Friday 6th January 2017

Shed Of The Week: Saab 9-5 Aero Estate

A January sale PH style as this recently reduced Saab tickles Shed's fancy

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Shed has been known to play away from time to time. If you saw Mrs Shed you would understand why.

Rather cruelly, Shed is hoping that she will get fed up with his antics and give him the elbow. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to be getting the message. Instead, she keeps giving him an extra chance, which is not really what Shed is looking for. As it is, he's running out of potential funtime partners in the village. He has been reduced to eyeing up a lady of uncertain age and hygiene who appears to be based in a skip behind the post office.

Well now this does seem nice

The reason for mentioning all this is the Nissan 300ZX T-Bar that was going to be this week's Shed. In honour of the ad which credits this thrusting example of Japanese rudery with immense bird-pulling power, the PH Management was going to issue Shed with a special pass that would allow him to bypass the 'must have a current MOT' rule. That was before it became clear that the vendor's concept of 'MOT'd last year' didn't quite tally with the more generally accepted definition of that phrase.

So it's goodbye to the Zed and hello to this tempting full-house Saab 9-5 Estate with 250hp and a fat spec, "most of which still works".

Right then, what have we got here? You might think you're looking at a black car, but look more closely: it's green. Many Swedish things seem to have an element of blackness about them. It's something to do with the climate. In Swedish rail stations you will often see a sign that says Ballonforbud. This means 'no balloons'. Swedish people also eat pate that is made from bears.

Our 9-5 failed its MOT last August on a bulb failure, but slight corrosion to the n/s rear structure has been mentioned as an advisory for the past two years. Of equal if not more concern is the mention of an "occasional hard change from 2nd to 3rd gear". As the lady in the skip may be about to discover, hard is not always a bad thing, but it's not really a word you want to see popping up in any spiel describing the operation of a high-power Saab's automatic gearbox.

Bet this is comfy

Then of course you have the famed DIC, or Direct Ignition Cassette, that sits atop the engine, nestling between the camboxes. In one way this is a brilliant idea, as it couldn't be any more accessible for replacement: see here. In another way it's a horrible idea because it's got a reputation for failing. Poor idling, black smoke or a misfire at higher rpm tells you that your one is on its way out. Most owners stash a spare DIC in the boot. A new one will sting you about £400, but tested secondhand ones are around on eBay for under £100.

The other main bugbear of '99-'03 B235-engined 9-5s is oil sludging. Carbon buildup on the sump's oil pickup screen killed off many a Saab four-pot from this era. Saab sorted it in 2004 by changing the PCV system. Our Shed is a 2003 car. You really need to use good quality synth oils.

SID LCD displays, crankshaft sensors and leaking head gaskets are other known problem areas. There's plenty of online info about minimising repair costs on things like the display, but an HG fix will be in the mid-hundreds even at your friendly local grease monkey's establishment.

There are many positives about the 9-5 Estate in general, however, and about this one in particular. For a start they are fantastically comfortable, very safe in crashes, and the cargo carrying system is impressive, especially if it has the slidey-out boot floor option.

Plenty of power, but how tough is that gearbox?

They are also pleasantly fast. The Aero HOT was a six-second 0-60 car when new and, as the vendor says, should still be a mighty overtaking tool. Running on petrol you could get low-30s mpg figures, but only if you were able to restrain your twitching right foot. Remapping potential is huge/legendary.

Your man here is saying it has an LPG conversion, which seems to be confirmed by the MOT history, so we assume the tank for that is under the boot floor. Saab did sell Bio-fuel 9-5s which ran on your choice of bio-ethanol or straight petrol, but that wasn't until the second half of the 2000s in the UK. The 'Bifuel' badge on the back of this one is presumably an aftermarket stick-on of some kind.

In addition to the lovely leather upholstery our shed has a meaty looking towbar and those rather nice Inca wheels.

Shedmen are always willing to take a gamble on a potentially exciting car if the money is right. For some, though, £1,000 may be a step too far for something that might not make it to the nearest workshop, let alone next August's MOT station. Are you brave enough?

If your answer to that is saker sak, here's the ad.

