'01 Aero engine toast....what are my options?

[sirgrantalot]

I just bought a '01 Aero auto w/83k on the clock for $1400. It runs, but knocks, sputters, and smokes terribly. I haven't had a chance to drop the pan or even pull the valve cover yet, but I'm 99% sure an engine swap is in order. Since b235R's seem to be rare, what other engine options do I have? I've found a few '99 2.3's, what are the differences (if any) between the '01 2.3's and the '99-'00 2.3's?

I've been surfing this forum for years, and always find what I need....gotta love Saabs!

[magi115]

What color smoke?
You may not have to do an engine swap.
The 2.3T is a slightly troublesome engine.
I beleive the 40hp difference lies in the
injectors and ecm map for the turbo.

Blue Smoke-blown turbo (common)
White Smoke-blown headgasket (common)


I'm willing to bet you have a vaccum leak somewhere though.

[woywitka]

Originally Posted by magi115

The 2.3T is a slightly troublesome engine.

Understated.

Originally Posted by magi115

I beleive the 40hp difference lies in the
injectors and ecm map for the turbo.

More or less yes; however, I believe different pistons were also used.

If you can swap in a B234R block you are doing a substantial upgrade. Any 9000 Aero will do, this engine was made back when Saab produced a quality engine.

[sirgrantalot]

Originally Posted by magi115

What color smoke?
You may not have to do an engine swap.
The 2.3T is a slightly troublesome engine.
I beleive the 40hp difference lies in the
injectors and ecm map for the turbo.

Blue Smoke-blown turbo (common)
White Smoke-blown headgasket (common)


I'm willing to bet you have a vaccum leak somewhere though.

I did notice one of the pistons looking wet, looking down through the plug hole. I haven't looked closely at the smoke b/c the engine sounds so bad I don't want to run it much....

[19016c]

As long as the engine you're looking at is a MY2000 it should be fine. Look for red fuel injectors and plastic inlet tube. Many cars will be registered as a 99 but are actually MY2000. The early 99 cars have different colored injectors and aluminum intake pipes. As far as engines go however, the newer the better. Rebuilding the old one might be more cost effective and is worth looking into.

[photousa]

You could pull it in your garage or barn and have some fun rebuilding the engine, like this guy did: http://www.900saab.com/engineoverhaul.html
That's not really that many miles on the car, so the previous owners probably didn't change the oil frequently enough and or used cheap oil, plus isn't that head gasket prone to leaking? Previous posts about color of smoke are valuable information. You may be able to get by with rebuilt cylinder head, maybe a rebuilt turbo and a sludge clean out.

[BenP]

I just went through the same thing with my Aero.......my condolances! I'll give you some current pricing for your decision making process. My 2000 9-5 Aero cracked a piston ring and the cost of replacing/repairing the defective part on a engine with 145k miles didn't seem to be the way to go. Over the past year I have upgraded to a Maptun Stage 3, 3 inch exhaust, FMIC, Bilstein's all around and replaced the TD04 turbo so I wasn't going to let her die.

I went with a used engine from English Swedish Spares. I got extremely lucky with a low mileage (82k miles) car that had just come in. I had looked for a couple of weeks on line and followed up on a lot of bad leads for an Aero engine. Prices ranged from $1250 to $2500 with most of the engines in the $1800 range with over 100k on them. I was told by more than one source (Sovereign Automotive and English Swedish Spares) the 9-5 Aero and regular 2.3(B235) for the 9-5's are the same engine with the exception of the cylinder heads (different cam). Eeuroparts.com lists the pistons as the same for all 9-5's but lists a different head for the 9-5 Aero's so this was all I needed to hear. Remember, you're not getting the turbo, ECU, throttlebody or any other bolted on parts when you get a used engine. If you're trying to upgrade from a LPT to a Aero you're still going to need those Aero specific parts plus larger fuel injectors. I ended up paying the additional labor to swap my head onto the regular B235 block as well as new rear main and front seals. Total engine/headgasket/head swap was $2200+$1350 for the engine. (FYI-Without the head swap I believe the engine R & R was estimated at $1700) I would strongly recommend you pay for a Autocheck or Carfax report on any engine you are thinking of getting to verify mileage and where the engine came from. I ran into a lot of.....how do I say this nicely......liars.....when it came to cofirming the condition and source of the engine. Deal with a known trust worthy source! Having a 90 day warranty is nice but remember that the shipping, labor and downtime aren't covered and that's the majority of the expense. A good salvage yard will do a compression test on the motor and at least pull the valve cover to look for signs of sludge.

So, for $3550 my 9-5 has a new lease on life with a good engine fresh seals and no leaks! Car runs like it should again and I saved her from the wrecking yard! Hope this helps in your decision making process and let me know if you have any questions.

Benp

[sirgrantalot]

well, I started it back up last nite, at idle there is no knocking sound, it runs actually pretty well, although only on 3 cylinders (#2 has no compression) but the knocking come back at anything above idle. It sounds like something is banging around in there, but cyl #2 still moves in it's normal cycle. The smoke is definitely coolant based, and the oil pressure light turns off normally when it starts, and doesn't flicker. Tonite I'm going to start to pull the head to see what I can see under there.