Saab 9-5 oil pan/sump drop to check for sludge

[mienkoiv]

Hey there nkrptd -

I have the exact same car as you. A 99 9-5 2.3. Mine is a manual though. You didn't specify if yours was. I've been looking into this and am very curious to see what my sump looks like. Did you just follow the instructions that Wulf gave? They look pretty thorough. I've heard that some models have hidden bolts underneath that you have to drill to. I was wondering if you ran into that problem? Shoot me back when you get a chance. Thanks.

Only Aero-models have these hidden bolts...

[snowhinkson]

hey guy's,i'm a new to the sit and just got my first saab about 6m ago. its a 2000 9-5 E 2.3L T, well i started to get this bad knock in the topend.i did a flush that did not help i'm using full syn 5w-30 i was going to check the sump next. help me to fix this please!!!!! if doinf the sump does not work what should i do next????????????

[solander]

Thanks Frank for the write up. I pulled the sump on my 2002 9.5 and found the screen was partially blocked. Refilled with Mobil 1. It was a straight forward job as you say with a few difficult bits, would help if we had universal wrists joints. I removed the middle exhaust bracket to swing the pipe a bit further to get the sump out, that helped. Feels good to have a look in there and know that it's now Ok. Thanks again.

[mienkoiv]

Hello from Finland!

This is very important thing to do especially with early Saab 9-5´s...so I´d like to share with you this link in Saab Club Finland

Saab-Klubi ry • katso viestiketjua - Näin avaat ja puhdistat öljypohjan OG9-5:ssa, kuvasarja

maybe there are some new tips (forcing gearbox to the side) with those pics for you, especially with cases where there is no extra room to get oilpan down...

[solander]

G'day mienkoiv, thanks for the photos. I hope I won't have to pull the sump again but any info added to Franks data helps us all.
Happy motoring.

[catalinmetal]

hello.
i am Catalin from Bucharest Romania, and proud owner of 2 Saabs: one 9-3 linear sedan 1.8i black, and one 9-5 aero sedan 2.3turbo red, and i love both of them.
the 9-3 is MY 2008, i bought it new, now has 80 k km, the 9-5 is MY 2004, and just bought it from a friend, now has 62 k km.

looking on this thread, it seems there was a certain issue with oil sludge accumulation for 9-5 2.3 petrol engines up to MY 2003. since mine is MY 2004, is there any real reason i should worry about checking the oil sump for nasty deposits, or since the 2004 the whole thing was updated by Saab and the isssue seems solved, oil maintenance at around 10 k km, and using only sinthetic oil (i have just changed the oil with Mobil 1 ESP formula 5W-30) will be enough as far as oil maintenance can go?

thanks very much.

[nordwulf]

Welcome Catalin, glad to see you found SaabWorld.

I am in the same situation as you. My 2004 9-5 was built in August 2003 so it is one of the first ones that is supposed to have all the sludge problems fixed with the latest PCV update. Last time I changed the oil, I used a metal wire shaped in the form of a small hook and scraped along the bottom of the oil sump though the drain hole. No deposits or other stuff came out so I am assuming mine should be ok. But it still isn't a definte test for the pickup screen.

I wonder if those inexpensive USB endoscopes will allow you to see the inside of the sump and pickup tube screen. I ordered one today so I'll report back next week and see if you'll be able to see the inside of the sump.

[catalinmetal]

ok Frank, thank you.
if anything useful turns out with that USB endoscope, please let me know.

[nordwulf]

These are the results with a small USB camera connected to a laptop. Not the greatest quality but you can sill see inside the sump pretty good. There isn't much room to move the camera around and I didn't want it to get stuck. Looking at the shiny, grey inside of the sump sides and oil pickup tube, I think there is no need to open it up.

I was hoping to see the pick-up screen but that's just too close to the bottom of the sump. I was hoping for a bit better images and video but still $20 well spent. It sure beats many hours in getting the sump off only to check and see that it is clean.

[Pocka]

Great article! helpend me greatly.

I purchased a 1998 Saab 9-5SE auto (156000 km) recently, with known sludge issues due to previous owners having used standard mineral oil...
Well I used your article and was able to remove the sump to perform a clean (it realy needed it). When I looked at the pickup pipe and filter I noticed that someone previosly had modified it. I think it looks like a very dodgy modification to me tho.. they have cross drilled a hole through the pickup pipe and also made numerous holes in the mesh.
I did clean the sump and put it back on to see if I could get the car going.

I also, took the top cover off to be sure and found that the 2 right, front most camshaft bearing caps where loose and a bolt had sheared off one cap. the previous owner said that the engine was making a lot of rattling noise so wanted to be sure before I tried to start it up. Lucky I checked!! Anyway I drilled out the sheared bolt and replaced it (not the one with the grove for oil thankfully), tightening the other bearing caps to specifications.
The car now starts up ok, running a bit rough (think it could be a DI cassett issue) but I'm conserned that the cross drilled holes in the pickup pipe will cause suction issues and limit the amount of oil that can be picked up from the sump. The engin oil light comes on after a few minuites when I assume the oil in the sump is lower than the holes. At this stage I have not driven the car except maybe 10m in the driveway to move it around. I'm going to drop the sump again and think I might best source a replacement Pickup Pipe to replace the dodgy one if it is required.
Has anyone ever encountered any of these sort of mods done?