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Oil grade for SAAB 9-3.

258K views 60 replies 32 participants last post by  hcervantes 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello,

I need to change the oil in my 2003 Saab 9-3. What kind of synthetic oil grade should I put (5W10-5W30....)?

Thanks.
 
#3 · (Edited)
The official answer is to use an oil that meets GM LL A 025 spec. Not sure if it's the same in Canada, but the two most common oil that meet the spec here in the states are Mobil 0W-40 and Catrol Syntec 0W-30 (Made in Germany) which is only available from AutoZone. There are also other oils that meet the spec from Motul, Total, and Amsoil.
 
#5 ·
The official answer is to use an oil that meets GM LL A 025 spec. Not sure if it's the same in Canada, but the two most common oil that meet the spec here in the states are Mobil 0W-40 and Catrol Syntec 5W-30 (Made in Germany) which is only available from AutoZone. There are also other oils that meet the spec from Motul, Total, and Amsoil.
Good answer. However your manual should state 0W-30 or 0W-40. The last year or two 5W-30 and 5W-40 have been added.

Mobile 1 0W-40 is your best bet all around--reasonably priced, easy to get, and probably the best oil out of all of them.
 
#6 ·
There is no 5W30 that meets the GM LL A 025 Spec in the US market.
You may have it in Canada. If you use a non spec oil change it sooner. And you have an 03, ignore the SID, it is calibrated to an obsolete standard Mobil 1 0W40 was re-certified and the Interval dropped from 15K/2yrs to 10K/1yr.

Mobil does make a 5W40 that meets the GM LL B 025 Spec, you can use B in Diesel or Gasoline Engines, A is Gasoline only. I myself never heard of anyone recommending or using it in the SS.
 
#7 ·
There is no 5W30 that meets the GM LL A 025 Spec in the US market.
You may have it in Canada. If you use a non spec oil change it sooner. And you have an 03, ignore the SID, it is calibrated to an obsolete standard Mobil 1 0W40 was re-certified and the Interval dropped from 15K/2yrs to 10K/1yr.

Mobil does make a 5W40 that meets the GM LL B 025 Spec, you can use B in Diesel or Gasoline Engines, A is Gasoline only. I myself never heard of anyone recommending or using it in the SS.
GM LL A 025 Spec
A=gasoline

GM LL B 025 Spec
B=diesel
 
#20 ·
I do a lot of stop and start driving short distances and the oil is usually quite dark when it get changed. I look at it this way I pay CA$90 for an oil and filter change probably twice a year that may save me a ton of money in a few years time. My car is nearly six years old (I got it in Aug08) and I intend on running it into the ground and replacing it with a second hand 9-5 (the model due out this summer) when it does head off to that scrapyard in the sky.

zippy:cheesy:
 
#13 ·
He's an 03... if he goes by his manual he's going to go 5000 miles too far or a year too long on Mobil 1..... The Oils rating was changed in 06 to 10K/1year. Spec 0W40 is easy enough to find... Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec, Gulf GTX and several other brands.
 
#14 ·
JonV, I can't believe you let the post above yours go without comment . . .

I'm trying to imagine how some one (who isn't either racing, driving continuously in 140 degree temperatures, or doing a lot of off-roading in dusty conditions) could possibly "abuse" their saab enough to cause their oil to breakdown to such an extent that it would require changing it out at half the suggested interval . . .

Never say never I guess . . . but zero chance of this occurring if you do the majority of your driving on the street in city conditions (no matter how much street racing you do) imo . . .
 
#17 ·
JonV, I can't believe you let the post above yours go without comment . . .

I'm trying to imagine how some one (who isn't either racing, driving continuously in 140 degree temperatures, or doing a lot of off-roading in dusty conditions) could possibly "abuse" their saab enough to cause their oil to breakdown to such an extent that it would require changing it out at half the suggested interval . . .

Never say never I guess . . . but zero chance of this occurring if you do the majority of your driving on the street in city conditions (no matter how much street racing you do) imo . . .
Considering we've both discussed this topic a million times before (Jon V)... I think were mostly on agreeance. Going 10k miles without an oil change, especially at the mileage me and him are at, is pretty dumb.
City driving is considered strenous on your engine.
I dont street race.

Unless you drive competely like a grandma, you really shouldnt be going beyond 10k miles without a change.
I do race on the track.

Im not saying I desperatly need a change at 5k miles, but its good for your engine. Just like letting your gas run almost completly out until filling up. Of course you dont have to put gas into the tank until almost empty, but its usually better for the car to put some gas in before running out.
 
#38 ·
I have to say that Mobil1 used to work very well years ago, but my recent experience is not that good. It might be me getting too picky but I have the feeling the same oil is degrading quicker on my B205 and B235 engines. I have been looking recently at specs for oils in detail and Shell 5-40 seems to cope better with higher temperatures (at least on paper). And this is something important with these engines. I have had good experiences with Shell synthetic oil on the misses car (Volvo S40) so will be giving it a go at the next change.
 
#16 ·
Pretty funny pokerguy:lol:

And JonV although the M1 0W40 might have been reformulated, as most oils and products are, it still has the GM Long Life spec so it should still be able to go up to 18,000 miles? Where do you get the idea that it is only good for 10,000 mi.? Unless someone has an UOA showing that the M1 can't go that far it should be fine.

My UOA from last summer with 12,000 mi. still had plenty of life left--probably another 4-6,000 mi.

Plenty of people here are still wasting money and oil by changing their full syn oils too frequently. But to each their own I guess...
 
