[fetchitfido]

Yeah..not really related but didn't want to start 2 threads on 'em.

My headliner fell in only the back section (behind sunroof) so I'm in the process of removing it. The author of walkthrough I'm using (here) either doesn't know WTF s/he's talking about, I'm not understanding, or my 900 is to new for that rather nice write up to be of full use.
The problem: I got the C-Piller out and cleaned up easy (walkthrough made it seem hard...crazy). The headliner is another story. The B-Pillars are 1 full thing from the roof edge to 1/2 to the floor (walkthrough implies it's 2 pieces), and they wrap around the inside of the door weather striping. How do I get it off/out?? (link to a more applicable walktrough maybe?)
Once all 3 pieces are out I'm planning on priming with a sandable primer, then I'll paint 'em a flat black.

The AMM question I've got is, would removing 1 of the 2 "grills" somehow make the engine run better? It might have been the cooler air last night (thinking about it as I type this)...but the boost guage stayed near the edge of the yellow/red instead of going to there then reducing to about 1/2 yellow like it has any time before.
I only removed one grill because I'm not sure the quality left in the air filter, so I left the one on that end in. I figured it'd be a cheap mod, but didn't think removing only one would do anything noticable.

 

[Albert Trout]

There are fair few people who remove both the grills of the AMM as they reckon it improves airflow. Not convinced it would make any difference to performance myself and as a bit of a clumsy fellow it's not worth the danger of me dropping something in there and breaking it.

 

[VikingSpirit]

About the headliner, first off I'm asuming you have a 2 or 3 door car. If you have a 4 or 5 door then I'm not sure how much of the follow applies.

On two and three doors the B pillars stretch from the headliner to 1/2 way down the door, made of black vynil with a moulded in handle. Each one has 3 fixings. The most obvious is the Seat belt mouting, use a screwdriver to pop off the plastic cover and then use a 17mm spanner to undo the bolt underneath it. The other two fixings are chemically blackened screws top and bottom. They will either have a phillips or a torx head to them depending on how old your car is (I'm guessing torx)

Once you have the C and B pillars off (and all the stuff attached through the headliner like the rear view mirror, grab handles and hooks etc) you can drop the back of the headliner down and slide it backwards away from the A pillars. On hatchbacks it should go out through the back, on 2 doors you can take it out through the passenger door if you remove the passenger seat. On 4 door saloons I have a feeling you might have to remove the rear window though.

One final tip is its handy to have a helper to remove the board from the car, cos its quite big and cumbersome and most of all fragile, especially if you have a sunroof. Two people provides a bit more support.

 

[KR900]

B-pillar trim removal

The B-Pillars are 1 full thing from the roof edge to 1/2 to the floor (walkthrough implies it's 2 pieces), and they wrap around the inside of the door weather striping. How do I get it off/out??

I just did this like 2 weeks ago. I used this site to guide me through removal and the rest. I also did some write-up on my blog, though I didn't specifically mention B-pillar removal.

In any case, after you've removed the seatbelt upper guides, the B-pillar trim of a 3-door 900 is held on by 2 upholstery clips which are essentially plastic pins with flexible ribs, which slide into a plastic retainer. One pin is near the top, and the other pin is near the bottom.

The pin is attached to the B-pillar by its head fitting into a slot which is open on the top. So IF you could slide the B-pillar trim straight down, it would come off easily. But you can't slide it straight down because it is held up on the bottom by the rear seat trim panel at the bottom of the rear-side window.

So, the way to remove it is to pull the bottom of the B-pillar trim straight toward the center of the car. You'll have to pull very hard. On my car, the passenger side came out properly, but the driver side was more difficult. In any case, after you get the bottom of the trim clear of interference, you can slide the trim piece straight town to release the top.

Now I wish I'd taken photos of this... Good luck.

 

[VikingSpirit]

Ah ok, they obviously changed the fittings for later models, both my cars were pre '88 and just had screws...

 

[fetchitfido]

SWEET! I'm not going insane and my 900's not a 1-off

Other then the clear tape 'round the sunroof the headliner's ready to drop/pull out.

I found that walkthrough too, but it doesn't mention having to remove part of the weather stripping (That I saw on a quick glance through). I felt I had to do that to not rip anything. Now to wait for my mom to get home for lunch and I'll get it out and painted.

Should have bondo'd or something the C-Pillar things, the spray paint I've got sticks..but it's not the smooth look I wanted.

 

[TheRedBaron]

I think someone in denmark or sweden put the AMM on some sort of flowmeter and found that removing the grilles does help flow more than just a little bit.

 

[TooMany2cvs]

I think someone in denmark or sweden put the AMM on some sort of flowmeter and found that removing the grilles does help flow more than just a little bit.

Surely if there's a benefit from removing the grilles from the AMM, then the AMM is too small and restrictive, and replacement with a larger one would be a smarter move?

 

[TheRedBaron]

Surely if there's a benefit from removing the grilles from the AMM, then the AMM is too small and restrictive, and replacement with a larger one would be a smarter move?

Well, you'd have to reprogram for a different one, to get the same readings, right?

Have a look at this epic AMM discussion, of particular interest I find allessence's discussion on the size of the turbo inlet pipe: http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101240&page=2&pp=20&highlight=air+mass

 

[TooMany2cvs]

Well, you'd have to reprogram for a different one, to get the same readings, right?

You make the existing one flow more air, and it's going to be out of synch anyway, isn't it?

 

[TheRedBaron]

You make the existing one flow more air, and it's going to be out of synch anyway, isn't it?

No - in that sense - it measures the air mass - removing the grilles just allows a greater mass of air to get through in the same amount of time (more flow), but that mass will still be measured. If a different, larger meter is used, the readings might be presented to the computer in a different way, I'm not sure what is out there made by bosch and if anything would logistically work.

The only real concern is that the grilles are there to make the airflow across the sensor more uniform and disrupt the natural 'swirling' of the air that goes on in the intake. This is supposed to make the sensor more accurate and precise, and removing the grilles may have a slight adverse effect on this. Personally I've done this to more than one AMM fitted to my car, and have experienced no noticable problems.

 

[fetchitfido]

So it's not crazy to think removing one grill did something? Thats cool, sure seemed like it did. Haven't driven it since, did the headliner today so its too torn apart for my liking to drive.

Might take the 2nd one off once I replace the current brown air filter with SAAB written on it with something that says K&N.


Definatly should have waited for a 2nd person to take the headliner out, it got slightly mangled with just me attempting to slide out the back while holding it. Anyway to use a fiberglass repair kit to fix it? Maybe a thin piece of wood and duct tape?...lol I don't wanna go find another one...
Its cracked 80-90% through on both sides of the sunroof hole, just after/before the main rear section.