[saaberman]

2004 9-5 sedan aero

Now that it's winter I have discovered a leak in my heater bypass valve. Coolant is very slowly dripping off of it, ending up on the exhaust and making a burning smell. Right now, it's not too bad (so far, I've just been able to top up the coolant every few days), but I should get it fixed.

Since I'm unemployed and this job seems manageable, I'm going to try to do it myself. My question, however, is this: what's the best replacement part to buy?
Here are my options
1. Saab OEM part from eSaabParts $57
2. Febi Bilstein aftermarket part from eSaabParts ~$35
3. ProParts afermarket from eEuroparts ~$14

Right now, I'm leaning towards getting an aftermarket part since this is a case where we know in advance that the OEM part breaks all the time. Does anyone have any experience with either of these aftermarket parts?

Second question: is there anything else I will need to replace while I'm in there? (e.g. anything that I will probably break while doing this?) The only think I can think of immediately is the vacuum hose. For that, I think I will just buy a bit of generic vacuum hose tubing

Third question: how long does this job take? Is it a dumb idea to do it myself?

 

[bob3000]

1) I would stay away from the eEuro Proparts one...junk.

2) There isn't much else to add to the job that I can think of.

3) It will take about an hour, take 'before' pictures to help you remember where stuff goes back on and in my opinion it's never a "dumb idea" to take on a job and learn as you go, you can't get into much difficulty by trying.

4) Some folks will try to talk you into just removing the valve and replacing it with a bypass kit but I believe it has effect on hot humid summer days.

Good luck with the job.

 

[Windsor]

I bought a Uro nrand part a while ago on the basis that the OEM was failure prone. I would stay away from the $14 part. That cheep and it is doomed for failure. My one piece of advice is get a tool for removing the spring clamps. I got one and it made the job soooo much easier. Don’t put off the repair. Eventually the tiny crack will become one where the entire bottom of the valve will blow out and you will lose all your coolant in a matter of minutes.

 

[Finesse58]

Febi makes good parts, usually.
Proparts Sweden is actually Chinese knockoff crap. Avoid whenever possible.
My method for this job was kneeling on my engine block and cursing. 🤷

 

[Finesse58]

Febi makes good parts, usually.
Proparts Sweden is actually Chinese knockoff crap. Avoid whenever possible.
My method for this job was kneeling on my engine block and cursing. 🤷

 

[sip]

Can you explain #4 more? I cannot remember which brand I put in on it's last failure, but I'm experiencing an odder potential failure. I have no heat, despite the engine being at full operating temp and and climate control asking for max heat with A/C manually switched off. Can these also fail where they don't allow coolant to pass to the heater box?

If I removed it all together, will the hot humid days of the Philly summers have me cursing?

1) I would stay away from the eEuro Proparts one...junk.

2) There isn't much else to add to the job that I can think of.

3) It will take about an hour, take 'before' pictures to help you remember where stuff goes back on and in my opinion it's never a "dumb idea" to take on a job and learn as you go, you can't get into much difficulty by trying.

4) Some folks will try to talk you into just removing the valve and replacing it with a bypass kit but I believe it has effect on hot humid summer days.

Good luck with the job.

 

[Mimmi]

#4: You can remove whole bypass valve and hoses between engine and heater core and replace them with hose kit (P/N: 5463252).

Working time is around 1 hour either way.

 

[andybisnut]

Can you explain #4 more? I cannot remember which brand I put in on it's last failure, but I'm experiencing an odder potential failure. I have no heat, despite the engine being at full operating temp and and climate control asking for max heat with A/C manually switched off. Can these also fail where they don't allow coolant to pass to the heater box?

If I removed it all together, will the hot humid days of the Philly summers have me cursing?

I removed mine. I hate that stupid valve. I'm from the Twin Cities MN-- we have hot humid summers (90F+) and frigid winters. I did not notice any problems with the summer performance of the cooling. I'd strongly advocate deleting the valve and never worrying about it again.

