I got a 07 Wagon. It came with the cold start issues. Research said it is a known issue with the intake valves cupping and loosing there seal to the head. I was at the local SAAB dealer and discussed it with them and they had sample valves that showed the problem.
So my question has anyone pulled a head on one of these? Any pit falls I should know about. The repair is just replacement of the valves with new that are properly lapped in. They don’t even recommend skimming the head due to these not having a lot of extra material on them. Just an R&R.
I did the head on a 91 900.. It was not a difficult job that car except the all but inaccessible bolts on the timing cover that face the firewall. Your 9-3 should not have that issue
cdowd
Dork
8/17/18 9:39 a.m.
might be more than you want to spend but, they have the everything complete at EEuro for around 850.00
9-3 head
cdowd said:
might be more than you want to spend but, they have the everything complete at EEuro for around 850.00
9-3 head
Except that if you read the fine print it sais
"Not in stock and no expected arrival date has been set.
[ Save ] to a project to receive an email when the item is in stock."
I actually think it would be a good deal
cdowd
Dork
8/17/18 2:23 p.m.
Sorry, I did not notice that. I saw it on their site when I was buying parts a few months ago.
They are kind of local. I may call them and see if they would reman my head and then send it back with all the stuff.
cdowd
Dork
8/17/18 2:37 p.m.
keep us up to date on how it goes. my wife 2010 9-3 has 110k miles. runs great but you never know. I think my mothers 2008 9-3 convertible is starting to show issues of this.
as a 'While you are in there". Might as well replace the chain guides
There are allot of while you are there ones with this.
For get about upgrades to parts for the moment. I am wondering how much there would be to gain from just cleaning up the intake and exaust ports in the head and a 5 angle valve job instead of just a simple valve replacement and lapping in the valves. Then there is port matching to the intake and the exhaust manifolds and to the turbo. The turbo could be ported as well.
As for parts the ones I will look at on top of the maintenance ones are if there are better head gaskets and should ARP studs be considered. These cars to me knowledge do not have a head gasket issue in stock form. Then again I don't think that they get messed with alot in terms of turning up the boost. If it added a couple hundred $$$$ for the head gasket and studs I would consider it. My plan is to repair for added boost even if I never actually add it and instead focus on better flow through the heads and intake to optimize the stock setup. The turbo looks to be easily replaced in this car. It is right on top behind the motor with the down pipe bolts being easily accessible from the top.
I watched a video last night that was a real time removal and reinstall of the head. It really looks like a job that is not all that bad. There is a fair amount of stuff to remove to get to the head but it all looks very accessible. The only thing that I can see as being a bit of a pain is a couple bolts under the turbo that look to be better accessed from underneath. I really think I could have this thing off in 3 + hours and the install taking maybe 4-5 hours. All this is predicated on no broken bolds / studs and what not so I would probably give my self a whole weekend to do it just so I would not have to rush the job.
as far as I know, the only 4 cylinder Saabs that had head gasket issues where the later 900 "2.1" engines as found in the 900S. They were a big bore engine and they did not have a lot of meat to clamp the gasket down properly. Gaskets would go every 100,000 miles or so.