LPG Converted dark green estate. Owned since 2012. Usual Aero high spec, most of which still works. Recent tyre set on 18" refurbished Inca's. Occasional slightly hard change from 2nd to 3rd gear. Spacesaver spare in boot & other winter wheels available if required. Awesome overtaking machine. Towbar. Going diesel. Don't ask me why. Halifax Area. **January sale - now reduced to shed status.**

[Scottie - NW]

LPG conversion gives huge cause for concern...whenever I or my family has ever had an LPG car there are always problems with the running which are costly to repair.

Secondly, each LPG expert seems to use different systems, and always blame others for being crap. Most people will only touch the systems they install.

This car is a minefield when you add in gearbox issues and corrosion...where is the link to the 300zx please?

Edited by Scottie - NW on Friday 6th January 09:36

[FELIX_5]

"Usual Aero high spec, most of which still works."

Great way of being honest, without listing all the faults, love it.

[BFleming]

Another 9-5?! And why not, they're great cars! I'm not sure this one is though. Gangster looks (illegal tints?), lpg, weight-saving corrosion and a stirring porridge gearbox. Plenty of better ones out there for the money.

Edited by BFleming on Friday 6th January 09:42

[Challo]

Does the sludging happen on all cars? Been looking at a few earlier 9-5 but in non aero guise.

[teacake]

I had one of these for about seven years. Tremendous sense of solidity, no squeaks or rattles even after 161k miles. Was easy on brakes etc, but ate through tyres like it had a rubber fetish. Parts needed over seven years/60k miles: one DI cartridge, one ABS reluctor ring, eleventy bajillion tyres. The SID2 information display never worked completely properly, but there's a fix you can do by dismantling the unit and reseating the contacts which restores missing lines. Mine also complained about needing a replacement alarm battery for the entire time I had it.

I never really rated the handling that much, though I never bothered to uprate anything to improve it. It was a bit wayward and torque-steery, and the ride was easily unsettled by dips or camber, all of which could no doubt have been sorted by an upgrade. Power was more than adequate, and the low-down torque was amazing - it would pretty much pick up and go regardless of what gear you were in (mine was a manual). Average fuel economy in my hands - 29mpg. I sold it for £700 three years ago, which makes me think this shed, with its potential gearbox and rust problems, may be a bit overpriced.

[teacake]

Challo said:

Does the sludging happen on all cars? Been looking at a few earlier 9-5 but in non aero guise.

If I remember correctly, the sludging was with non-synthetic oil in non-Aero cars. I don't think it was a problem on the Aero, which had synthetic specified from the outset.

Edited by teacake on Friday 6th January 10:01

[GhostWKD]

Scottie - NW said:

This car is a minefield when you add in gearbox issues and corrosion...where is the link to the 300zx please?

It's in the article;

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...

Looks a proper (rough) shed though, especially with the MOT 1 year ago (read expired Sept 2015, actual MOT Sept 2014) with the below;

Advisory notice item(s)
Front Suspension arm has slight play in a ball joint (2.4.G.2)
Rear Upper Sub-frame has slight play in a pin/bush (2.4.G.2)
Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
Rear brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
Oil leak
undernath correded

[Prohibiting]

The 9-5 Aero is a real PH car; everyone can appreciate them. Although I'd steer clear of this one- way too many potential problems which could end up turning into a money pit. For £2k you could have a sorted tidy one with no faults and the peace of mind. I bought one over a year ago at a good price (rare manual gearbox too) and it's cost me nothing in repairs. I've also done the NC500 in it. Great cars and stupidly good value for money if you buy the right one.



Regarding the sludging; this was only a problem in the non-Aero cars. The Aero cars were spec'd for fully synthetic oil, therefore if serviced properly it shouldn't be much cause for concern.

Edited by Prohibiting on Friday 6th January 10:06

[Lotusgone]

I had a manual for four years, wonderful car. Re sludging, you have to be disciplined and have the oil changed every 6k. Walk away from examples that haven't had this. If you can find one that has had its gearbox refurbed, so much the better. If you want good handling, you don't start with a 16-foot long estate - but it wasn't that bad. Fast, spacious, comfortable. I'm welling up now.