 

[saaberman]

Update: the parts from eSaabParts are in sweden, so they will take 2-4 weeks to get here.

I found this part that fits available from Napa, which could be delivered by this week:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NOE6052638?impressionRank=1

The brand is Napa / Dorman / OE Solutions, anyone have any thoughts or experience with that brand?

 

[dcw]

Get the Febi - I've replaced 2 and the quality is good. Be careful with the brake vacuum line -easy to break when you're reaching for the control valve. Some hose pliers are nice and make the job easier. Plan on more than 1 hour if this is your first go. And do take pix - those vacuum lines can get confusing.

 

[EdT]

The Saab OEM is a GM part. I believe the Cadillac Catera also had one of these gems.

My personal experience, in having to replace the valve when out of country (though at someone's garage with tools etc) is that it was easier to pull just the valve than to get at the hoses at the heater core end to replace them all. (I had the valve-less hose kit, but got a valve from a local parts place just to get the job done.)

I don't think the OEM valve is THAT failure prone. Most of them have gone 10-15-plus years when they fail. How much longer is your 9-5 going to last?

 

[shaggy]

Yes, it is the same valve that is in the Catera. My original failed completely in my garage (luckily!) and I replaced it with the genuine GM part from the Catera which also started leaking shortly afterwards. I then bought the Mackay delete hose kit, had my indie install it and haven’t worried about it since…

 

[XLR99]

I had one fail on my wagon. I went thru 4 gal of distilled water to get home 20 miles . I went with a pair of the delete hoses, and put a set on my 01 beater commuter car as well to eliminate one more failure point. FWIW we had many 90+ days in CLE this summer, zero issues with coolant temp on my 80 mile daily grind.
If you need to change it anyway, why bother putting the same failure point back in the car? Looks like it's currently $40 from esaabparts. Just leave the solenoid connected and toss it up by behind the brake booster so you don't get a CEL.
Definitely do as suggested and get on of the cable operated hose clamp removal tools - it makes this job much less painful.
To give an idea- here's the bundle of snakes/bypass valve vs the delete hoses:

 

[FK9-5SE2000]

Can you explain #4 more? I cannot remember which brand I put in on it's last failure, but I'm experiencing an odder potential failure. I have no heat, despite the engine being at full operating temp and and climate control asking for max heat with A/C manually switched off. Can these also fail where they don't allow coolant to pass to the heater box?

If I removed it all together, will the hot humid days of the Philly summers have me cursing?

For reference only, when my valve leaked on my MY2000 V6 ten years ago, I replaced it With OEM.

The only function this valve has is to turn off the hot water to the heater core IF you select the highest cooling from the AC. otherwise, hot water always circulates in the heater core and cabin air temp is solely controlled by the solenoid-activated blend doors.
Many owners have bought a bypass kit and I’ve never seen one regret posted by anyone In the years I’ve been on the two Saab forums.

If you take on the job, as others have commented, hose clamp pliers help a lot, but you can also maneuver visegrips or slip joint pliers. Make sure you cover your fender wings to protect the paint from damage as you work on the valve. Mine was easier to do from the driver’s side of the car (US left hand drive V6 engine). Slip joint pliers can assist with getting the hoses off the old valve after you move the clamps.

 

[saabsummerfest]

2004 9-5 sedan aero Now that it's winter I have discovered a leak in my heater bypass valve. Coolant is very slowly dripping off of it, ending up on the exhaust and making a burning smell. Right now, it's not too bad (so far, I've just been able to top up the coolant every few days), but I should get it fixed. Since I'm unemployed and this job seems manageable, I'm going to try to do it myself. My question, however, is this: what's the best replacement part to buy? Here are my options 1. Saab OEM part from eSaabParts $57 2. Febi Bilstein aftermarket part from eSaabParts ~$35 3. ProParts afermarket from eEuroparts ~$14 Right now, I'm leaning towards getting an aftermarket part since this is a case where we know in advance that the OEM part breaks all the time. Does anyone have any experience with either of these aftermarket parts? Second question: is there anything else I will need to replace while I'm in there? (e.g. anything that I will probably break while doing this?) The only think I can think of immediately is the vacuum hose. For that, I think I will just buy a bit of generic vacuum hose tubing Third question: how long does this job take? Is it a dumb idea to do it myself?

