise- i dont have that than goodness.
i also spoke to my dad who is on the board at saab and he said only one in 3000 cars were affected, so fingers crossed

[saaby93]

Garett said:

It was never a recall as Saab or GM didn't deem it dangerous, however it would fail an MOT if it was spotted,

how can it fail if VOSA say its safe?

[fastcars_hardy]

If the MOT test does notice it then it is a MOT failure. The way to see if you have it is to look just to the left of the servo and they is a bit of padding. if you move it away and give the steering a go tug left and right u will see the crack open. Its repairable by a body shop but i think its around the £700 mark. Hope this helps

[Garett]

saaby93 said:

Garett said:

It was never a recall as Saab or GM didn't deem it dangerous, however it would fail an MOT if it was spotted,

how can it fail if VOSA say its safe?

No idea but thats what a local specialist told me, I was quoted £300 to get it welded up and a brace added to stop it happening again.

[saaby93]

Any views from MOT testers?
Doesnt seem right to me that a few people are getting MOT fail from something VOSA are happy with - or was it an adisory?

[fastcars_hardy]

this is a mot fail

[saaby93]

fastcars_hardy said:

this is a mot fail

what is a fail?
What do you test to find a fail?
Why is it a fail?

[Ollyc]

Hi guys sorry to re open an old thread but, My '99 9-3 Convertible failed its MOT today on this and otherwise it's a prime example of a well looked after car. She only has 58k on the clock. Now my main interest is has any one on here done the repair themselves and if so how hard is it to do? I have no faith in my garage you see as they said they had never heard of this befor or seen it. A second opinion gave the same advice and then 10 seconds on Google showed thousands of similar cases. Now at present I have bee quoted in the £700 bracket I am sure that I can fix this myself and improve on the design a little but I need advice if this is a garage only option I'll bite the bullet. But if it is 'do able' then I'd like my baby to have the kid glove treatment and be sorted by myself. Any help info pictures, horror stories greatly appreciated.



Olly

[K321]

my car which i thought had bulkhead was in fact a bearing on off side front wheel and cost 100quid. i heard the bulkhead is more common on the 9-3 models. i got a quote on bulkhead crack from West Midlands Saab Specialists for 250 quid inclusive of vat

ollyc- if u go to saab central i think there is a link to a site with pics on how to fix it yourself

Edited by K321 on Sunday 14th March 08:35

[Ollyc]

Thats great cheers. I did some scouting around last night and indeed found pictures of a guy doing it himself, main thing he did was to remove the engine and all the other parts in the engine bay. That, if the only way would be too much of a job so can it be done with minimal removal of parts? Where is the garage that quoted you that do you have any contact details for them please?


Olly

[K321]

0121 270 1095- West Midlands Saab specialists in Erdington, Birmingham. I emailed them about 4 months ago asking them for a quote for bulkhead crack and they said 250quid inc of vat. if it is bulkhead separation it could be a bit more, but that price was far cheaper than anywhere else i tried

on the saabcentral site there are loads of saab freaks who are all technical minded (not like me),who can help you further i think

Edited by K321 on Sunday 14th March 09:02

edit to add- i think at West Midlands Saab they told me that they dont remove the engine, but my local indie- Bagnall Saab told me that you do have to remove the engine, so lots of contradictions!

Edited by K321 on Sunday 14th March 09:04

[Ollyc]

Cheers for that I'll give them a bell tomorrow. Hmmm not sounding good will do more delving into this and if I find out anything worthy I'll add it up here. Out of interest i know there is a few different schools of thought but is this safe or a death trap when it goes? Obviously it's not great but the guy at the garage said the car was splitting in two.!!!!?????? But he had never seen/heard/noticed this before on any other car. Don't think they had many 9-3's in over the last few years then.

[K321]

people have told me different things about if it is safe or not. how does the car feel like? i wouldnt go on mways. the official saab line is that you can still safely stop the car if it splits in 2. not sure i would want to try it though. the problem affects one in 3000 9-3/900 cars rhd models only. convertbile are more prone to it - tochwood i have had 3 saabs and none have had the firewall crack go, so i guess you just got to be lucky.

good luck and plz tell me how you get on, as not many firewall crack threads on pistonheads

Edited by K321 on Sunday 14th March 12:38

[Ollyc]

Yeah I will do, I fear I may have brought it on whilst making the car 'better' When looking to have a 9-3 conv I spent a fair bit of time trying to get a very clean loved model. This one fitted the bill to a T, in a nut shell she is now stage 3 tuned delivering a modest 246bhp and 360nm torque. I changed the stock suspension to koni adjustable ones and uprated the rear ARB and (this may have swung it) a front steering rack clamp.!?!?

In answer to the ride she's fine. I fear this may have gone a long time back but only now been found/flagged up. She started to pull to the left and i had her tracked and all spot on then still via left, no tire wear or anything to sign it up but garage tracked again but all ok, then I started with a light 'knockin' on left handers. took it to them no joy replaced bearings and joints and nothing changed the nock. So in essence I have a feeling it may be this allowing a flew to the driver side and letting the rack judder on the passenger side and that could be the source of the noise?? I must say she's such a clean car when they tolod me she was splitting in two I nearly fell over. Thank god it's not just mine. But damn!!!

[Ollyc]

Well fanttastic news!!!

I picked up my car tonight from the body shop (not the garage that failed it in the first place!) And when I asked if it was sorted and passed ok the answers where yes and it's in good nick.


I asked about the welding and how it went?

"no welding done mate!"

I nearly fell over what why have you not done it???

Didn't need it striped it all down checked it, paint, welds, seems, joints all in perfect form.

The garage that failed it was also the garage I put it too to fir my steering rack/brace


It was never making good contact, Hence the rack was slipping and allowing movement showing as movement on the bulkhead but when all tightened it was solid and thankfully for me and the car nothing needed doing. Everything is solid and now the clamp has been jigged slightly its clamping 100% I had a knock from the left side and spent £100 replacing bushes bearings and all sorts and it was the fault of this freaking clamp that the same garage had not fitted properly!



Moral of story is second opinion has saved me £550 over what the frist garage quouted and did not require doing. Second fit the bloody clamp yourself and tighten it lol.


I am a very happy bunny and now aware to keep an eye on this from now on and even if my bulk head does crack the garage will be able to fix it with ease by the sound of it.


So thanks for your help and happy drving guys

One happy Olly is off to bed lol!

[K321]

glad it worked out. i had similar problem before- one garage said it was my bulkhead , other garage, fixed a wheel bearing and said nothing wrong with tje bulkhead- mot next week, so fingers crossed it will pass

[Ollyc]

Good luck with it keep us posted!

[saaby93]

Reiterating the above that it's something that's not necessary to fix it, has anyone found a picture of the official kit anywhere.
All I've found is the one guy on saab central
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t...
It's not even obvious whether the seams where he's removed the sealant should be welded in the first place!

A couple of places will weld the crack back together for £250 including taking the carpets out, but do they weld in another plat, the SAAB fix or what?

The fix is looking more of a mystery than the symptom