The Cracked Bulkhead
2 March 2007, 76,273
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hef went in for his service on the 19 February at Boroughbridge and for
the day I was riding around in a higher mileage 9-5 2·0t rather than the 9-3
TiD. Griffin Autotechnik carried out the
service and confirmed that the bulkhead has indeed cracked. They advised me to contact Nidd Vale Saab in
This I did and arranged to bring the car to them so that they could
inspect the bulkhead, the car's paperwork (specifically
the service history) and if necessary, talk to Saab to see how much of the
repair they would pay for.
I'm pleased to report that Nidd Vale came back to me inside a few hours
from inspecting the car and reported that Saab would pay for all of the
repair. The bulkhead was repaired at the
end of the month just before a trip to
After the repair the 9-3 feels different. Cruising on the motorway, there's no
difference but over roundabouts the car feels much better. Before, the steering effort was indirect, the
car lunged and wallowed both at the turn-in and during the corner. Applying too much power at the apex bought on
either unpredictable torque steer or wheelspin.
Following the surgery the car feels much more like it should. It's no handling champion by any stretch but
torque steer is very much reduced. The
steering is much more direct and if you give it too much power, it understeers whilst wheelspining the excess power away. Torque steer is reduced.
Otherwise, the car hasn't been especially economical. In recent tanks it has averaged between forty
five to fifty to the gallon, which compares with my overall fuel consumption of
just over fifty.
Comparing the diesel 9-3 with previous diesels, I see an enhanced but
familiar pattern: the car is thirstier in the winter months compared with the
summer. All engines (cars) are less efficient when cold (see this article)
for a variety of reasons. The TiD, like
other ECU-controlled diesels, is less efficient when cold thanks to changes in the
fuel delivery system. Winter diesel also
to be sootier and thirstier than summer diesel.
For the Saab, though, my suspicion is that what makes a big difference
is running the auxiliary fuel heater. In
the case of the 9-3, the impact of the air conditioning
compressor in the summer is less significant than the auxiliary fuel heater in
the winter.
It's perhaps a good job that most of our long trips are in the summer
then...