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

[raquettelaker2]

Thanks for the writeup. VERY helpful. I did this yesterday with my friend on his 2000 Gary Fisher wagon with 170k miles. It's a 5-spd so I was worried we were going to run into needing to drill through the strengthening plate, but apparently that's only on early Aero's. Everything went just like Wulf pictured on his 2001.

He just bought the car and it had the ORIGINAL PCV. Well, there wasn't much left of it anyway. All the hoses were split or not connected. We updated to PCV 6, replaced the valve cover gaskets, and tackled the sump. The pickup screen was a mess. About 90% blocked.

Before and after cleaning!:



More Pictures

[nkrptd]

Hi,
New to this site and recently aqquired my first saab - a 99 2.3ltr 9-5 sedan, great information you have here!
Recently had turbo replaced, and now needing to do a few more things myself, as money is restrictive to what i can do at the moment.
I am going to drop the sump to clean and clear the dreaded sludge out etc, and have found your instructions and pictures here, again, very cool! my question is - what is the purpose of removing the retaining bolts and removing the flywheel cover plate from the transmission? as it is the sump i will be toiling with, everything else seems to make sense, except this bit stumped me (rookies for you eh...)
Can someone explain that to me as I may be missing something, and would love to be sure of it all when i start the job.
Thanks in advance for your help all!!

[nordwulf]

Welcome new Saab owner and SaabWorld member!

It has been a while since I have done mine but I think the plate covers the edge of the sump and/or some of the sump bolts. You'll probably see it right away when you get under the car. It takes about a minute to take off and is probably the easiest of all the steps.

Good luck and let us know the results of the inspection and cleaning and/or if you need more help.

[nkrptd]

Thanks Wulf, I should be getting into this tomorrow morning, if the weather allows that is....

I was thinking of dropping the intercooler aswell so I can flush it out, as i have a bad feeling that the people who replaced turbo did not do it. Any advise or links you would recommend for doing this aswell?

Cheers!

[nordwulf]

I posted some instructions for the oil cooler from the WIS (Workshop Information System) here:
http://saabworld.net/showthread.php/...placement-(WIS)

I never removed the oil cooler myself but it looks like a pretty easy job.

[nkrptd]

well, done the sump drop yesterday. Took about 5 hrs total, but worth it!
The sump was full of gritty slush and the pick up filter was a mess, very glad that i done it . And a big to your post on how to do it, it all made sense as I went thru the stages.
Car is running as it was before, still has a slight strange noise under acceleration (christian at aktive motors thinks it could be running lean again), it sounds like when someone is driving a manual car to slowly in a high gear . Really dont know what it is. Also, now the turbo really whistles. I have double checked everything and there doesnt seem to be any leaks or disconnected hoses anywhere, but still seems to be running ok.
I had a look into the turbo when everything was apart and it looks good (as it should be), and so this has me a little perplexed aswell. Have you heard of anything like this before? winter is coming and We have a little one on the way, so really want our Saab to be at its best. Again, any help is appreciated

[nordwulf]

Glad to hear you got it done. Another Saab saved.

The turbo whistle seems odd as you're not even touching the turbo when dropping the sump. I wish I could be more helpful but I have no idea.

[jimlaman]

this is an excellent write up! My main concern with 9-5s in buying a used one... will it be as durable as my 203k mile 9000? Thanks Wulf.

[nordwulf]

My main concern with 9-5s in buying a used one... will it be as durable as my 203k mile 9000?

MY04 and up are the safest choice because they came with the final PCV update from the factory. I have seen other pictures of 2004/05 sumps and they were spotless like my 2005. The new owner of my previous 2005 described in this thread currently has 150K miles on it and no problems at all. Especially when choosing the 2.3T with the TD04 turbo, they should easily last 200K miles with regular maintenance.

[SaabScott]

MY04 and up are the safest choice because they came with the final PCV update from the factory. I have seen other pictures of 2004/05 sumps and they were spotless like my 2005. The new owner of my previous 2005 described in this thread currently has 150K miles on it and no problems at all. Especially when choosing the 2.3T with the TD04 turbo, they should easily last 200K miles with regular maintenance.

You need to check your facts my friend ... I've got over 178,000 miles on it now!
Runs like a charm too!

Planning on taking it to 500,000 miles.