Episode 39 - 9-3 First Bow Ram Repair

In this episode, we'll repair the First Bow Ram taken out of a SAAB 9-3 Convertible.
The Ram was leaking hydraulic fluid from it's rear end!!!
Link to the O-Rings used:- www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141454937700 - select the BS014 ones

[@danielgarcia-xl9pw]

Gracias por subir este videob Ese tipo de videos vale oro ... el mismo problema tengo con mi capota y ahora ya se que la arreglare gracias a tu video💥💥👍🏻

[@DaveKitchener]

Cheers Frank. Brilliant job🤗

[@saabfeverfrank]

Thank you kindly, Dave!

[@alexandredionisio9280]

Greetings. Always Viton o-rings. When ever I see an o-ring, I change them to Viton.

[@saabfeverfrank]

That's actually a very good suggestion, I`ll try to make sure I do that in the future.

[@Explore-Gobal]

Nice, thank you.

[@MrViken-pc9sb]

thanks from sweden 🇸🇪👍

[@massimofrancavilla9577]

Great! A great video. What size o'ring did you put on the bottom? do you need to replace the o'rings on the fluid delivery and return pipes? if so, what size?

[@Paul-Maven]

These cylinders have a similar o-ring in the front end piston that's also made from the same material and likely has cracks and may start to leak (I disassembled several ones, and they had). The front piston is not so easy to secure so that it does not fall out. I am just out of curiosity decided to repair 4 cylinders from a friend’s 2004 Mercedes CLK320, and they have an absolutely similar design with the exception of the tip. And I haven't figured out how to reliably secure the front piston yet, but I have some ideas. Right now I'm waiting for the o-rings to be delivered; I decided to install fluorosilicone ones.

[@saabfeverfrank]

Thanks for the info, please keep us updated!

[@esakuenzler315]

Hi, What size were the Merc seals? How about the rod seal in the front? Would be nice to be able to order the seal before building the cylinder out.

[@Paul-Maven]

Update: for smaller cylinders, I used fluorosilicone seals #13 (100 pcs pack) and for larger ones - fluorosilicone #114 (25 pcs pack); both bought from amazon for about $20 for the each size. They are not 100% the same as the original ones, but seating well. I completely broke a part one of the cylinders just for a research and found than only 2 seal (for front and end pistons) had this cracking problem, and the rest of the seals were like new. I figure out a wat to assemble the cylinders: I carefully filed off a couple of millimeters in depth of the piston edges with a file, so that when installing the pistons, the cylinder body edges rose above the piston edge, and then I rolled them up with a small hammer (carefully hit the edge, deforming the metal). I don't know how reliable these cylinders will be after repair, but intuitively it looks reliable :) I'll try to add a short video to my channel where I'll show the gaskets and one finished cylinder.

[@saabfeverfrank]

@@Paul-Maven Thank you for sharing this info. Frank.

[@rosewaide3612]

oh my gawd I just love taht you fixed it💅🤗

[@saabfeverfrank]

Thank you Rose, it's nice to know I`m appreciated!

[@howyjones6797]

What size "0"ring please for first bow ram

[@saabfeverfrank]

I used 12.42mm ID by 1.78mm C/S ones listed in the description.

[@DaveKitchener]

Does it need bleeding Frank?

[@saabfeverfrank]

Thankfully, no. It'll bleed back to the reservoir, so you may need to top up depending on how much fluid was in there to start with. You'll need SAAB Power Steering fluid P/N 93160548