Temp Gauge Question

[narlinghaus]

Just bought this Saab from my brother who let it sit for awhile with a broken fuel pump. Fixed the fuel pump and the car runs great.

Drove it for about an hour yesterday and for 20 minutes this morning and the temp gauge never got above 9:00. The fill fluid coolant message came up this morning and eventually the CEL came on. When I stopped at a gas station the engine compartment was smoking. Popped the hood and there were evident signs of fluid that had spewed, but no drips under the car. I opened the fluid reservoir slowly to let out the pressure and once I removed the lid, fluid filled back into the reservoir and at an acceptable level.

Finished the drive to work and when I stopped the car no signs of smoke came from the hood. The fluid messaged did not come on the last leg of the trip either.

I have not had a chance to get the CEL scanned but will do that tonight. I did notice a little bit of fresh liquid/fluid of some kind on the front right side of the engine where the exhaust turns toward the rear of the car.

Any thoughts or ideas? I have searched quite a bit on here so far but nothing jumped out at me. Is it possible that the temp gauge is reading wrong and the engine was running hot?

Any help is appreciated.

[Jssaab]

Retorque the head, early models had bad headbots and were not torue properly at the factory...

get the codes read...

and welcome to saabcentral

[justinsaab]

Yes I would say that it's possible that the temp sensor is reading wrong and its overheating without the gauge saying so. After you see what the code is of course, I would start looking for leaks in the cooling system. Use a pressure tester if you have one or can borrow one to pressurize the cooling system and look for leaks.

[Saaber95er]

Check the heater valve for any leaks; the valve could be bad and leaking antifreeze onto the exhaust. I would also change the thermostat since the car was sitting for awhile. Can you see where the antifreeze is leaking from?

[narlinghaus]

Originally Posted by Saaber95er

Check the heater valve for any leaks; the valve could be bad and leaking antifreeze onto the exhaust. I would also change the thermostat since the car was sitting for awhile. Can you see where the antifreeze is leaking from?

Can't tell for sure where it is leaking from but it is definitely towards the front right of the engine. There is a little bit dripping off the bottom of the engine near where the Front Cover would be on the engine...

I'll try tightening the Head Bolts tonight. I probably will end up replacing the t-stat as well.

[narlinghaus]

So I tightened the Head Bolts last night...bolt number 10 according to the directions was so loose I could turn it by hand...hopefully that solved the problem. The car seemed to be fine this morning on the drive in so we will see. I think I am going to replace the t-stat anyway in the next few days.

Thanks for the help.

[Pabllh]

While you're there change the temp sensor also.