OG 9-3 (Base, SE, Viggen) 9-5 Aero Rear Brake Upgrade.

This past weekend I upgraded the rear brakes on my LB Viggen to the (2002-2004 9-5 Aero 300mm Vented rear discs, caliper, etc). Comparing the hardware this is a HUGE upgrade. The discs are substantially larger (both diameter, and the fact that they're vented). The caliper is a single piston caliper, which may seem like a downgrade however the dual piston caliper that's on the OG 9-3 is solid mounted where these calipers are mounted on a bracket so they are able to slide. Last but not least the pad is larger. 

You may ask how badly I needed brakes... This should answer the question. This should also answer the question why you shouldn't buy Chinese eBay pads and rotor sets.  This pad/rotor set had somewhere around 15-20k miles on it (from my understanding), I've never seen a set of pads/rotors wear this quickly. Anyways /rant.

So here's the hardware I purchased for this upgrade, everything except the lines are a necessity (there are write-ups out there on how to upgrade the calipers using stock lines). When searching out vehicles I searched for parts for a 2003 Saab 9-5 Aero. 

1. 300mm Rear Rotors

2. Rear Pads for Said Vehicle

3. Calipers (I purchased them from O'Reilly's since they have a lifetime Warranty - PN: 19-2746, 19-2747 -- they were special order and took about 5 days to show up)

4. Caliper Brackets (I got these from a junk yard with core calipers for $20 -- this saved me $150ish in core charges)

5. Brake Lines (These came from Genuine Saab. Goodridge 40005 and Goodridge RR Lines - these really came in handy since my car was rusty and the stock lines were... well I think hard to remove would have been an understatement)

This is nearly a full bolt in modification, which is excellent. The only thing that I had to modify were the dust shields to clear the calipers. 

And here are some more pictures...

New vs Old Rotor

New vs Old Caliper (and Line)

The Finished Product. 

Did some work on the Lighting Blue Viggen

Today was my first day actually working on the Viggen since fall... I figured I would have worked on it more this winter, but that I never happened. I figured I'd install the fuel pump today (Jay Racing 340LPH pump -- found here: http://www.jayracing.com/fuel-pumps-c-2_5/jay-racing-pro-series-342-fuel-pump-pt342-340-lph-high-pressure-p-2619.html) but that didn't go so well. When I started digging into it I found that my gas tank straps are rusted out, and in need of replacement. So instead of taking the tank out and leaving it sit on the ground while I'm waiting for the new tank straps (and fuel filter that I should have ordered before) to come in I'd leave that all in.

This past weekend I ordered new front and rear brakes (stock size front - 308MM and 9-5 Aero rear 300MM with new calipers) since my brakes were shot. I had some time, unfortunately haven't received either my brake rotors/pads [O'Reillys], calipers [O'Reillys special order] or hoses [Genuinesaab.com], so I figured I'd start taking the rear brakes apart. I'm very happy I ordered calipers off the bat. The rear calipers are trashed, and the rear brakes are more than ready for replacement.

While I was under the car I found some rust... This bothers me, and it doesn't. This car is my Viggen "restoration" project, however I didn't realize how much rust it had when I bought it... Luckily I have it and I'll be able to rescue another Saab... Plus it'll make a good track car that I won't be worried about being "perfect".

Now I'm at a standstill on the project waiting for parts. This seems to always happen. At least I can complete my Windows 7 reinstall with Saab WIS and EPC on my garage computer...

And for some pictures of the fun, and carnage.

I feel like this Lightning Blue Viggen loves jack stands... lol

The rust... 

The Doctor is In!

Well, I guess I may as well introduce myself, state my intentions with this blog, and go from there...

I'm Joe Reichard, a gear head and Saab owner in WI. I've been a gear head all my life, and a Saab owner for 8 years. Prior to that I owned a bunch of different cars, however I've never enjoyed working on any of them as much as our Saabs. My wife, Kristie, and I have owned 8 Saabs. Prior to that I had owned 27 other vehicles, mainly Fords (and a bunch of Mustangs).

Why Saabs?
Well, I like qwerky things. Things that other people don't have, or understand. Saabs fit that build. I also like figuring things out, which I've done a good job with.

How did you become the doctor??
Ok, well that's a name that I received after rebuilding a Saab engine (with the help of a good friend of mine, the Turtle), and through many other various Saab repairs... And just knowing what's going on with a lot of cars and being able to help folks. Cool fact, I also have the license plate. :)

So, Joe now we know all about you... What are you doing here??
Well, I've made this blog for a few different things... First off to chronicle my builds, rebuilds, restorations, etc... This way I can have everything in one spot, that makes it easier to find, and easier for me to remember and people to read. Currently I'm doing a restoration on a 1984 Saab 900 Turbo Coupe (manual trans), and bringing a 1999 Saab 9-3 Viggen Coupe back to life. -- Ok, it wasn't ever dead, but bringing it back to... as much glory as possible, as well as prepping it for SCCA AutoCross and some track time. Second hopefully I can put up some tutorials on how to repair certain things on these cars to help newbies learn, and help keep as many on the roads as possible.

Frequency? Are you going to post all of the time?
Well, I'm really not sure how often I'll be posting. Hopefully every week or two. The thing to remember is that I haven't really blogged since MySpace was a thing. I had a blog on there -- realistically it sucked. It was about love, life, school, work... You know, all that boring stuff that no one really wants to read about anyways, and the people that were reading it were the ones that knew about it anyways. So, hopefully this can be more entertaining, fun, and useful!

Well, I'm jumping head first back into blogging, here goes nothing!

Saab On!