Saab 9-5 Aero - winter hack!

Saab 9-5 Aero - winter hack!

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Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Thursday 6th November 2014
quotequote all
In the past I used to have a cheap estate car to fall back on, something to take random stuff to the dump, transport long/heavy/big stuff from builders merchants, ferry the dog around without worrying about the interior and anything else an estate does better than a hot hatch or 2+2 sports car!!

Last one was an 850R - which I loved!! But then I decided I could get away with just running two cars, a Honda S2000 & 944 S. Practical, but not ideal for some of the aforementioned situations. I then added a 944 Turbo to the fleet, again, practical, but one camping trip with the dog in the back was enough - I had to get another estate! So after recently selling my 944 S, I was on the hunt for a cheap, quick estate.

With love for Swedish Turbo's and having had a couple of Volvo's in the past, this time I decided to try a Saab.

After a couple of weeks of hunting, and missing out on three cars that sold the same day as being advertised - I managed to bag this little...well, large, beauty..

2005 Saab 9-5 Aero auto estate
3 previous owners, 98k, full (mainly Saab) history, 11 months MOT......all this scandinavian lovliness for bargain basement money!!

Now, I usually like to drive my new cars to a nice location and take some nice pics, but tbh, the weather is crap and I haven't had chance, so just some boring driveway pics I'm afraid!!

IMG_2016 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2017 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

You'll notice my first mod wink

So after a good look around the car and a brief, but drama free test drive, a deal was struck and I was on my way home. Once on the open road my first issue became apparent, it didn't feel quite as quick as I thought it should and it was making an odd noise just as it came on boost.......had to be a boost leak. The next morning I popped the bonnet expecting to find some perished or split boost hoses - but in fact, it was far more obvious than that!!

I had a selection of hoses that were in pretty poor shape, but had also popped off various bits!!

IMG_2000 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

As if a recirculating blow off valve isn't quiet enough, Saab decided to fit a furhter bypass valve between the diverter valve and either side of the throttle plate, so that when under part throttle/boost where the diverter valve may make a noise as it vibrates between boost and vac they can control the valve to keep it silent!

Well, those pipes above had 'fell' off. As one of them was a non oe hose, I suspect someone has been fiddling previously.

The three way valve is not needed as such, so I have bypassed it and plumbed the diverter valve into the plenum as normal. Some people use silicon hose to replace the perished vac/boost hoses, but I prefer fuel hose - just so happened I had some in the shed!

This the valve that is bypassed:

IMG_2002 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

And these are my new non-perished pipes!

IMG_2003 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2004 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2005 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

Next on the list will be to replace all of the small vac/boost hoses I can find, but I need to get some more hose clips.

So with the hoses replaced I no longer had the weird groaning sound on boost and I know have what feels a good deal more like 250hp!! It certainly pulls like a train from 50mph+ up to and through silly speeds - lovely smile

Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Thursday 6th November 2014
quotequote all
Next job as the interior.

It looked relatively clean, but it had that smell about it. The smell of a smoker, no evidence in the ashtray, but it had that musty smokey smell - with air freshner overtones. It had to be given a thorough clean.

Doesn't look too bad does it:

IMG_2006 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

But look a little closer.....

IMG_2007 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2008 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2009 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2010 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

Not ideal!

So I managed to find a spare 4 hours and gave the interior a good once over. Carpets hoovered & washed, dash/doorcards/leather cleaned, then a quick wipe over with some Aerospace 303. Still could probably do with cleaning the headlining, but it looks great now. The picures don't do it justice, but I was happy and it no longer smells of a musty ashtray!!

IMG_2012 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2013 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

IMG_2014 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

Could do with finding some OE mats though, always think some nice mats really finish off an interior.

The stereo could do with an upgrade as well, it's AS2 as far as I know (I have not had a proper look yet), but it's seriously lacking in the bass department. Maybe I have some duff speakers, in which case I will replace/upgrade them, but maybe a new headunit/amp could be on the horizon.

Also developed a flickering headlight which is annoying/dangerous in the dark! I suspect it is the lamp, but have not had chance to swap them, so have ordered a cheap D1S lamp to try. If that sorts it then I will buy a pair of Osrams and keep the cheapie as a spare. The headlights are quite hazy, so I will polish them at the same time.

