A puff o' smoke

[Saabhat93]

I noticed this a while back, but really didn't think much of it, but recently it's started to eat at me again and I'm trying to figure out what it is.

When I start up my 900 I get a quick puff of blue smoke from the tailpipe. Definitely happens when cold, not sure if it happens when it's warm or not, I can't remember.

Are we looking at a bad turbo, leaky rings, or...? Every once in a while when I start from cold it fumbles around a bit (2-5 seconds) trying to figure out what's going on then settles down. I feel like I'm waking it up from a nice dream and it's telling me it wants to go back to sleep. Five more minutes!

Also getting a horrible mid pitch whine during boost only in 5th gear. 3rd has a nice higher pitched whine between 2-3k rpms, but 2nd and 4th are fine. Pinion? Or is this related to the smoke? Turbo bearings?

[peva]

I think your turbo may have leaky seals. What type do you have? Mitsu or Garrett, and what number? All turbos whine to some extent. It depends how bad yours is. It may be time for a DIY turbo rebuild with new bushes and seals. This is no big deal. In my experience both the Mitsu and Garret turbos fitted to the Saab won't let you down, but just get smokier. Keep you eye on it and report back.