[BricktopST205]

My daily driver. Remapped to 270HP/420NM of torque. Was only meant to be a stop gap but have had it two years. Problem with Swedish barges like these is it is very very difficult to replace them without spending a lot more money. Mine was a £1800 purchase. Last summer I did 4000 miles across Europe in two weeks. Never broke a sweat, averaged 34/35 MPG and touched 155mph on the Autobahn with more to give. Did a 1300 mile stint in it on the way home and was a very good place to sit. Hell I even took a whole bathroom to the tip in it the year before!

[MorganP104]

Is the oil sludging thing terminal? One would imagine a couple of goes with some heavy-duty engine flush and a refill with decent quality synthetic oil would sort that right out.

As has already been noted, this particular car's an Aero, which had synthetic oil specific from the get-go. As long as that's been followed, all is good.

The "heavy change from 2nd to 3rd" would worry me, mind you. Might be solved with a change of gearbox oil, but let's face it, who's THAT lucky?

[TooLateForAName]

MorganP104 said:

Is the oil sludging thing terminal? One would imagine a couple of goes with some heavy-duty engine flush and a refill with decent quality synthetic oil would sort that right out.

It can be. All Saab specialists will have a standard price for dropping the sump, cleaning up and replacing the oil pick up.

[Krikkit]

Depends if it results in genuine starvation I suppose - any unusual noises and I'd walk away, but serious starvation is blatantly obvious

Challo said:

Does the sludging happen on all cars? Been looking at a few earlier 9-5 but in non aero guise.

It was a result of specifying semi-synth oil with schedules that were too long.

The fix is easy if you can DIY - drop and clean the sump, then use fully synth for the rest of its life. They don't need super-short intervals etc, just use the Aero-spec oil. If you want to belt-and-braces a pre-2003 car needs a revised breather system, part# 55561200.


Isn't the car in the ad complete with the revised engine, having the silver alloy cam boxes?

Edited by Krikkit on Friday 6th January 10:37

[74merc]

I would guess that flushing the engine out would be a case of bolting the stable door... The damage would most likely have been done due to lack of oil feed to the turbo etc. AFAIK the exact same issue affects the Ford/PSA 1.6 diesel.

[chrislloyd81]

Epic dentist jet. Give it some Wasaabi!

[British Beef]

I had one for 4 years, only the 150hp low pressure turbo, and it was a barge good for motorway munching and ligging loads. Terrible rolly handling and a gutless engine, ultimately turbo blew, then the gearbox went and finally engine packed in, not a happy ownership experience.

Over exactly the same period my dad had the v6 turbo, in which he racked up 120k miles, never had a problem, and went and sounded really nicely.

You could get lucky with this and run it for 2 years without major problem, or not!

Just a minor problem with this shed would render this thing a write off, as easily uneconomical to repair.

[eebyeck]

Absolute great cars, on my second one now. Re sludging, I changed the oil with fully synthetic oil every 6 month (7.5k miles) and still had sludge issues so will need a sump drop just in case (£200-£250 last time I looked). The upgraded PCV kit costs less than £100 which is worth doing. Always run on super unleaded, makes no difference to the performance but will lose about 5mpg on regular. Also make sure it has the correct expensive spark plugs, my second aero had the cheap ones in and when replaced increased mpg by 3 mpg and removed a perceived turbo lag.

[Mr E]

Had a manual one for a couple of years, it did everything asked of it.

The hifi was dreadful, and very hard to uprate. The paint was bad.
The interior was dated.

The engine was mighty, the seats brilliant and it is missed now it's gone.

[RobEB]

30 mpg??? I would challenge anyone to get anywhere near that in this car in the real world..
I've seen the bog standard 2.0 4 cyl turbo use a 1/4 tank (according to the fuel gauge) to go 14 miles, and that was being driven gently, not above 3000rpm in any gear.
These things drink fuel like Concorde with all 4 engines on Reheat, with a hole in each of the fuel tanks and loose fuel lines.

[Mr E]

Our manual aero returned an indicated 37mpg on a 65mph run over 120 miles (the kid had gone to sleep and I wanted to keep him that way for as long as possible)