Really itching to give the exterior a good detail as well, it's clean, but has signs of not so careful/thorough washing. It also has some interesting touch ups in the form of a gold touch up pen used on a silver car!! So that will need sorting as well. Shame the nights are well & truly drawing in now......that and the list of 'winter' jobs for the 944, lol!!

Fat Albert

1,392 posts

180 months

Thursday 6th November 2014
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Looks a good one Hallsey!
I must give my SAAB interior the once over, it has a slight musty smell and I am not sure if the hood is leaking somewhere or just 15 years of blood, sweat and unmentionables worked into the seats and carpet!

Looket

688 posts

120 months

Friday 7th November 2014
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A fine thing! Miss mine terribly.

On AS3 systems the sub is in the boot. Right side. If you've got two cubby holes then you've got AS2.

Like so:

http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/dealer/carsales/9012223.jpg

Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
Cheers FA - I'm very happy with it so far - needs a couple of little bits sorting, but don't they all!

I think I'll give the carpet another clean, as well as the headlining and get a new air freshener - then it will be all good in there smile I do like my interiors to be as mint as possible, which really pleases my other half, as you can imagine, these cleaniness levels carry on into our home wink

Still getting used to the car as only had it a week, but so far so good - nice and comfy, loving having heated seats back this time of year!!
Being an auto it's not the quickest off the mark, although it picks up far better in sport or manual mode - but once into third gear, it really does pull very well, to the point that it feels like the grunt is overwelming the chassis a little - but then my recent daily drive was my 951, which obviously has a great chassis to match the grunt!

It does handle quit well for it's size though, just has the modern light steering, so you don't get much feedback, more of a turn in & trust feel!
Compared to my old 850's, especially the 850R, it certainly has less character and feel. I'd say the 850 felt a little better built inside and out, and felt flatter and lower on the road - but they are getting a little longer in the tooth now, so it made sense to get something a bit newer rather than running two 'classic' cars.

Once I have checked over the important bits I may well pay Karl a visit for a remap to give the boy racers even more of a surprise!!

Even though it's a 2005 and so shouldn't have the usual PCV issues, I still plan to drop the sump for peace of mind. Will probably flush the transmission fluid as well. There is a mention of it in the service book, but doesn't say that it has actually been fully flushed out.

Hopefully the new xenon lamp will turn up today, so that will be a little job for later!


Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
Looket - that settles it then. Mine is AS2.

I have heard some say that the AS3 is poor as well, and that certain years (early Pioneer) AS2 sound better - but I will check the basics first. Possible I have at least one iffy speaker.

Apparently there is a speaker test, but have not worked out how to do it yet!

Looket

688 posts

120 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
The AS3 on mine was quite good, but then again I've never heard another so perhaps it wasn't! biggrin

If you're planning to upgrade it, I can't recommend the UKSaabs forums enough. The people there really know their stuff, and they even have an ICE section.


Mr E

21,583 posts

258 months

Friday 7th November 2014
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AS2 on my old car was pretty poor. I did look at upgrading it and all the options seemed rather too complex.

thetapeworm

11,192 posts

238 months

Friday 7th November 2014
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Very nice indeed, I wish mine looked half as clean as that - sadly it appears to be a magnet for bad parkers, door dingers and large objects that want to jump out at me in the dark and take out parts of the front bumper.

Always a pleasure to drive but you've got me thinking about hoses now as mine occasionally does a noise on boost that's hard to describe, not having one before I just put it down as being normal as performance seems fine.

Keep up the good work, hopefully some of it will inspire me.

BlimeyCharlie

901 posts

141 months

Friday 7th November 2014
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Interesting topic and findings.
I have bought a similar Saab 95 Aero Hot estate but a manual car. This replaced a Volvo T5 manual. Found the Saab to be a nicer place to be, less harsh and more quiet. Really liked the engine of the T5 though, more torquey around town and from junctions etc, or felt it anyway. Easier to drive in that regard.

Most people don't seem to rate the handling of Saabs like this, but it grips, does what I want and stops well. Not an M3 which feels like being chained to a lunatic engine but I just really like the Saab, and really liked the Volvo.

Stereo in the Saab is the same as yours with the bass speaker in the left in the boot. Again, I find this is fine for me.

Can't seem to get used to the heating system for some reason. I find I have to look and press too many buttons to get hot air where I want, and it resets to 'off' when I start the car in the morning or later on, meaning going through the same farting about again. Hardly a big problem though.

Great cars and keep us posted with what you get up to.


