SAAB people where are you?

Well after spending most of my labor day searching through (mostly) old, dead, and non helpful SAAB fourms I've came to GRM (is anyone really surprised?) for help with making my new DD drivable again.

Info on how it came back to me here http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/grm-i-need-your-help/51744/page1/

Parts sites that i do know about; E europarts, Pelican parts, State of Nine, And Good old Rock auto Anyone have any more sites input?

Are 99-09 9-5's parts like legos?

Anyone have any more info they would like to pass down?

First of all, if the oil looks as bad as you say, get ready for a headache. 99-05 9-5s (and 2.3 9-3s) were notorious for oil sludge problems stemming from the factory's dino oil recommendation, and subsequently owners that ignored the TSB on using synthetic oil only with strict 4k changes. If yours hasn't already eaten the turbo and developed a knock from the sludge, you MIGHT be able to save it by dropping the pan and doin a de-sludge. Eeuroparts is good, there is also genuinesaab.com, partsforsaabs.com, and a few others. The good forum (still active) is saabcentral.com, and they have a de-sludging DIY that is very helpful.

They are great, comfy cars that get great gas mileage - provided that care is taken to avoid sludge. You have a 50/50 shot, the way I look at it. I would buy a used DIC from saabcentral, do the de-sludge, and take it from there. Parts are all pretty interchangeable from a mechanical standpoint, but the facelifted cars have some different trim bits that may not work.

The only trans that you can get for it is a 5-speed. Considering that decent 9-5 Aeros sell pretty regularly for around $2-3k these days, a swap or any serious upgrades would be a waste, as you could just buy a better 9-5 for the price of a swap.

I loved my 9-5, it was a 5-speed that I paid $1200 for. See my reader's rides area for pics.

A little more info is due i suppose,

Now this car was bought a day after the wedding in 08 from a saab dealer and I've only been using synthetic from day 1 (there were records from the dealer that it was as well)

Now doing the alternator last friday (quite a motherberkeleyer BTW) i see oil filter that was on there was the last one i put on at least a year ago so when i get to work tomorrow that will be changed as will the fuel filter and hope to all hell it sat around more than it was used.

thesaabsite.com is another good resource for parts, and saablink.net has a fairly active forum.

Sludge is the main killer of 9-5's, as mentioned. If you know it has a history of being well maintained it may not be so bad, but definitely something worth considering.

I have had several of these cars. The 04 on 9-5 had an upgraded PCV system that makes sludge much less of a worry especially with synthetic oil. The site that I have found very useful for our SAABs has been Saabnet.com. they have a forum for each model and there are some very good Saab indys that will fill you in on problems and solutions. As with any forum search first before asking questions.

Hope this helps,

Chris

cdowd wrote: I have had several of these cars. The 04 on 9-5 had an upgraded PCV system that makes sludge much less of a worry especially with synthetic oil.

Chris is spot on and has reminded me that the aforementioned PCV system is available as a kit from almost all of the Saab parts sites for like $140. It takes an hour to install and is a good excuse to do all of your other hoses. Cheap insurance, it was the first thing I did to mine along with a few synthetic changes in quick succession.

FWIW everyone finally seems to agree that Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 is the right oil for 2.3 Saabs since it is a high detergent synthetic oil that exceeds all of Saab's reccomended specifications. It's pretty cheap by the gallon at Wal-Mart, too. You can run a larger PT Cruiser turbo oil filter (I think M1-209 is the Mobil part number) with no modification for some extra capacity and better filtration.

I agree with the Rotella T6 5/40. I have used that for over 150k in my 99 9-5. I sold the car last fall. orig turbo and every thing.

5k mile oil change interval recommended. These cars only hold 4 liters of oil.

hope this helps.

Chris

Thank you everyone for all the help thus far!!!!

Drove it to work today with no issues (aside from the CEL, NBD though i know whats up with that) and did the oil change.

While the oil was not sludgy or thick for that matter it was dark as diesel oil and did NOT smell of fuel (my old MS3 every oil change no matter what always did as did any other DI car ive done so far) and while i had time i also did the fuel filter witch was SURPRISE the bosh i put on there 4yr ago @65k.

Now where i work we have to crush all filters and in the process of crushing the fuel filter the gas that came out was nothing short of brown/black, if that is of any major worry really IDK.

In driving back home i also noticed that the CEL was out for now so im chalking that up as a minor win right now but i know it will come back sometime, BTW anyone have a Cassette cartridge they are willing to part with?

So this leaves only tires, window roller regulators, alignment, shocks/struts (<~not that major, yet) and i will have a DD thats good for another 94k hopefully

I've got an old but working DI cassette that I carried as a spare in my 9-5 that you can have for the cost of shipping. I've got some other parts left over as well, including a bunch of oil filters if I remember correctly, that I'll let go cheap. Email me if you're interested.

PM sent!

+1 on Saabnet, I was on that site a lot when we had a '00 Saab 9-3. All the advice here is what I would have given...

Everything that has been said so far is spot on. My 03 Aero just went over 170K and is running great. One thing I would add, and this is mostly anecdotal, but when I change the oil in the car every 5K miles I also clean and regap the plugs. I have done this with both my 9-3 and my 9-5 and have not had a DIC go out on me yet.

On a side note, I have a set of new front disks for your car if you are interested. I pulled a bonehead move and ordered the wrong ones for my car. The are Centric Premium with the painted hats and I will make a deal on them for you.

I agree with spark plug regap. I used to just replace them every 12k with new copper ones. The only cost like $6 for all 4. I believe they were bcpr6es, and only use NGK plugs. These cars do not like other brands of plugs.

Chris

Well this is kinda starting to turn in to a build thread (move if needed mods) but after 2 days of cleaning and 1gal of Skank out it is starting to look like a respectable car now.

The during pic, take a second and it will hit you.

And after Skank out

More progress to follow...

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Everything that has been said so far is spot on. My 03 Aero just went over 170K and is running great. One thing I would add, and this is mostly anecdotal, but when I change the oil in the car every 5K miles I also clean and regap the plugs. I have done this with both my 9-3 and my 9-5 and have not had a DIC go out on me yet. On a side note, I have a set of new front disks for your car if you are interested. I pulled a bonehead move and ordered the wrong ones for my car. The are Centric Premium with the painted hats and I will make a deal on them for you.

Give me a few weeks (no overtime the past 2 weeks so have to chill out a little) and ill get back with you!

What brand of Skankout do you use?

EXHD2012, works like a charm and smells of freedom and victory (kinda minty too)

JtspellS wrote:

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Everything that has been said so far is spot on. My 03 Aero just went over 170K and is running great. One thing I would add, and this is mostly anecdotal, but when I change the oil in the car every 5K miles I also clean and regap the plugs. I have done this with both my 9-3 and my 9-5 and have not had a DIC go out on me yet. On a side note, I have a set of new front disks for your car if you are interested. I pulled a bonehead move and ordered the wrong ones for my car. The are Centric Premium with the painted hats and I will make a deal on them for you.

Give me a few weeks (no overtime the past 2 weeks so have to chill out a little) and ill get back with you!

Take your time, they are not going anywhere.