Bulkhead Repair on GM900 Convertable

[joeuk2000]

Hi there

I have just taken my 1994 900 SE for its MOT and the only thing it failed on was "Steering component mounting prescribed area is fractured", garage said the bulkhead is flexing when steering. 

Absolutely gutted!   

The car is in really good condition apart from this so unsure whether this means I will have to scrap the car after having it 10 years

Can anyone recommend a garage that could repair the bulk head within the midlands/northwest England.

Any advice is really appreciated.

Many Thanks

Joe

[saab talladega turbo]

Hi. It's roughly about £500 for the repair.
If your car is ok apart from this it's easily worth it.
So many people say how bad Saab were when this happens but there's worse car makers with much worse problems. I.e. bmw's nicasil problem ment a new head fitting so really the Saab bulkhead isn't too bad.
I do believe that Saab should have made a bolt in part for the problem by now tho.

[Mark_Sims]

Can get repaired for half that price now, had my 9-3 done at Simply Saab in Bristol only a few months back.

[joeuk2000]

Cheers guys... for £500 it's certainly worth doing!

Called Simply Saab before you replied Mark, so that is an option, could be £250 depending on how bad it is...Bristol is 100 miles away so not too bad. Used them last year to fix the roof mechanism, so happy with their service!

Taking it to WMSS in Birmingham next week, they quoted more but closer to home etc, may still take it to Simply Saab yet.. see what the outcome is!

[jmblack]

Is there not a simple triangular brace that does the job? Think it was Abbott that makes them?

[saab talladega turbo]

I think it's gotta be welded as its permanent and shouldn't come loose whereas bolts can work loose over time or wear the holes. Would be nice tho if it could be a DIY job for a few quid.

[phoenix]

It has to be welded.

There's two approaches to doing the job

a) patch up the worst
b) re-weld the entire seam and use a plate to strengthen it

The latter will cost around £500, the former can be done for less.

There's quite a lot of preparatory word to be done which typically includes:

- Remove the brake master cylinder
- Move the steering rack
- Remove a substantial amount of interior tirm to prevent it melting!

The Abbott bracket is designed to reduce steering rack movement and give a more precise feel. It does exactly that but doesn't help with thr bulkhead issue, which is a throwback to the poor design of the Cavalier chassis it was based on.

[AL900S]

Hi
Richard Elliot of Saabtec in Glossop repaired mine last year (2001 9-3) - think it was about £500. He also fitted a rack clamp too. www.saabtec.co.uk

HTH

Al

[joeuk2000]

Hi all

Thanks for your responses

Just to let you know I got the bulkhead sorted at WMSS (www.wmss.co.uk) for £312. Car passed its MOT and is back on the road!

I would happily recommend wmss, and it goes to show that the bulkhead issue can be repaired easily and relatively cheaply.

Thanks

Joe

[Max Headroom]

RESULT!