Fat Albert

1,392 posts

180 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
thetapeworm said:
Always a pleasure to drive but you've got me thinking about hoses now as mine occasionally does a noise on boost that's hard to describe, not having one before I just put it down as being normal as performance seems fine.
I ordered 3m of 4mm silicone hose from eBay for £3.19 for my new '99 9 3 and replaced the 4 obvious existing hoses (they were perished and split) and it has transformed how the car goes - one of my best value fixes/performance upgrades!

no Knowledge is needed, just roughly measure and cut the new hose, unplug one end of the existing one, then lay the new hose the same route as the old one and then swap over at the other end...repeat 3 more times...job done!

Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
thetapeworm said:
Very nice indeed, I wish mine looked half as clean as that - sadly it appears to be a magnet for bad parkers, door dingers and large objects that want to jump out at me in the dark and take out parts of the front bumper.

Always a pleasure to drive but you've got me thinking about hoses now as mine occasionally does a noise on boost that's hard to describe, not having one before I just put it down as being normal as performance seems fine.

Keep up the good work, hopefully some of it will inspire me.
Thanks smile It does have a few small marks here and there, but overall is pretty good - just needs a good clay & polish.

As FA says, the hoses are easy enough to change - it's a good idea to check these small pipes on any turbo car really as they are prone to perishing with age, dependant on manufacturer/quality. Likewise with an NA car, but more likely to just cause an annoyance (high idle, etc) whereas on a turbo car it can cause poor running or a lack of power.

It was a common problem with the Volvo T5's as well.

Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
BlimeyCharlie said:
Interesting topic and findings.
I have bought a similar Saab 95 Aero Hot estate but a manual car. This replaced a Volvo T5 manual. Found the Saab to be a nicer place to be, less harsh and more quiet. Really liked the engine of the T5 though, more torquey around town and from junctions etc, or felt it anyway. Easier to drive in that regard.

Most people don't seem to rate the handling of Saabs like this, but it grips, does what I want and stops well. Not an M3 which feels like being chained to a lunatic engine but I just really like the Saab, and really liked the Volvo.

Stereo in the Saab is the same as yours with the bass speaker in the left in the boot. Again, I find this is fine for me.

Can't seem to get used to the heating system for some reason. I find I have to look and press too many buttons to get hot air where I want, and it resets to 'off' when I start the car in the morning or later on, meaning going through the same farting about again. Hardly a big problem though.

Great cars and keep us posted with what you get up to.
I'd agree with you there, my T5 and R were both stiffer and you sat lower - which I do prefer, but for the type of driving the 9-5 was designed for, and being a little more modern I suppose it was always going to be a little softer. It will no doubt be more comfortable on long journeys. My 850R was very comfortable, but had a bit more noise in the cabin (polybushed engine mount) and stiffer ride, also the clutch was very heavy in traffic - part of the reason I was leaning towards an autobox for the 9-5.

If yours has a sub in the boot then it will be AS3, same headunit as mine but more speakers and better amplifier I believe.

As for the climate control, I leave mine in auto and adjust the heating to suit. It does seem a little slow to react and it doesn't seem to be quite hot enough on cold mornings unless turned up high, but I'm still getting to know it really.

There was a post on UKsaabs recently about changing it to start up in auto, or preferred mode, etc. Does this help?

http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp...

confused_buyer

6,610 posts

180 months

Friday 7th November 2014
quotequote all
BlimeyCharlie said:
Interesting topic and findings.

Can't seem to get used to the heating system for some reason. I find I have to look and press too many buttons to get hot air where I want, and it resets to 'off' when I start the car in the morning or later on, meaning going through the same farting about again. Hardly a big problem though.

Great cars and keep us posted with what you get up to.
There is a way to set the climate to come on in a preferred mode - can't remember exactly how to do it but it is the manual. AS3 audio has always sounded pretty good to me - maybe not the best but not bad at all.

BlimeyCharlie

901 posts

141 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
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Thanks for info about climate control. I'll have a look and report back.
Should also have said it was an 850 T5 that the Saab replaced.

May help others in had the 'engine check light' come on twice a few weeks ago on the Saab. Car ran fine though. However, it was my fault as had not put fuel cap on properly. Not enough clicks or just not on properly the second time.

