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Odd oil pressure issue - B235r

1497 Views 74 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  leifr
hey all,

I have an '02 Viggen convertible with 76kmi. It has been in the family since new and strictly maintained. Over the years it has had a number of oil leaks, most of which have been resolved (crankshaft seal, oil pressure switch). One that remains is the head gasket - and I know I need to bite the bullet and have it replaced. It drips maybe a half teaspoon a week onto a pan on my garage floor. The car is driven about 20-50mi a week. Oil level is checked frequently. No engine modifications.

When the car is driven more than about 20-30mins, the oil pressure light and red triangle start illuminating at idle (e.g. at a light or in traffic). This only happens at idle - a slight blip of the throttle makes the lights go out.

When this first started happening (about a month ago), I took it immediately to my trusted Saab mechanic. They pulled the oil pan to check for sludge - none was found. Everything is clean. #4 piston bearing was checked and is good. They replaced the oil pressure switch again, thinking it could be a faulty sensor. But the problem remains. Otherwise it runs & drives perfectly.

Since this only happens once the engine is fully warmed up & driving for 20-30mins, is it possible that the head gasket issue, combined with the expanded metal of a warm engine, is contributing to low pressure at idle? Has anyone seen a problem like this and could suggest potential causes?

Thanks!
Randy
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When i inspected the bearings on my 2002 t7 engine, all bearings looked good except the center main crank bearing was down to copper. Engine had 220k mi on it though. I would suggest getting an actual pressure guage hooked up so you know exactly what the pressures are
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I would not suspect the cylinder head gasket for your oil leak, as long as the engine works properly. A faulty headgasket would give you a lot more trouble, like rough idling, loss of water, overheating, exhaust blue/white smoke and lack of power.
The oil leak might also come from the cylinder head cover.
When your oil pressure warning light goes out by a slight blip of the throttle, there is probably no majore failure, but i will recomend Saaberachis recommondation.
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When i inspected the bearings on my 2002 t7 engine, all bearings looked good except the center main crank bearing was down to copper.
What describes a SAAB T7 engine compared to a B204i ?
Oil will take a long time to get fully hot--considerably longer than the coolant So it sounds like you aren't getting enough oil pressure at hot idle.

What oil are you using? Mobil 0W-40 is on the thinner side of the spec.
When i inspected the bearings on my 2002 t7 engine, all bearings looked good except the center main crank bearing was down to copper. Engine had 220k mi on it though. I would suggest getting an actual pressure guage hooked up so you know exactly what the pressures are
I would back this - definitely get an actual oil pressure gauge on there to see what's up.

It would take a prodigious leak to affect oil pressure... what's described here is reasonably typical of these motors.

If the car hasn't been driven much, there could be wear. Could also be a gummed up bypass valve, or dried o-rings on the oil pickup or crossover tube. Did they replace those when they dropped the pan? Did they remove the pickup strainer to be sure it's not clogged up?
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What describes a SAAB T7 engine compared to a B204i ?
T7 is b205/235. B204 is t5 if turbo'd & motronic if n/a i believe
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B234 came with Motronic in the NG900 but Trionic in 9000.
Was the motronic n/a & the turbos t5?

Theres a 95 900 vert in the yard with a 234i. I grabbed the distributor, coil & intake cam just in case
No, all four cylinder 9000s used Trionic regardless of aspiration.
Even V6 9000 uses Trionic5.
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I always thought trionic-tri=3, was turbo cars only. Fuel, ignition & boost .
That's the idea, but the CS 9000 only ever ran Trionic.
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Nope. 1992 B202i and B202S ran with LH Jetronic and DI/APC.
I would back this - definitely get an actual oil pressure gauge on there to see what's up.

It would take a prodigious leak to affect oil pressure... what's described here is reasonably typical of these motors.

If the car hasn't been driven much, there could be wear. Could also be a gummed up bypass valve, or dried o-rings on the oil pickup or crossover tube. Did they replace those when they dropped the pan? Did they remove the pickup strainer to be sure it's not clogged up?
This is helpful thanks! I believe they checked all the o-rings & bypass valve when they had the pan down, but will double check. Pickup strainer was clean. Such a mystery!
When i inspected the bearings on my 2002 t7 engine, all bearings looked good except the center main crank bearing was down to copper. Engine had 220k mi on it though. I would suggest getting an actual pressure guage hooked up so you know exactly what the pressures are
I’ve got the pan off on my 9-5 Aero. Should I check the bearings while I have it off? It’s only got 120,000 miles on it.
If you have a good torque/angle wrench i would. If you had good pressure & no knocks or lower end issues, with that milage it probably wouldnt be necessary. But while you're in there. If you decide to, i'd check the middle main & #4 rod bearing for sure
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If you have a good torque/angle wrench i would. If you had good pressure & no knocks or lower end issues, with that milage it probably wouldnt be necessary. But while you're in there. If you decide to, i'd check the middle main & #4 rod bearing for sure
Checked the middle main. Seems like it's in good shape, but this is my first time pulling one of these apart so I snapped some photos.

Thoughts? What am I looking at here? Seem like it's okay?

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Ya it looks ok. When its worn down past the grey lining into the copper colored lining, its definately time to change them because the next layer will wreek havok! Lol
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