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distinguish between an Aero-Engine and an normal engine????

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#1 ·
Hello!

I want to buy a Saab 9000 with an Aero-Engine. I have a problem! How to distinguish the Aero-enginge from a normal 9000er engine.

I`m 18 years old, please help!

Greets
Anthony
 
#2 ·
Hi Anthony,

The 9000 Aero has the same engine as the standard 2.3 Full Turbo or LPT. The only difference is in the programming for the trionic engine management system which gives the car it's greater power. Under the bonnet there's very little to distinguish the different cars.

Easiest way to identify the Aero is in terms of it's trim levels. It will sit lower than other 9000's and will have 16" 3-spoke alloys, unless these have been upgraded to non-Saab 17"'s or 18"'s.

Hope this helps, I'm sure other users of the board will be able to add more color to the picture :D

Jason
 
#3 ·
When you say the "Aero" engine, I assume you mean the 225hp engine as fitted to the manual-transmission Aero and some late-model ('98?) manual-transmission CSEs.

Well, obviously if you are looking for an automatic, it won't have the 225hp engine. None of the autos did, and if they had the transmission would probably have broken by now.

Firstly, the 225hp engine is a 2.3l. That is easy, as it will say "2.3" on the valve cover.

Also, the 225hp engine will be a full-pressure turbo. To distinguish this, you need to look for a car that has both a boost control valve and an intercooler.

Now you know the engine is either a 225hp engine or a 200hp engine.

As well as the ECU programming, the only other difference between the 200hp and 225hp engines is the turbocharger. The 225hp engine had the Mitsubishi TD04 turbo, while the 200hp engine had the Garrett T25. Having got this far, I think I'm going to have to take some photos to describe all of the above. I'll try to figure out how to distinguish the turbos, because it might be hard to tell the difference without having two side-by-side.

But I hope some of this is useful so far. It's an interesting question and I'll try to dig up more answers shortly.
 
#4 ·
Doh!

Thought of something else - if you can get the VIN number of the car, go to http://www.saab9000.com and use the VIN decoder. That will tell you which engine was fitted at the factory. If you can't get the VIN before looking at the car, then look at the VIN once you're there. If the eighth digit is "R" then the engine is the 225hp version.

Of course, this method only tells you what was fitted at the factory. If the engine has been replaced afterwards, you still need to check the turbo, but then the whole game changes anyway and you don't know what combination of engine, turbo and ECU you have.

Am I correct in thinking that it is illegal to swap engines between cars in Germany?
 
#5 ·
Tony,

Apart from the engine, there are also a few other cosmetic/equipment differences between the conventional and Aero versions (other than the "Aero" badge on the back!!)

Seats- Aero ones are wider at the top
Trim- Aeros had painted skirts as opposed to self coloured dark grey plastic

They're the two most obviously identifiable differences

Mark
 
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