Took out fuse 17 from side of dashboard (with car switched off of course) and put fuel cap on properly again. Left car 5 minutes, put fuse back in, and all good. No more worrying light.


petrolveins

1,780 posts

172 months

Monday 10th November 2014
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I ran a 2003 9-5 Aero Estate last winter. It was brilliant!! Took it to Ireland for a big December road trip around there too. Didn't miss a beat and was savagely fast on poor roads, just gliding over the broken surface. It had character, and I loved it for that, regret selling it now really, was only £1500 but so much more fun than that, it was the cheapest car I ever bought but the highest spec, heated seats and Bi-Xenons made it great for winter.

Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Monday 10th November 2014
quotequote all
I must say, I'm really pleased with it for the price paid, and it will serve us well throughout the winter - I will likely hang on to this for a good while yet.

I have sorted my flickering drivers headlamp, I bought a cheap eBay xenon lamp to try and it has been fine since I fitted that, so I will now buy a pair of Osram Xenarcs, replace both and keep the cheapy as a spare.

This weekend she had a good test run taking us to and across London, lots of stop-start traffic getting from Bethnal to Richmond on Saturday evening, and more of the same on North Circular back from Richmind to Suffolk yesterday evening - no dramas other than I 'think' the autobox may be a bit noisy, or something drivetrain related.

I made a comment on UKsaabs that I thought the B235R sounded a bit rubbish and diesely, but most disgareed and said it was generally very quiet. I must admit, from under the bonner I had a little bit of top end noise, but generally it sounded fine - but when driving it always had a hint of diesel noise about it when accelerating, like the engine was a bit coarse.

Well whilst being stuck in traffic for hours over the weekend it seemed more noticable - pulling away slowly in a low gear, it was making a chug-chug-chug-chug noise, and with acceleration or higher gears it was more of a disel type noise. Once at crusing speed it is quiet as a mouse, no hard or slow shifting - only thing it does do is thump a bit when first put in D.

I am going to flush the transmission oil anyway, and check engine/gearbox mounts, etc. Proably nothing to worry too much about, and maybe it is normal for it to make a bit of noise, but I don't remember my old 850 T5 auto making any extra noise - and I'm sure this should be a bit quieter than it is judging by some of the comments from UKsaab members. Will check fluid level & colour, but will likely try flushing it to see if it improves at all.

That and check the torque arm from gearbox to subframe, apparently when worn this can make the car thump into D more than usual.

NateWM

1,684 posts

178 months

Monday 10th November 2014
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If you flush the fluid, then at most you will remove a 1/3rd of its total capacity as even when no-more will come out of the box, there will still be oil contained within the valve body and torque converter. Then of course, you have the risk of doing more damage, as the detergent in the new oil will then dislodge any lumps of contamination, which will then block the filter...the filter that you can only access by removing and stripping the gearbox.

In other words, stop listening to wannabe technicians that plague owners forums, and leave her be. By all means check her over and whatnot, but your issue sounds mechanical, something which an oil change will not fix. Your description to me sounds like a worn valve body, common enough issue on the Aisin-Warner gearbox! Feel free to e-mail us if you have any queries.

www.wexfordtransmission.ie

Edited by NateWM on Monday 10th November 17:27


Edited by NateWM on Monday 10th November 17:28

Hallsy01

Original Poster:

350 posts

180 months

Monday 10th November 2014
quotequote all
Nate - thanks for your input.

I agree, I would be surprised if an oil change would make any difference to the noise, but I was going by Saab's recommendation to replace it at 90k miles.

Also, I understand that the later method Saab suggested involved draining the gearbox (so 4l out), then refilling with 4l of fresh fluid, then disconnecting the oil cooler return hose and flushing out 2l, then refill 2l, then flush out 1l, then refill with 1l - then checking dipstick level at 80'C engine temp. Which does indeed replenish most of the fluid?

But I appreciate what you are saying about dislodging deposits and causing more issues.

Valve body issues I had heard about, but again, most people seemed to complain of shifting issues associated with valve body wear, rather noise. I may well take a look anyway.

As you say, I have a few other mechanical bits to check first anyway.

Thanks for your advice.

macp

4,058 posts

182 months

Tuesday 11th November 2014
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Lovely car op I had a MY2002 auto but in a saloon.I adored it but unfortunately the gearbox shat itself.It started by thumping into gear then later really banging usually when going into reverse.I got the fluids changed hoping this might help but sadly not.I am currently looking for another and I notice there are far more available in auto and I am so tempted but dont want the constant worry that one day it will go.

Sorry to chip in with a negative vibe op.