84 900 turbo tranny fluid question

[j_berry]

hi i just bought a 84 900 turbo and i did a tranny filter and fluid change on it. thought it would do the car more good than harm. well i know this sounds funny but how do i properly check the fluid level on it? owners manual says one way, haynes book says something totally different and both ways are completely different from what im use to. any help would be great. thank you

[lyricon]

Hi,
There is a dip stick just by the radiator slightly right of center betwen the engine and the radiatior. The engine should be warm. I run mine through a drive, reverse, park cycle. That being put the car in drive with the foot brake on, wait for it to engage, put it in reverse, wait, then to park, check the fluid level. there are maks on the dip stick for cold temp and warm. use the one that matches. If you run the car low on fluid it will slip. If too much there is a danger of blowing seals.

Hope this helps,

Greg

[Matt88S]

Warm engine.

Run through all the gears.

Put it in park, leave engine running.

Put parking brake on.

Get out and check fluid level.

Top off or remove as needed.


Incidentually the proper way to fill an auto box is.

Add 3-4 quarts.

Start vehicle.

Slowly and steadly add the additional fluid checking regularly making sure you do not over fill.

We usually do not have to worry about this procedure as when we drain our autoboxes we do not get but a few quarts out anyway. But if you ever rebuild one or do a change on a car where it is possible to get the majority of the fluid out its a good thing to observe.

[j_berry]

thank you for the replies i was just wondering as i it was throwing me off a bit also i was wondering when i first pulled the pan to change the filter(which was the wrong pan) and i put it back in,could i have screwed anything up? as now it seems i dont have first gear. you start out and it is slugish and wont shift until 25 to 30 mph. when it does shift at that speed it shifts fine but it seems i had first , second and third before i started and now it seems i dont have first.thank you so much everyone

[Jim Mesthene]

Check the throttle cable, the one that goes to the transmission. If you don't feel strong spring resistance with a hard spot near the end of it's travel, you could have knocked the cable loose inside somehow.
If you find slack in the cable at 1/3 throttle, don't drive the car until you put the cable back where it belongs (around a little cam?). You can fry the transmission in only a few miles (3 if you're trying) if you have low pressure because of a loose or disconnected cable.

[j_berry]

ok i'll check that. it seems like it is first gear when you step on the brake and kick it into drive the car like jumps forward( as it does with any vehicle not really jumps but shifts ) like it is in first gear but shifts at around 25 -30mph. motor rpms isnt reallly high as like it seems it would be. i dunno really. but ill check it as soon as i can. im planning on pulling the crossmember off and dropping the pans(as i did before. larger one was by mistake thinking it was the tranny pan holding the filter)and go threw to see if i screwed anything up.
im not complaining to much cause i got the car for 500.00 and the only visible problem is the tach doesnt work. interior is excellent (dash has a few cracks in it) outside the car is in very good shape. no rust or dents. only mod done is there is a spoiler on the trunk from a 70 mach 1.

[j_berry]

where do i fill the gear oil on an 84 saab turbo. i looked everywhere and can not find a fill port anywhere. help please. thank you so much

[900t]

RH side of car, exhaust manifold area, dipstick marked "GEAR BOX OIL"

[eggsngrits]

900T took you seriously.


When I read 'gear oil on an 84 turbo' I wanted to answer: "Well, wipe it off!!"

*rimshot*

[900t]

Originally Posted by eggsngrits

900T took you seriously.


When I read 'gear oil on an 84 turbo' I wanted to answer: "Well, wipe it off!!"

*rimshot*

da da tiss

[j_berry]

ok my bad i should have said it is an auto tranny. my mistake

[900t]

OK then it should be just behind the rad and say "GEAR BOX OIL"

[Jim Mesthene]

Originally Posted by j_berry

ok my bad i should have said it is an auto tranny. my mistake

Final drive oil fill/level is a 3/8 square plug just forward of the right axle.

[j_berry]

ok here it is. bought the car 3 weeks ago. ran good but slugish on take off(auto trans in it). checked fluid noticed it was a bit low. seen in trunk tranny fluid so i added a little bit. decided to change the filter in tranny. so i did all that and added fluid to it and it wasnt acting right. emptied tranny fluid and found it took type f not dextron III as it was in the trunk of the carand what i filled it with. filled up with proper fluid. had a small leak in the pan back by the final drive area, so i drained it all again and refilled it and it is at proper level (run car threw all gears, put in p and check it)but it still isnt acting right. one time out will shift ok next hour or so it wont shift until i let up on the gas. im at a bit of a loss here. should i drain the fluid and change the filter again?could i have gotten an after market filter that is junk or is it cause dextron III was used at first? was only ran maybe at the most two miles with it in. but im assuming that is what the previous owner used in it since it was in the trunk of the car. also could i try draining the fluid ,refilling it running it a bit drain it again to see if i get all the old nasty fluid out of the torque converter if that will help? any and all help would be great. thank you

[Jim Mesthene]

The difference in the oils is not that great, I doubt that is causing your trouble.
Put in a can of whatever brand of tranny-in-a-can your parts store recommends (or a cup of brake fluid). If it improves, change the oil and filter again.

[Shan]

Over here where Type F is non-existant, I've resorted to using Dexron III on 4 of the c900's in the fleet. Definately not the recommended grade of oil, but haven't given me trouble either in the years that I've been using them.

[lyricon]

Amazingly enough that is how a Saab auto works. They are clunky but they work. Mine shifted best when i was accelerating pretty hard. In traffic it would hang out in secon until I let off the gas or pull the lever quickly into second then back to drive. If that is the only problem run it. Keep the fluid full. Low fluid will do damage.

[grif900]

i dont think moving that lever under load is a good idea,even if it does have a seemingly positve effect.just my opinion .

jim- brake fluid? to swell seals? ive heared of this before,but never got a good explanation about it, at least not enough to try it in mine.please enlighten me.

[lyricon]

It depends on when you move the lever. I used it to shift down rather that haveing to push the gas so far much easier on the drive train. If the trans is holding too long in second a quick switch ino second then back to drive will initiate the shift. If the load is light it works great. My trans shifte normaly when under load.

[j_berry]

well i dropped the pan today and checked to see if all was well with the filter and all. everything seemed ok but i did find a small valve type piston that had an extremely loose bracket on it. so i tightened it up and redid everything and added slick 50 and tranny fluid in it. i havent ran it yet so hopefully it runs ok.

car is just weird one time out shifts great next it wont shift wourth a damn. tempermental i guess.
thanks guys for all.