New Member

[Jcgonzal]

Hello everyone, brand new to the forum AND to Saab ownership. Been scouring the forum trying to soak up as much info as possible. My new (to me) ride is a 2006 9-5 Aero wagon with 116K miles. It drives pretty well, has some body damage in the front left, and will have to do some suspension work eventually but it’s an A to B commuter car. The biggest problem is a decent oil leak that I’ll need to track down; haven’t had much time to look into it yet. I’ve already replaced the DIC, new hood struts, and have NGK plugs to go in. Also just purchased from Eeuroparts:



Anyways, just wanted to say hey and hope to learn much more about this sweet little wagon of mine!

[GeoffR]

Welcome.
Nice looking car, Parchment Silver?
Oil leaks from the oil pressure switch are very common, it isn't easy to change either as it is on the back of the engine.

[Jcgonzal]

That’s a great question on the color...I was going to look up the color code for touch up paint. And that’s a bit disappointing about the switch, but I’m up for a challenge [emoji41] it sure seems like it’s coming from the right side/back of the engine.

[Dave T]

The car is depending on you! Feed it well and it will reward you as a once (or twice) in a lifetime experience of driving a Saab. Glad you didn't miss the opportunity!

[Jcgonzal]

Just placed order #2. Still haven’t had time to look into the oil leak, but given the suggestion and how cheap it is I ordered the oil pressure switch just in case.

[Mjollnir81]

I just did the oil switch yesterday on mine. It was definitely leaking.

Mine was a bit of a hassle but not the worst I’ve ever done with a car.

You’ll need a stubby 21mm for the new switch but my old switch was 24mm

I bought a 7/8 O2 socket that was a little loose on the new one ( 5 hundredths of an inch) but it did the job.

My biggest hassle was the starter. The + battery cable is daisy chained to the starter and the alternator. I RECOMMEND removing the 12mm nut from both the starter solenoid and the alternator and then pull the wire off the solenoid. It’s pretty tight.

One nut and one bolt hold on the starter. 17mm I believe. The bolt is on top and goes through the transmission. I used a really short socket on a break over bar to get it loose and then took it out buy hand. The nut on bottom is easily seen. Pull out starter and push it back up to the driver side firewall. Don’t mess with the small wire. Then you will see the sensor


I the clip was a massive bitch for me as I could get two hands around the cat and up to the switch. A really long flat head screw driver (thin like a cabinet tip) is what did it for me.

Snug the new one up tight and reverse these instructions.

Good luck.

[Jcgonzal]

I just did the oil switch yesterday on mine. It was definitely leaking.

Nice! Hoping to tackle it as soon as it comes in. Was yours leaking onto your exhaust? Whatever my leak is it’s dripping on the exhaust somewhere because I can smell it when I come to a stop. Trying to finish some other projects before pulling the Saab into the garage to start working on it.

[Mjollnir81]

Absolutely, it smelled horrible. Like rubber burning. I could have more leaks but the smell has gone down tremendously

[BeardedFool]

Haven't had any experience with it but I've read that another infamous leak spot is where the head gasket (maybe valve cover gasket?) meets the timing chain (belt?) cover.
I too have a small oil leak but it hasn't been bad enough for me to tackle it just yet.

[Mjollnir81]

Haven't had any experience with it but I've read that another infamous leak spot is where the head gasket (maybe valve cover gasket?) meets the timing chain (belt?) cover.
I too have a small oil leak but it hasn't been bad enough for me to tackle it just yet.

I’m sure there might be another on mine. The clamp on the turbo has oil drops on it. Could be the paper gasket, or the copper rings. I’m a bit hesitant to tackle that for fear of stripping bolts.