shark fin on convertible & other ?'s

[rhodgie]

How easy is it to change the shark fin on the boot lid, car doesn't have satnav or a phone so a dummy one will do just to tidy it up, the 8 is missing from the 1.8t on the boot so where's the best place to get these from, haven't been able to find the correct shape/size of 8 in auto shops.

The wind deflecter for the convertibles... Are they worth it? And can a 2002 one be made to fit a 2004 car because i could get an old one very cheap instead of £200+

One of the fan control buttons is very worn, the picture on it has been worn off and its worn through the black to show a big splodge of white now.... what's the best way to restore it?

Thanks again in advance

Stephen

[sgould]

Boot lid trim comes out.  I don't know the type of fastening, but likely to be the ones where you push the centre in 1/8th inch and then withdraw the whole fastening.  Have a look at the  screwdriver handle in the tool kit in the boot.  You should have a lump on the top that pushes the centre in the correct amount.  If you push it in too far the fastener expands and locks again and you have to push it right through and retrieve the bit from the boot lid double skin....

The sharks' fin is fixed with a single 22mm nut.

[rhodgie]

Thanks for that sgould, the fasteners are just as you described and I've ordered a replacement fin from fleabay..... Got a bid in for a wind deflecter and still looking for an "8" & reversing sensors

[sgould]

 I don't think that you can buy individual digits.  You have to buy the whole "1.8t".  It come stuck between two sheets of paper.  They have the alignment marks on them, so you get to stick the badge in the right place.

Maybe time for a de-badge?  It would be cheaper.

But a "1.8t" for a convertible is Part No.12804947

There's no data for the 1.8t badge, so I have attached the 2.0t one.  It's the same as the 2.0T badge so there should be no significant difference for the 1.8t

[Audax]

One of the fan control buttons is very worn, the picture on it has been worn off and its worn through the black to show a big splodge of white now.... what's the best way to restore it?

sgould answered all the other questions but for this you can buy a kit to replace all the buttons, just they cost about £70! part numbers are 12781996 or 12781997 depending if you have heated seats or not.

[sgould]

The badge is about £20 from Saab.

Someone like http://www.euro-saab-parts-direct.com may do it for a bit less.  Or perhaps Turners Hill Garage (also as thgparts on eBay)

[sgould]

On the question of buttons.  If you just want unlabelled black (and know what the button does, someone has suggested spraying with black Plasikote (from the likes of Wilkinsons etc,) or Plastidip.

[chris aka zaphod]

Hollow shark fin replacements are also widely available - not OEM, of course, but does the cosmetic job.

[rhodgie]

okay an update on how I got on....

ordered a new shark fin for less than a fiver online and fitted that, very easy and now its nice and shiny instead of the old perished one
ordered and fitted parking sensors, cost £34 from steel mate, working great and hopefully she won't crash into anything because rear visibility out that tiny wee window is poor
fan control buttons are not worth worrying about as they are not that bad, wife is going to colour them in with some permanent marker or eye lash make up or nail varnish....  its only the one button.
full service was done and that was fine, gives a bit of confidence in it and I took it back to also get the drop links replaced and also front and rear anti-roll bar bushes done as the squeaking was driving me nuts
the 3 buttons for bass, treble and fader on the radio were replaced as they were broken
wind deflector was bought online (a used one) and despite having a tiny wee 5p sized hole behind the drivers head it works a treat, really allows you to enjoy the run more without getting battered by the wind
new "1.8t" badge is on order

next it'll be a new pulley belt as don't know when or if it's ever been changed and also there's a wee leak from the crankshaft oil seal which will get done at the same time, not major enough to rush through at the moment
there is a small annoying rattle coming from what seems like inside the hood at the rear behind the driver, sounds like something is loose and rattling around as you go over bumps but the hood is working fine and closes nice and tight. From what you can see trying to get in from the boot there is nothing obvious so that's another thing to get looked at later....  unless anyone has any ideas???
bought some "fabsil" so once come back from holiday in mid July we'll give the hood a good coat of waterproofing before the winter comes
 
Otherwise roll on the summer and maybe my wife will let me borrow it occasionally   

[sgould]

Well Done!

[jmblack]

Might be wholly unconnected but in the good old days when I had my vert, I searched everywhere for a rattle I thought was behind the rear seat. Turned out to be a loose heat shield on the exhaust at the back! Amazing how the sound fooled your sense of the direction.....

[rhodgie]

Pretty sure its from inside the hood as wife was in the rear listening for the noise although i know what you mean about sounds coming from somewhere completely different from where the fault is.  Years ago I worked on cars and i know that fault finding is a real pain and can take a lot of time and money to rectify.