Oil Light intermittent / AT Shifting - solenoid? / Oil Leak - re-torque?

Hi all,



1^st off, thanks for all the help thru great write ups and diagrams. I did a turbo upgrade, cleaned the sump and oil pick up screen. Also replaced engine mounts, alternator, O2 sensors, belt tensioner, valve cover gasket, chain upper guide, oil pump gasket and O-ring (there was no leak there. Turns out that is the cylinder head).



Looking for some help with several issues on my 2002 9-5 Linear, automatic transmission.

I have 140 K miles on it. Bought it used with, I think 50 K miles in 2005.



The current issues are :

- OIL LIGHT comes on intermittently. Oil level is fine. I live up a steep hill and it started coming on after driving up, stopping and reversing into my driveway. It just flashes on and then off again as soon as I apply even a tiny amount of gas. On/off, on/off and so on. I shut the engine off and the next morning, or even a little later I can drive without the light coming on.
- I recently started using Rotella T6 (full synthetic 5W-40). It occurs to me maybe it was the new filter? But I used a Bosch. Nah, couldn’t be that, could it?

- A local shop mentioned that they had a customer with a similar issue and they tried various things. Finally switched oil to a 10W-40 and the issue stopped. I have a hard time believing that but will try it.

- Has anyone experienced something similar?



- AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTING problem : when the engine is warm, it sometimes takes a long time to change from Drive to Reverse and back, and sometimes it slams into gear really loudly. Also, when driving uphill on windy roads the gears seem to switch and pause and slam up and down.

- The local shop owner told me that a solenoid that GM engineers decided to put inside the transmission gets too hot and fails. This causes false readings and the gears slam around. He also said that by removing the battery and battery mount its possible to access the transmission plate that needs to be removed in order to replace that solenoid.

- Is this correct, does it sound like the problem and are there any pics / diagrams available?



- OIL LEAK at CYLINDER HEAD : The bolts were re-torqued a few years ago but not replaced. I believe the original bolts are still in there.

- Can I re-torque those again, or do they have to be replaced with new stretch or standard bolts?


- FUEL EFFICIENCY : After replacing O2 sensors, DIC, plugs, cleaning sump, oil change, the usual, fuel efficiency jumped from around 21 to 31 mpg highway (on cruise control), and about 18+ commuting (I live up a steep big hill).

- After degreasing engine passenger side at a carwash (using low pressure degrease setting, and trying to be as careful as possible not to degrease anything that shouldn’t be) to find the location of the oil leak, fuel efficiency dropped way down and the engine ran rough until I took it on a longer drive. After that it seemed to get better, but still not nearly what it was (commuting about 15 instead of 18).
- The oil light issue also started after this.

- Any ideas at all?



The OIL LIGHT issue is worrying me a whole lot.

The AT SHIFTING issue is driving me insane.

The OIL LEAK is causing bushings to degrade (and who knows what else), and staining my driveway.

The FUEL EFFICIENCY issue is making me want to swap the car for something else.



I know these are a lot of issues, and if asked to, I will split them up into separate threads.



Looking forward to fixing these things! [FONT=Wingdings][FONT=Wingdings]J[/FONT][/FONT] Thanks!

Oil light: If you know your sump is clean, and your oil sensor is ok then you likely have some bad bearings.
Re-torque the head: No, that is not going to solve anything. Only some 01's had that issue.
Gear box: Yes as to defective solenoids. Several write up here and on Saab Central. Not a hard repair parts not cheap.

Your priority should be the oil light.

Thanks Mike, and yes, the oil light is priority.

Correction : I replaced the passenger side crankshaft seal and O-ring (not sure if thats the same as the oil pump seal and O-ring).

The sump should still be clean and I used a dart to punch slightly larger holes in the pick up screen after thoroughly cleaning it (spoke with the local shop guys about that beforehand). Replaced O-ring seals on the oil pick up tube as well.

Oil pressure sensor was leaking and has been replaced (I let the shop do that since I didnt have the time they described and gave me a horror scenario if that failed ie blew out while driving on the freeway).

"Bad bearings" - which ones are you referring to? There is a definite rattle in the morning on cold starts. It has been getting worse but goes away after a few minutes.

I read in another thread somewhere in the first 5 pages of posts, which I cant find again, about a "death rattle" and pictures of opened pulleys showing bad bearings. I cant pinpoint the sound of the rattle / clacking, but its definitely coming from the passenger side of the engine.

The local shop said "its the belt tensioner". Replaced it and the pulley. Rattle is still there, and I couldn't see that there was any significant difference in movement on the tensioner (btw I have a good used tensioner on hand). Then they said it might be the oil pump or water pump. But they also said the oil leak was from the crankshaft seal and it was perfectly dry when I took everything out. I had already bought the parts so replaced it anyway. Not a bad thing b/c the O-ring was pretty brittle.

So, if its a pulley with bad bearings, which one? If not a pulley, what bearings do you mean?

Thanks!

Hi, there are rod and main bearings, which control oil flow. When they get worn out, they cause the oil pressure to lower. Here is a link I found on the procedure.
HowTo: Replace Main and Rod Bearings w/ Engine IN the Car - The Saab Link Forums

Unfortunately if the oil light is still flickering and the sender is good then I am talking about the bearings at the bottom of the piston rods. That by itself is not that hard to repair but it usually means there will be other issues in there as well. If that is what it is then it is often fatal. PM Burnside. He may be able to help you pinpoint the noise, but with the flickering oil light I think he will tell you the same thing. You might want to seek out a Saab specialist out there where you live.

Sounds like Mike is on this - seek a local SAAB SPECIALIST and take it to him for an hour diagnosis.

Yikes. I hope its not bearings... or rather the crank isn't shot.
OK I have a local shop that does nothing but Saab's. I've lost a little faith in them. Anyone have a suggestion as to shop? I'm in the Berkeley / Oakland, CA area.

If it is the tensioner the noise will be gone if you remove the belt and start it. Thus you have it arrowed to external or inside the motor.