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New car, New problems

3K views 70 replies 7 participants last post by  TROLLhattenschatten 
#1 ·
Okay,
as i said before the car is in beautiful shape so i can deal with any problems.
not shure if those are problems but....

1) the turbocharger "chatters" when you let off the accelerator.

My guess - BPV?

2) the transmission takes a few seconds to get into gear when shifting from park, reverse, neutral and drive.

I am thinking this is because of the bad O2 sensor.

3) the car smokes quite a bit, not shure on the color.
it does not go away after time. it has been cold (20*) here lately.

then it's just small things.
some dash lights out which i plan to fix this weekend.
badges worn (asked for some aftermarket ones for christmas) :cheesy:
drivers side seat heater don't work.
cabin sensor fan noisy (replacing tomorrow)
mirror switch bad (also replacing tomorrow)
antenna is broken (won't go down)
a very tiny spot of rust on the door sill (this will be repaired ASAP)

She is beautiful though, i will post pics soon.
 
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#3 ·
I was thinking that, but it don't make much sense as she puts out boost.
i am afraid to go WOT with the bad sensor and the chattering, so i don't know if it works fully.

Lucky for me i have a good turbo on my old car.
guess i will have to be out in the cold swaping them.
unless someone knows how many hours of labor it is?
 
#4 ·
I'm dealing with a "new" car right now too. It should be ironed out shortly. Sucks fixing the previos owner's neglect doesn't it? But like I tol my wife, if it didnt have these problems, they wouldn't have sold it for that price.

Chatter:

Can you elaborate a little more on the chattering? Does it do it if you rev up the engine in neutral? Have you listened to it under the hood? Is it metalic sounding (fins scraping the housing ever so slightly) or is it more of a deep droning sound? (the bypass valve can make odd noises if it goes bad or if the vaccuum hose connecting it to the controller gets pulled off.) Other, non-turbo causes of chatter could be cooling fan shroud, pinging / knocking (would more likely occur under load), timing belt slack (check tensioner and count how many teet are exposed), balance chain worn.

Transmission:
Sorry, I'm not following you on this. Is the transmission selector not moving or is the transmission not engaging once the gear is selected? If it's hard to move then you probably have some linkage issues. If it's not engaging it could be (in order of likleyhood IMHO) linkage or low fluid, bad fluid, incorrect fluid, bad pump, clogged lines (bent transmission cooler lines) bad torque converter. I'm sure you've checked the fluid.

Smoke:
I've seen smoke for different reasons. Some clues to the turbo being bad might be: Smoking at startup after sitting, smoking when heavily boosting. Knowing the color of the smoke would be extremely beneficial here. If you have a bad O2 sensor then you could be running very rich causing smoking.
 
#5 ·
TROLLhattenschatten said:
2) the transmission takes a few seconds to get into gear when shifting from park, reverse, neutral and drive.

I am thinking this is because of the bad O2 sensor.
O2 sensor has nothing to do with the transmission. O2 sensor is for fuel metering.

The transmission in the Saab is a Japanese Aisin Warner 50-40LE tranny. This tranny is very reliable and very easy to maintain. It has no oil pan, or oil filter. The way you change the tranny oil is simple. There is a drain plug on the bottom of the tranny. All you have to do is remove the drain plug, and drain the fluid and then refill. The drain plug is also concave on its tip and has a magnet inside it to trap metal particles. After you remove the plug make sure you clean it thoroughly from its tip and remove all the particles that have accumulated. Once it is clean you can see the magnet inside it.

The tranny does have an emission control feature that causes some people who are not familiar with how it works to complain about it. Basically if you drive the car cold, it will not shift into 4th gear until the temp guage reaches near the quarter mark. This was done as a means to keep the revs up so the car warms up quicker and reduces emissions.

Best advise is to change the fluid and see if the problem persist. Try to let the car warm up for a few minutes before shifting the transmission and see if the warm transmissions fluid helps.
 
#6 ·
Diasnoche - I didn't mean the O2 sensor had anything to do with the tranny.
i ment because of the rough idle because of the caused by the sensor.

The "chattering" is when the car is in park, and reved to about 2500-3000 rpms. standing next to the engine bay.
it sounds almost like a blow-off valve.
sorry can't compare it to anything else.

Another thing - one of the lights on the acc went out and i tried replacing it and now all of them are out.
is there a fuse i could've blown?

The tranny just takes a second or two to engage gear.
this really worries me. i will have my mechanic take a look.
i noticed on one of the service records it stated that the rear seal was possibly leaking.
 
#7 ·
TROLLhattenschatten said:
Diasnoche - I didn't mean the O2 sensor had anything to do with the tranny.
i ment because of the rough idle because of the caused by the sensor.

The "chattering" is when the car is in park, and reved to about 2500-3000 rpms. standing next to the engine bay.
it sounds almost like a blow-off valve.
sorry can't compare it to anything else.

Another thing - one of the lights on the acc went out and i tried replacing it and now all of them are out.
is there a fuse i could've blown?

The tranny just takes a second or two to engage gear.
this really worries me. i will have my mechanic take a look.
i noticed on one of the service records it stated that the rear seal was possibly leaking.
You sure it's not the timing chain or balance chain?
 
#9 ·
While i am at it i will add-on to my other "problems"

- the coolant still leaks from ?????

- the transmission is really rough :cry:
i don't have $2,000 for a new one.

-there is a burning oil smell.
mostly inside the car with the heater on.

They all worry me.
i have a good feeling about this car.
i need ideas.....
 
