Cheap SAAB throws a curveball :(

Dup

Dup

Dup

Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2006
Posts
11,481
Location
East Lancs
So, I thought we got a bargain for the next 12 months at least. Back in December we bought a £1000 1999 SAAB 9-5 estate with full specialist/dealer history but a steep (to most) 156k miles.

It sailed through it's MOT in February and other than it constantly thinking the brake lights don't work (they do) it's been flawless. Well, that is until we started to smell fumes in the cabin then realised the crankcase breather had perished and gone really soft. After a trip round some forums it turns out these engines have had new PCV breather/oil catch kits and have had 6 revisions. In 156k miles, our 9-5 had the original. £70 from a dealer later and I have this fitted.

Now the car is emitting a really ill sounding constant whine:

After a quick search around finds these engines are prone to oil sludge problems which can eventually block the oil strainer in the sump. This whine is supposed to be the oil pump struggling away (not revs dependent) and it goes away once the oil is warmer and thinner.

Cost to fix this? 2.5 hours labor + oil and filter to remove and clean the sump. I'm contemplating doing this myself but apparently the subframe is in the way and you need to wiggle the engine to get it free which I'm not comfortable with.

Here's a pic of someone elses filthy sump:

Cooked_by_exhaust.jpg


Strainer_slightly_blocked.jpg


Hopefully ours is cleanable and there's no other blockages being formed. After 156k with not sump cleans in the history, im a bit wary now but if you have a Petrol SAAB It' worth getting this looked into I think.
 
Sounds like a bit of a pain. Hopefully it'll be as you've as described and there are no hidden nasties when it's looked at.
 
I'd try and do it myself? Can you not drop the subframe slightly and jack the engine up slightly? Done it several times with a friends clio. Alternatively someone on a saab forum might offer a cheap hand.
 
Dup - I've added you to MSN mate - I've just replaced the clutch on my 9-3 which involved removing the subframe, so hopefully I can help.
 
-westy- said:
Dup - I've added you to MSN mate - I've just replaced the clutch on my 9-3 which involved removing the subframe, so hopefully I can help.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's a piece of pie to do it...


...actually doing the sump shouldn't be too big a deal, unless it involves gearbox removal. :p
 
A big bar can easily sort them out. :)

The only real problem -westy- and I had when sorting out his 9-3 was that he mullered the end of the driveshaft. :p

That and we didn't exactly torque up the subframe... :p
 
A blocked oil pickup is exactly what caused me to breakdown at the Nurburgring, took the VW guy 6 hours to change my pickup, much like yours my subframe is in the way!
 
This is common practice for those who own a trionic 7 based Saab. (engine no.s B205 and B235, 1999-->2003 normally on cars with Black DI cassette). The older Trionic 5 engine cars dont suffer from this problem, nor do the older bosch/lucas FI. The later Trionic 7 and 8 models came with the updated pcv system to avoid this issue.

Hope yours does not look as bad as this one here which only had 46k - 9-3 Sump Drop
 
saabs are not what they once were in the 80's, I had fond memories of those cars. Frankly I wouldn't touch later ones with a 20 foot barge pole!
 
hmm what merc190 said tbh. I'm always tempted by saabs but sadly they don't seem to be the cars they once were..
 
The help would be cool. No new invites popped up. Maybe you're already on.

The car aint mine, it's Amandas (girlfriend) and when I mentioned it could be a pig to get the sump out of position she backed down on buying me the tools to do it rather than paying SAAB to do it. Always used other peoples tools but I realised when fitting the PCV kit that they don't always have the right ones (the oil trap is in the worst position ever behind a manifold brace and above the alternator).

It might be that I drop the sump every service I do on it from now on but because the cars done 156k before we bought it, I'd rather SAAB look at it and have it there in case they find any other nasties like the URL posted above with uber gunk as I'd not wanna get into stripping it down myself regardless of how much they'll rape my wallet for it. The technique I've seen is to loosen it all off and then jack the engine by the gearbox to wobble it off.


Anyway, It's great that Amanda loves the car. Having a 22 year old girlfriend with a SAAB estate is pretty funny. She gets some great looks and she's nicknamed it Beasty. After the sump clean up we're gonna fit a tow bar for epic horsepower gains :D
 
Its a pity the later engines suffered from this, otherwise they are strong units and go forever provided the usual turbo precautions are taken re warming up and cooling down and that a good quality synthetic oil is used - also good for the timing chain.

Also a pity that the cars are no longer what they used to be. I had a 9-3 that I bought on a whim. It was a crummy car in most respects but for some reason it was my favourite car, I cannot say why but I did really enjoy it. I think a lot of it was the powerful engine in a chassis which wasn't up to it. Wheelspin and torque steer at any speed!?

Don't get me started on the stupid window switches in the wrong place without "one touch up", the key in the wrong place, having to leave it in reverse (I am used to 1st!), bad handling, electric aerial which looks and sounds naff, and constantly breaks. Bulkheads going crack! Indicators that dont self cancel properly, heater controls breaking, the list goes on.

But I still loved the car!
 
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Well, £220 at a SAAB main dealer and the issue has been sorted. They even picked up the car then dropped it back off the same day from Amandas workplace (secure unit) totalling at least 20 miles and also replaced the rear bulbs, all for free. Very good service I must admit and the guys there knew what they were talking about and were confident about it. Will probably use the mfor servicing if I can't be bothered to do it myself.
 
That's a pity really- the reputation of Saab seems to have just gone down the drain over the last decade.

I've thought about having a Saab estate but just the sheer number of complaints like this and cars being sold as spares/repairs that have recently had thousends spent on them put me off.
 
glad you got it sorted, £220 isn't really all that much, especially considering the excellent service you got :)

mattpc said:
That's a pity really- the reputation of Saab seems to have just gone down the drain over the last decade.

I've thought about having a Saab estate but just the sheer number of complaints like this and cars being sold as spares/repairs that have recently had thousends spent on them put me off.
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the thing is you can get them for peanuts now.
buy a 9-5 for no more than £2k, keeping a bit for repairs. it's a lot of car for the money.

i agree though, the last decent saab was the 9000
don't build 'em like they used to :(
 
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