[TCornishIII]

Alright Saab community, I need you guys.


A long story short, I have a large amount of oil leaking on the turbo side of the engine that is (of course :roll getting onto the down pipe and exhaust, which is smoking up pretty badly. And unfortunately, I haven't been able to source the leak. There is no leak at idle, only once I start driving a bit.


I bought the vehicle a little over a year ago with known oil leaks (nothing to the extent of now). I've worked my way through them all: replaced the valve cover gasket, redid the oil pan gasket (with the appropriate sealant), and even the oil cap. That latest thing I attempted to fix was light smoke emanating from the turbo area in the engine bay. I've never had a performance, boost, or mpg issue, so I wasn't too too concerned. It was more of a nuisance to refill the oil every couple weeks and smelling exhaust in the cabin when at a stop.

The guy who had the Saab before me was cancer to this vehicle. I've been diligently returning the car to spec and then some. When I was redoing the oilpan, I noticed he broke one of the bolts to the oil return line in the turbo. My natural thought was that that was the source to the oil leak and smoke. A couple of days I ago, I finally got around to completely pulling the turbo extracting the bolt, cleaning things up a tad, and putting it all back together. That's when this oil leak became tragic.

I don't believe it's the return line as I did a solid job installing and sealing it (to the turbo). I can see the feed line from the top of the turbo and that appears to be dry, as well as the feed line to the back of the block. I haven't had an issue with the vacuum pump, but I replaced that with another one I had, and that didn't fix the issue at hand. Assuming, there wasn't a spontaneous oil leak, I would guess only the feed and return lines would be the only culprits anyways...

After running the vehicle, the entire passenger (right) underside of the vehicle is coaxed in oil, and with there being so much oil, it's kinda hard to source a starting point. It should be noted, that even now, my car is driving flawlessly - just with a 007 style smoke screen behind me lol. I'm thinking about going to a car wash and power washing all the grease and oil off tomorrow to source a leak, but if anyone has had this issue before, and would be able to help me a little, that'd be fantastic!

Thanks so much, guys ;ol;

 

[LS1 SAAB]

I was chasing oil leaks on mine. First the front seal then the oil return o-ring in the block. I then remember reading something about the PCV/check valve. Took off the intake and the rubber disc was trashed. You might check that after you get your leaks sorted out.

 

[2006 Aero]

Alright Saab community, I need you guys.


A long story short, I have a large amount of oil leaking on the turbo side of the engine that is (of course :roll getting onto the down pipe and exhaust, which is smoking up pretty badly. And unfortunately, I haven't been able to source the leak. There is no leak at idle, only once I start driving a bit.


I bought the vehicle a little over a year ago with known oil leaks (nothing to the extent of now). I've worked my way through them all: replaced the valve cover gasket, redid the oil pan gasket (with the appropriate sealant), and even the oil cap. That latest thing I attempted to fix was light smoke emanating from the turbo area in the engine bay. I've never had a performance, boost, or mpg issue, so I wasn't too too concerned. It was more of a nuisance to refill the oil every couple weeks and smelling exhaust in the cabin when at a stop.

The guy who had the Saab before me was cancer to this vehicle. I've been diligently returning the car to spec and then some. When I was redoing the oilpan, I noticed he broke one of the bolts to the oil return line in the turbo. My natural thought was that that was the source to the oil leak and smoke. A couple of days I ago, I finally got around to completely pulling the turbo extracting the bolt, cleaning things up a tad, and putting it all back together. That's when this oil leak became tragic.

I don't believe it's the return line as I did a solid job installing and sealing it (to the turbo). I can see the feed line from the top of the turbo and that appears to be dry, as well as the feed line to the back of the block. I haven't had an issue with the vacuum pump, but I replaced that with another one I had, and that didn't fix the issue at hand. Assuming, there wasn't a spontaneous oil leak, I would guess only the feed and return lines would be the only culprits anyways...

After running the vehicle, the entire passenger (right) underside of the vehicle is coaxed in oil, and with there being so much oil, it's kinda hard to source a starting point. It should be noted, that even now, my car is driving flawlessly - just with a 007 style smoke screen behind me lol. I'm thinking about going to a car wash and power washing all the grease and oil off tomorrow to source a leak, but if anyone has had this issue before, and would be able to help me a little, that'd be fantastic!

Thanks so much, guys ;ol;

I'm experiencing much the same, but to a lesser degree. I have no knowledge to assist you with other than in my case I used upper cylinder lubricant before I began to experience any burning oil issues. When I ceased using the lubricant, the burning oil diminished. Also if your car has high mileage like mine, be sure to use a thicker oil. It will help reduce leakage. Sorry you're going through this but good luck in your repair!

 

[TCornishIII]

I was able to figure it out. After cleaning the underbody of my car, I decided to wrap every -- at least what I thought to be -- potential leak point in a paper towel. After running the car for a couple of minutes, I saw that only the paper towel at the return line to the block was soaked.

The problem was a combination of a worn gasket and faulty positioning. I installed the gasket wrong and didn't realize you needed to put the gasket in the block first, as opposed to on the nipple. I used another gasket I had laying around, and while there's still a slight leak, it's nowhere near as bad.

I was hoping I could purchase some new lines and gaskets, but after reading around, the available kits appear to be pretty poor in quality and I'm not trying to pay $120 for some braided lines right now haha:lol: