toastedpickles Saab 9-5 2.3t SE build

So the first issue on the list was the leaking camshaft, so to remedy this, a simple plug was needed, ordered it from a local saab parts specialist, Fitzpatricks Hyundai in Kildare town Ironically enough! this is located on the right hand side of the rocker cover if anyone is interested

So the leaky area as it was



Clean the area with a towel and stick in the blanking plug



Job done!

Another rather serious issue that happens with them is the oil breathe system literally disintegrates away So the good ol boys and girls at Saab brought out various updates, the latest is called PCV#6 Or just a crankcase breather update whichever suits, how you can tell this is right is from the white lettering on some of the pipes, so I had a check!

Oh hi there white markings! the little pipe located at the top of the oil feeder or the brake fluid whichever way you look at it



Lets see if there's white writing



Hurrah! So there's one serious issue dealt with, hopefully at least, I need to scour this through with a fine tooth comb at some stage to be sure, don't take the white writing as gospel, it could be only half done

The next issue was to replace a fog light bulb, so to access the light cluster you need to unhinge a furry piece on the boot

And said furry piece




Just stick a 5/10 cent coin in the black bit and turn it a quarter ways anticlockwise, then pry it out using something suitable, i used the keys but it done the trick!

The cluster behind the furry piece



Take out the white plug and that's your fog light, change the bulb and hey presto!

While I was at it I decided to find the boot light, or lack of one in this case, after a bit of rooting i found it in the cieling over the boot, again pry this out with something although it takes a bit of effort, a think screwdriver would be a good bet if nothing else is around, so I should mention you should probably disconnect the battery at this stage as the lights stay on! but you can just pull the terminal off and that does the job too, so I replace the bulbs with super bright led's I was using as parking lights in my astra and here's what it looks like, it's pretty much the same when fitted too



During the following period the low oil pressure light came on, not a pleasant thing to be seeing on a car you just bought, so plans were put in place to investigate this further, car declared off the road until the foreseeable future and a sump drop planned to sort the problem

In the meantime I ordered some goodies........

Soooo, can ya guess what i started doing today??



It's the infamous sump drop!, So lets start by making sure that the car is more stable than most buildings, because the last thing you want is a few tonne of saab coming down on you, the parents would have an awful time cleaning the driveway :pac:

So I used, 2 axle stands, my own jack, 3 tyres, and a concrete block

These two little fellas were my best friends today

An 8 mil socket



and a 13 mil ratchet spanner



So to bidness! disconnect the negative terminal on the battery




And then drain the oil, to do this you need to remove an undertray which protects a few pipes and the like, so with your 8mm socket start taking it off, but saab were sneaky in that they put two of the fcukers in, so I've kindly pointed out which one it is



I should probably mention now, to absolutely drown the nuts and so on in plusgas or wd40, whichevers on hand, because some of them were pigs to get off even with it on them

So now you have all the nuts off, it should come off now right? wrong! theres one more nut in the wheel arch, again pointed out, get this out and then it comes off



And you have this left



While your at it take off the heat shield, undo a nut and gently pull it out

And heres what you have!



Now disconnect the o2 sensors, these are located at the back of the engine on a little bracket, there was three of them so disconnect what's there some models have two others one,



I made sure to number them as i disconnected them, so i'd remember which went into which



And yes i drew my 1 backwards

Anyways, next the front part of the exhaust needed to be removed and repositioned so I can actually get at the sump, again, utter pig of a job but we got there, again drown these nuts in wd40 or whatever you have, it may look like theres two at the manifold but one is hidden away under it so have a feel around first to locate them all

Start underneath the car and disconnect the mounts beside the sump



Then disconnect it at the manifold



And we're off!



Also loosened what bolts i could on the sump and the transmission cover, can't do much more till i get a spanner to take off the o2 sensors tomorrow, then it's full shteam ahead!

What an absolute fcuking hoor of a job to get this cnuty thing off



A lesson in <snip> mechanics!


I was using a filter remover to do the job, but the filter was on so tight it kept slipping, so what i done was got the largest socket i had and done this



Tightened it and loosened it accordingly and bit by bit it came loose


This is what greeted me, it's like someone had a dodgy curry or vindaloo and sh1t down the into the filter





and the new one



Came home from college the other night to work on the saab some more, and this greeted me



Queue lots of swearing and shivering!

Onto business

I had stopped at the o2 sensors, after some helpful advice from another individual from here i disconnected them at the bracket they were mounted on at the back on the engine simply pop them out and job done




And label them too so you remember

Once the sensors are free you have a bit of space to move the exhaust about, i took this under the car just to try give an idea



After this you can focus on the underside of the car, undo the flywheel housing shield



Use a 11mm spanner or socket to get the sheild off

And here's what you should see



After this start undoing the sump! There's 18 bolts in total, if the sump hasn't been dropped these will come away moderately easily, like mine did

While your at it undo the hose in picture, screwdriver does the job nicely



So carry on with your bolt removal! However saab being saab don't make this easy, there's 2 bolts which are complete and utter pigs to get at let alone remove, this is the worst of the two, to give you an idea I waited to do it in daylight because it was such an arse to get to



located right over the subframe and between the frame and the oil cooler on the other side this was the most difficult of them all, doable but time consuming, I managed to get a small ratchet in with a 13mm socket and took it out that way, so as it stands now the sump is off but it's wedged between the frame in the last picture and the flywheel, so with a little help from a few other people we're going to tackle that tomorrow night until it's sorted out and ready for friday

Sorry about the dark pictures but it's the only time i had to work on the car

Provided you have sump sealer, I used a saab sump sealant because these sumps are known to bubble up other sealants so better safe than sorry!

So stick that on just like in the picture, if you have it handy, also throw on some threadlock on the sump nuts, I kept these separate from eveything else to know they were the nuts, its the little things



Now you'd think now all i have to do it put it back up and tightnen the bolts right? WRONG!

To get the clearance, disconnect the gear mounts



Then disconnect the engine mount, jack up the engine on the auxiliary belt just enough to get the clearance, drop in the sump with a bit of persuasion, and do the entire process in reverse, no pics of the engine mounts and so on because it was about 1 in the morning and we just wanted it done at this stage. But if it wasn't for the help of the two other lads the car would still be on stands in my yard

So there's how you drop a sump!

Then two days of happy driving, then the sump nut decided to go for a walk, so ordered a new sump nut and fitted it, in the time that has been done I've turned up the turbo a little bit, so that the wastegate doesn't open as much allowing for the gasses to spool the turbo up that bit more, huge difference! Heading over to noobtune thanks to natniff for the website on that looking at £80 for a remap and gaining a shocking amount of power, going from 185bhp and 280nm torque to 235bhp and 380nm or torque, the thing is going to be pulling more than hugh hefner on a night out Investing in some new pads while im at it because i like to be that bit safe

And now were up to date!

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Sweet Saab, Toasted!

Thanks! A bit to go yet but that's the work so far

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Had a good look at her yesterday, she is a beautiful couch car

It is a mighty couch :pac:

SleeperService wrote: »

Sorry to hijack, interested in your wastegate adjusting. Is that a fairly subtle adjustment? Just gets into boost quicker/more often? My own (Subaru) is fairly allergic/lazy about boost - similar kinda tune to the saab I suppose - sensible/relaxed rather than aggressive/sporty.

Ah yeah its handy enough, i think you turn the wastegate nut in three turns towards the wastegate itself, ive noticed a change, theres no lag or judders in the corners, and it powers out of it fairly well too, so it's worth trying

It's the little things :rolleyes:




Also discovered I have footwell lights that don't work, so once i get some leds, I'm changing the whole outfit