Big rubber part hanging from middle of NG900 bulkhead?

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Captain Poutine - 08 Jun 2007 01:59 GMT

Just noticed a huge chunk of rubber hangs from the exact center of the
bulkhead in my NG900 in the engine compartment. It looks like a black
elephant snout. What is it?

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still me - 08 Jun 2007 13:11 GMT

>Just noticed a huge chunk of rubber hangs from the exact center of the
>bulkhead in my NG900 in the engine compartment. It looks like a black
>elephant snout. What is it?

Like the elephant snout, it's for air intake.

It's likely full of junk if you have not cleaned it and live near
trees. Are you a new NG900 owner? If so, I can post some tips on
things you need to know.

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Captain Poutine - 08 Jun 2007 13:43 GMT

>> Just noticed a huge chunk of rubber hangs from the exact center of the
>> bulkhead in my NG900 in the engine compartment. It looks like a black
>> elephant snout. What is it?
>
> Like the elephant snout, it's for air intake.

But for what? I thought the engine (turbo) got air from the front, sort
of near the fog lights, and the passenger cabin intake was up in the
black plastic just under the windshield.

> It's likely full of junk if you have not cleaned it and live near
> trees.

Yep; it looked kind of split and there was definitely some foliage there.

> Are you a new NG900 owner?
> If so, I can post some tips on
> things you need to know.

I've had mine a few years, actually, but always like to learn. I'm kind
of clumsy and don't do much mechanical stuff myself. I do get the
engine and cabin air filters changed regularly.

Thanks!

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Fred W - 08 Jun 2007 16:17 GMT

>>Just noticed a huge chunk of rubber hangs from the exact center of the
>>bulkhead in my NG900 in the engine compartment. It looks like a black
>>elephant snout. What is it?
>
> Like the elephant snout, it's for air intake.

No, it's not. It's for condensate output.

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-Fred W

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Andrew Sinclair - 08 Jun 2007 20:18 GMT

>>>Just noticed a huge chunk of rubber hangs from the exact center of
>>>the bulkhead in my NG900 in the engine compartment. It looks like a
>>>black elephant snout. What is it?
>> Like the elephant snout, it's for air intake.
>
>No, it's not. It's for condensate output.

Close, the elephants trunk (as it is known) is to drain rain water from
the compartment behind the bulkhead where the cabin ventilation
fan/blower and windscreen wiper motor lives., I think the condensate
drains from the AC come down behind the front wheels (my NG900's air
conditioning is the soft top opening switch so I may be wrong on
this...).

This compartment gets filled up with leaves and other debris which then
rots down and makes the ventilation system smelly and it is certainly a
good exercise to clean it out once a year. To access, remove the
windscreen wiper arms (prise out the cap and un-bolt taking note of the
position of the wipers on the windscreen). The plastic trim panel
between the bulkhead and the windscreen comes away by removing the thick
rubber seal that runs across the top (just pulls away) then you can
fiddle the plastic panel out, it's pretty obvious looking at it what you
have to do. The elephants trunk can be pulled out and cleaned as can the
rest of the compartment then, once clean, remove the ventilation intake
filter (left hand side of the compartment looking in from the front) and
either replace it (not expensive) or some people report putting it
through a dishwasher works - can't vouch for that. Whilst the filter is
off, make sure nothing falls into the intake as it will rattle around
inside the fan unit and drive you mad...

Reassemble in reverse order in the great traditions of the Haynes
manual.

Andy

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Andrew Sinclair http://www.smellycat.org

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Captain Poutine - 09 Jun 2007 03:46 GMT

> Close, the elephants trunk (as it is known) is to drain rain water from
> the compartment behind the bulkhead where the cabin ventilation
> fan/blower and windscreen wiper motor lives., I think the condensate
> drains from the AC come down behind the front wheels (my NG900's air
> conditioning is the soft top opening switch so I may be wrong on this...).

<snip>

> Reassemble in reverse order in the great traditions of the Haynes manual.
>
> Andy

Thanks, Andy.

But before I saw your reply, I was hoping this morning that it was an
air intake, as the engine coughed and smoked to life as if choked for
air. I was hoping that poking the snout and rearranging the debris
(before starting this thread) was the cause, but apparently not.

It ran fine after a minute or so, but time will tell. It's definitely
not normal for this car.

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Andrew Sinclair - 09 Jun 2007 08:07 GMT

>> Close, the elephants trunk (as it is known) is to drain rain water
>>from the compartment behind the bulkhead where the cabin ventilation
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>It ran fine after a minute or so, but time will tell. It's definitely
>not normal for this car.

Just a coincidence I'm afraid.

Idle Air Control Valve needs cleaning perhaps, gets gummed up over time
and could have stuck in the wrong position making the fuel air mix all
wrong. Unless you know about it, it tends to get missed during the
routine servicing. That's an easy job to do before you start worrying
about other components.

Easy to follow instructions here;

http://pages.infinit.net/mlbriand/saab/iac/page1.html

Whilst you are in the region of the IAC, give the throttle body a clean
(instructions on the same page) and check all the vac lines as these
often perish and lead to air leaks which will also cause poor running.

Andy

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Andrew Sinclair http://www.smellycat.org

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Fred W - 08 Jun 2007 16:15 GMT

> Just noticed a huge chunk of rubber hangs from the exact center of the
> bulkhead in my NG900 in the engine compartment. It looks like a black
> elephant snout. What is it?

Drain hose from AC evaporator

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-Fred W

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