HELP!!! purchased Saab 97 900SE, performance is very slugish

[97saab900se]

Please help,
Bought a 1997 Saab 900SE, however the performance is very slugish , car starts up rough, the APC guage sits middle to end of the white area while idling, when I accelerate the needle will not go further than the beginning of the yellow area??? Any ideas what is causing this? I appreciate all your help.

Warren

[Tweek's Turbos]

Check and make sure you have your factory recomended plugs(NKG), High Octane gas, change your airfilter also.

[97saab900se]

A dealer looked under my hood and said that I was not getting boost and that the reason was because the wasterod was unhooked, I connected the rod and there is no change in performance, it is still extremely slugish and shifts are harsh, any other ideas why it is slow?

[Tweek's Turbos]

Is this guy a certified saab mechanic? Not having the wastegate connected is one obviose problem fixed. I would wait till I knew a trained saab mech. looked at the car before really going ahead with the turbo.

[CleveSaab]

Maybe it popped off again? Maybe it won't stay on?
Maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about?

[97saab900se]

Yes a certified Saab Mech noticed that it was disconnected, I re-attached it and secured it with a c-clamp, however no increase in performance, my next guess is maybe the exhaust is clogged? When accelerating, the RPM will reach 4k and back off a little and struggle to move any further.

[Tweek's Turbos]

Any exhaust shop will do a back pressure test for free.

[ms08]

Maybe the engine ECU has got used to running with wastegate rod off and needs re-adapting - I would check/change plugs for correct NGK type if needed, check/change air filter and try an adaptation run - (see BillJ's 9000 website) - how many miles has car done and does it start 'fluffing' at 4000rpm or just hit a brick wall? Would check also for any possible airleaks in the vacuum side of things - any tubing splits on the manifold/turbo side.

[Abbott 900]

Was just about to mention the vacuum, that would be my obvious choice...

Make sure that not of the turbo hoses or vacuum hoses have splits as this will result in quite a bit of lost power.

[97saab900se]

I have inspected all the hoses and they look fine, I just bought the vehicle with 39000 original miles on it.

[mrdpenguin]

Did you ever find a solution to your problem!? My 1994 900 se is doing the exact same thing!??!

[Munki]

Originally Posted by 97saab900se

I have inspected all the hoses and they look fine, I just bought the vehicle with 39000 original miles on it.

They may look fine but they may have a tiny split in them that only opens up as the boost comes in.

[mrdpenguin]

well, I figured out my problem. The pin that connects the wastegate actuator to the control arm had brocken. Therefore the gate was wide open letting all of the boost go right out the door! Ooops.