G
#10 ·
whenever i drive my mom's 900SE turbo auto it doesn't shift all that smoothly, especially from a cold start. it could be the fact she drives it lightly and i tend to mash my foot on the pedal from a stop. for me, the transmission shifts more smoothly when i put it in sport mode. but it sounds like you have a more serious problem. truthfully i don't think that this particular auto and the turbo engine are a good match for each other but i'm sure there's a set who will disagree.
 
#12 ·
TROLLhattenschatten said:
I will say no to the remark about the engine and trans. being a bad match -
my old car had the same set-up and worked beautiful.
Well, give the tensioner a quick look and see if it's extended. If it isn't you may just need to excercise it some and get it where it will extend, then put it back in. It should be 10 clicks or more out. If it is the timing chain don't despair. I bought a 1999 93 last Monday and had the same problem. I dropped a timing chain in it over the weekend. It was time consuming but worth it. Check out the post here

Sounds like you may want to get a look at the oil pan and pickup screen anyway based on the current description of the car's previous care.

As for the transmission, you may probably just have a bad transmission mount. I know that I have had 3 go out on 3 different Saabs (all mine)this year. It made shifting feel very rough. I could feel it from a strong start as well.
 
#14 ·
TROLLhattenschatten said:
It would be while before i could check anything.

The trans. seems to be doing better now.
maybe she just needed some "excersize" :lol:

Still, i don't look forward to replacing the chain.
but it is better than replacing the whole engine.
Well, if you plan on doing the chain, let me know. I'll do a write-up on the steps I took and it shouldn't be that hard if you have the tools, time patience and general skill level.
 
#16 ·
I bought the C.T.S today and am installing it on saturday.
but...i bought one for a MY96 instead of a 97 :roll:
i keep forgeting i have a new car.

but i checked on the EPC and they are the same so....

anyhow, the timing chain is getting worse.
i can hear the death rattle inside the car now when i am off the throttle on the thru-way. :eek:

Also getting the car looked over tomorrow to see where she is leaking coolant
(all of my money is on the headgasket)
and i want to find out what is causing the rough P-D transition in the cold start.
 
#17 ·
if your running the car on a daily bases with the timing chain making noise.

you might as well goto the scrap yard and purchase an engine.

Timing chains normally stretch but how are you to know its the chain for sure?

Anyways could make sense. it throws off your timing creating the car to run poorly .

Go find a new engine my friend. IMO that will be your best bet
 
#18 ·
Why are you assuming it's the timing chain in the first place? Was it measured or something? If it's the noise, it could also be the balance chain, in which case you just need to cut it. Thew balance chain isnèt even needed. It's function is reducing the vibration of the engine a bit. It does't even do a good job at that :roll: The balance chaiun was even omitted from the 99 OG9-3 which basically has the same engine.
 
#20 ·
TROLLhattenschatten said:
Just an assumption.

I just think thats the more logical (read: worse case) scenario.
that way i can be prepared for it.
Well, if I were you I'd stop driving it until you know for sure. The timing chain is replacable and can be done in the car. If the chain slaps around and breaks a guide then you'll have to pull the timing cover and it's pretty time consuming.
 
#21 ·
Frank_Drebin said:
Well, if I were you I'd stop driving it until you know for sure. The timing chain is replacable and can be done in the car. If the chain slaps around and breaks a guide then you'll have to pull the timing cover and it's pretty time consuming.
X2 on that.
And Troll don't make assumptions and keep driving the car. Inspect it already.
 
#23 ·
Much thanks to saabdriver87 for giving the car a look-over for me.

The coolant leak is the heater core and the water pump also has a small leak.

The chattering / rough shift is an engine mount.

so yeah,
of course it can't be easy to fix :roll: :lol:

Frank, i know it is possible to do the T.C. with the engine still in the car but it's risky.
i would rather do it the right way.
but i don't have to :cheesy:

the waterpump i can pull off the '96, it was only a few months old anyway.
the heater core ---- i don't know, i can't seem to find it on the EPC.
 
#24 ·
TROLLhattenschatten said:
Much thanks to saabdriver87 for giving the car a look-over for me.

The coolant leak is the heater core and the water pump also has a small leak.

The chattering / rough shift is an engine mount.

so yeah,
of course it can't be easy to fix :roll: :lol:

Frank, i know it is possible to do the T.C. with the engine still in the car but it's risky.
i would rather do it the right way.
but i don't have to :cheesy:

the waterpump i can pull off the '96, it was only a few months old anyway.
the heater core ---- i don't know, i can't seem to find it on the EPC.
Good deal! The motor mount should be a quick, easy fix as is the water pump. I had one go out this year as well. As for the heater core... Uh... sorry to hear that one bro, I'd rather swap the tranny then mess with a heater core.

Now... please allow me to respectfully take exception to your assertion that changing a timing chain with the engine in the car is somehow not "the right way". Is there such a thing in this instance? I think any way that works is the right way. In fact, the way I did it is much more efficient, less likely to damage other pargts and much safer than "the right way". Would you pull your engine to change your serpentine belt?
 
#25 ·
Frank_Drebin said:
As for the heater core... Uh... sorry to hear that one bro, I'd rather swap the tranny then mess with a heater core.
Grrrrrr.....
tell me about it.
how many hours of labor is that? about 8?
8x$80 = $640. just for labor. :roll:

Have no choice but to tackle it myself.

Frank_Drebin said:
Good deal! The motor mount should be a quick, easy fix
I don't know which one it is yet so it might not be that great....

Frank_Drebin said:
Now... please allow me to respectfully take exception to your assertion that changing a timing chain with the engine in the car is somehow not "the right way". Is there such a thing in this instance? I think any way that works is the right way. In fact, the way I did it is much more efficient, less likely to damage other pargts and much safer than "the right way". Would you pull your engine to change your serpentine belt?
No offence to you. ;)
i don't know what i ment.
 
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