[oceanviews]

Hello all,

Its been a headache from the cooling system on the 93. Replaced the water pump, thermostat, and coolant temp sensor, coolant, and coolant reservoir cap. No leaks but now the coolant seems to be barely boiling over on max load (ac+hard driving). Im hoping its not a head gasket. Going to test for combustion gas and compression.

Parts are hard for me to find...I use oem when I can.

The stuff im using currently:
-Prestone GM Dexcool coolant
-Some cheap local parts store thermostat and sensor
- NAPA water pump
-Carquest Premium Engine Coolant Reservoir Cap(20psi relief advertised) Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Edit: Ive also never in my life ever seen the coolant temp go over 9 oclock. Even with it boiling still reads fine in OBDII. Seems untrustworthy even though sensors are working

 

[Cloakedbug]

Noob here, but maybe its possible you still have some air in the system?
It should be self bleeding over time through the reservoir but if you JUST swapped everything maybe the thermostat had some air trapped etc?

 

[Mimmi]

Do you use original reservoir and cap?

 

[oeyvind]

[/QUOTE]
Ive also never in my life ever seen the coolant temp go over 9 oclock. Even with it boiling still reads fine in OBDII. Seems untrustworthy even though sensors are working.

That makes me concerned too.

 

[Germaniac]

Look into the coolant reservoir (when the coolant is cold!) - if you can see black bubbles in the fluid there's a good chance that the gasket has blown.

 

[oceanviews]

Noob here, but maybe its possible you still have some air in the system?
It should be self bleeding over time through the reservoir but if you JUST swapped everything maybe the thermostat had some air trapped etc?

Thought so too man. Could be I guess. It's annoying there's no bleed screw or anyway to do it manually.

 

[oceanviews]

I just did a head gasket combustion test on the coolant reservoir and it passed. No combustion gases in coolant reservoir as of now. Going to test more later after car cools down.

 

[oceanviews]

Do you use original reservoir and cap?

Original resivor. Can't find oem cap to save my life. Using car quest junk. Honestly could be the culprit. Might buy metal one from genuinesaab.

 

[jvanabra]

The 9-3 bleeds air out very quickly. One 20 minute drive is all it takes.

You can buy any/all OE parts from esaabparts.com, including the cap and reservoir and thermostat.

You could have a coolant leak that sucks in air on cool down. This can also happen with a poor-fitting reservoir cap.

I would hook up a scan tool and see what the actual coolant temperature is, that may help you determine next steps.

 

[oceanviews]

Look into the coolant reservoir (when the coolant is cold!) - if you can see black bubbles in the fluid there's a good chance that the gasket has blown.

Just gunk / dirt. I tested for combustion gas in the loop and it passed. Could it still be headgasket?

 

[oceanviews]

The 9-3 bleeds air out very quickly. One 20 minute drive is all it takes.

You can buy any/all OE parts from esaabparts.com, including the cap and reservoir and thermostat.

You could have a coolant leak that sucks in air on cool down. This can also happen with a poor-fitting reservoir cap.

I would hook up a scan tool and see what the actual coolant temperature is, that may help you determine next steps.

Thanks for the link. Going to investigate. Temps read like 220f when its ran hard doesn't go above 230. 60 fdegree ambient temperatures.

Edit: caps on back order :/

 

[EdT]

The thermostat may be an issue. I would not use a no-name one. And if I did, I would test it first, in a pot of water with a thermometer in it. There's no reason for the car to run that hot. It's not the middle of summer or anything.

You should also double-check the belt is routed correctly around the water pump.

There is no fancy bleeding on these cars. Fill the reservoir to about halfway (no more), and start the engine with the reservoir cap off. Run it until it warms up enough to open the thermostat. The coolant level will drop very quickly. Top up to about halfway, replace cap, turn off engine. After it's cooled off overnight, add coolant to proper level (at seam) and if you have no leaks or other issues, you should be done.

 

[mio]

Might buy metal one from genuinesaab.

Keep in mind that the GenuineSaab option represents a revised cap cover; it still requires that you use the pressure valves associated with a traditional coolant reservoir cap.

 

[oceanviews]

The thermostat may be an issue. I would not use a no-name one. And if I did, I would test it first, in a pot of water with a thermometer in it. There's no reason for the car to run that hot. It's not the middle of summer or anything.

You should also double-check the belt is routed correctly around the water pump.

There is no fancy bleeding on these cars. Fill the reservoir to about halfway (no more), and start the engine with the reservoir cap off. Run it until it warms up enough to open the thermostat. The coolant level will drop very quickly. Top up to about halfway, replace cap, turn off engine. After it's cooled off overnight, add coolant to proper level (at seam) and if you have no leaks or other issues, you should be done.

The thermostat does open. I agree thats pretty hot for the temperature outside. The belts correct. Im going to drain and refill and see if that works.

 

[oceanviews]

Thank you everyone for your amazing wisdom and help.

 

[oceanviews]

Coolant reservoir boiled over shooting coolant when I had to cap off testing for combustion gas. Is this normal?

 

[oceanviews]

Keep in mind that the GenuineSaab option represents a revised cap cover; it still requires that you use the pressure valves associated with a traditional coolant reservoir cap.

I see that...I don't trust the valve on these cheap car quest parts. The one cap didn't relieve pressure at all and just blew the entire cap off shooting coolant everywhere. Sounded like a muffled bomb.

If anyone knows a source for a good cap or reservoir let me know please

Edit: Found this: Saab Expansion Tank Cap - Calorstat 4395513 Looks different but the only one I could find currently.

and expansion tank Saab Expansion Tank - Pro Parts 4356390

 

[EdT]

You can't take the cap off when the engine is warm/hot. The extra pressure keeps the coolant from boiling. Remove the pressure, the boiling point drops, and it can almost explode.

 

[oceanviews]

You can't take the cap off when the engine is warm/hot. The extra pressure keeps the coolant from boiling. Remove the pressure, the boiling point drops, and it can almost explode.

Thought so...Thank you

 

[jvanabra]

If you open the system hot, and the system boils, it will fill with air.