I sort of did this job twice, once on my 2000 9-5 and once on my 2008 9-5. Both times I replaced the valve an hoses with the MacKay hose set to eliminate this known failure point.

 

[AnthonyA]

2004 9-5 sedan aero

Now that it's winter I have discovered a leak in my heater bypass valve. Coolant is very slowly dripping off of it, ending up on the exhaust and making a burning smell. Right now, it's not too bad (so far, I've just been able to top up the coolant every few days), but I should get it fixed.

Since I'm unemployed and this job seems manageable, I'm going to try to do it myself. My question, however, is this: what's the best replacement part to buy?
Here are my options
1. Saab OEM part from eSaabParts $57
2. Febi Bilstein aftermarket part from eSaabParts ~$35
3. ProParts afermarket from eEuroparts ~$14

Right now, I'm leaning towards getting an aftermarket part since this is a case where we know in advance that the OEM part breaks all the time. Does anyone have any experience with either of these aftermarket parts?

Second question: is there anything else I will need to replace while I'm in there? (e.g. anything that I will probably break while doing this?) The only think I can think of immediately is the vacuum hose. For that, I think I will just buy a bit of generic vacuum hose tubing

Third question: how long does this job take? Is it a dumb idea to do it myself?

I have two Saab 9-5s and I’ve owned it about 10 years.
I’ve replace that stupid heater bypass valve several times. I’ve bought that part in several brand names from online Amazon/ebay and they all seem very cheaply made. The most recent brand I bought was one from local my local Autozone store and so far I can say it lasted quite well. I would also recommend using locking pliers to remove the clamps but I would use duck tape or electrical tape wrapped around the teeth of the pliers to give it grip. It makes it a lot easier and a faster job. I would also use WD40 to lubricate the clamps so that it can slide off easy.

 

[AnthonyA]

I have two Saab 9-5s and I’ve owned it about 10 years.
I’ve replace that stupid heater bypass valve several times. I’ve bought that part in several brand names from online Amazon/ebay and they all seem very cheaply made. The most recent brand I bought was one from local my local Autozone store and so far I can say it lasted quite well. I would also recommend using locking pliers to remove the clamps but I would use duck tape or electrical tape wrapped around the teeth of the pliers to give it grip. It makes it a lot easier and a faster job. I would also use WD40 to lubricate the clamps so that it can slide off easy.

malos there’s nothing else that you need to replace while your in there. But be careful with the vacuum hoses. It can take about 1 hr of everything goes right .LOL I would also recommend replacing the thermostats since you’ll need todrain the coolant

 

[Monochamus]

May I ask a question related to this? It would be reliable if I replace the coolant by pass valve for this piece?

 

[gushertz]

My one piece of advice is get a tool for removing the spring clamps. I got one and it made the job soooo much easier.

Yes, I bought on of those tools, too. It made the job easier. When I installed the new valve, I used regular screw type hose clamps instead of the spring clamps. Much easier.

 

[EdT]

The only function this valve has is to turn off the hot water to the heater core IF you select the highest cooling from the AC. otherwise, hot water always circulates in the heater core and cabin air temp is solely controlled by the solenoid-activated blend doors.

The valve cuts off circulation to the heater core in more situations than just setting ACC to LO.

For instance, whatever your ACC temp setting, when you start up a hot car, the valve will activate.

It also is activated if you have A/C off (ECON) and the outside temperature is high enough that there is no need to add heat to the air.

You can observe all of this with a Tech II. (I have.)