#18 ·
I myself change every 7.5K, I reset my OLM every other Oil Change. After 7.5K it usually reads between 44 and 55% Oil Life left. I do mostly Highway and Suburban driving.

@Cos look in the 93SS Manual 06 on, Saab now recommends 10K intervals or one year, and the SID/OLM Algorithm has been adjusted to that Interval, ...We've had this discussion in June, I'd posted links about it ....from a June thread....

"I've posted Links about it in the past, http://lnengineering.blogspot.com/ it's old news, you can also find information on BITOG. Or write Mobil."


and

Mobil 1 0W-40 Current PDS - Bob Is The Oil Guy


Mobil 1 0W-40 Current PDS - Bob Is The Oil Guy

More on discrepencies with Mobil 1 0w40, reformulations, and its poor performance in high performance engines.
 
#25 ·
I do recall us discussing it this summer.

That doesn't change the fact that it still has the GM Long Life spec.
And you have seen all my UOA's on both my 03' and 06' correct? They don't get much better. And I don't think anyone on here has done as many UOA's as me or had as long an OCI. I think I'm the only person here that has data to back up what I say.

Ironically I'm now running Royal Purple 0W 40. It should be interesting to see how that oil performs and I'll bet not as good as M1 0W 40 although I hope it does.
 
#19 ·
The GM-LL specs are correct for the 9-3 and should be followed. That said, especially given the change to lower OCIs in subsequent years, that spec may or may not be important. What IS important, and apears to be a prerequisite for the LL oil is to meet ACEA A3. While A5 is the long drain spec, my manual explicitly states that if the right LL spec oil cannot be found in a pinch, that the correct plan of action is to use an A3 oil with the right viscosity.

I buy that... That said, I have run Amsoil SSO, which is not A3, and got very nice UOA results.

However Id recommend ACEA A3 at bare minimum. The LL spec oils are very good, Id run them and not bother thinking about anything else.
 
#28 ·
So I am starting to do the maintenance on my car my self. Today the Car went to 37k and my intermediate service light came up. I asked the dealer how much for a Intermediate service and they wanted $340.

Not too sure if thats worth it since they really don't do to much I think imho.

So I was thinking Motul Oil but wasn't too sure about the weight and a K&N Oil Filter.

Any suggestions?
 
#29 ·
I talked to my mechanic and he said he's going to put 5w40 in mine, he also said if I agree to do 3 with him over time he can give me all 3 for 100 because he'll get a lot better deal on the oil, I was extremely happy with that so the next time I'm home I'm going to bring it to him for the first of 3 changes.
 
#34 ·
Hi All, new to saab central... can i add another question to the group...i have a 2007 93 wagon tid, 74,000km. I replaced oil at 71,000.. oil seems v dirty for only covering 3000 in 3 months... i know the oil was changed at 70,000 because is personaly watched it go in! is this normal for these diesel engines ?.. & when checking the oil i find it v difficult to understand what the dipstick is saying/reading, is there a trick, method for reading the dipstick as the oil seems to be covering the dipstick all over..
 
#36 ·
Hey everyone, I change my oil every 3k miles with Dexos1 full synthetic 5w-30. I haven't had any issues with it since I started using it. Although at 3k miles the oil is pretty dark. I dig the Dexos1 though, it's a pretty good quality oil. I mean they do require it in all of the brand new cadillacs after all
 
#37 · (Edited)
I don't know why, I change every 3k miles and usually use Mobil 1 0W-40:
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1
But I don't always write the mileage down and have a terrible memory, so maybe it's more like 500 miles sometimes.

This time I bought 5W-30 annual protection just cause it cost more, I guess:
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-annual-protection

I was thinking of buying the 0W-40 long and hard, but decided to go 5W-30

Sometimes I think changing the motor oil more often cleans the engine. Of course I'm not sure that it does.
It's also pretty "dirty" at 3K miles, whatever that means

I did a 5k miles oil change in my Camry (longest interval I can recall ever on any car I've had) recently and it was pretty dark, like Saab 3k dark. That was with Mobil 1 -- 0W-20 annual protection.
Sometimes you do so little on a Camry you forget to maintain it. It's like the opposite of a Saab.

Also figuring out what parts (oils, motor oil, whatever maintenance parts) you need for a Camry is as easy as ****.

My Saab want me to change the side lights on it and I'm like WTF, how do I do that?! Used to piss me off bad on my old Saab and now it's just kind of funny, but still pissed me off a little :lol:

Took it to car wash for like 2 months this year; lights stopped working. Tail light lens fell off. Key's goofy, trunk randomly opens.

I would change the ATF fluid again, but I have no good/easy way to check the fluid level.

Thinking of getting 06-09 -- 9-5 wagon, but you need the patience of a saint with these vehicles. Just figuring out which oil to buy is nutty.

Make sure you buy one that was mostly driven by some one who drives slow and maintained it ;ol;

Don't buy one from a kid who put extra small tires on the front wheels and tells you to floor it during the test drive.
Don't buy one at the airport when the car is already warm and the guy clearly doesn't want you to know where he lives.
 
#41 ·
.???

Equating quality solely to price is not solid reasoning, IMO.

All full synthetic oils from major refineries are good. If you change your oil as often as you say it doesn't matter which you use. As long as you use a weight listed in your manual.

Base stock and additives may matter some if you go 15,000 miles between changes. But if you want to just go for the most expensive oil, have at it.

Mobil 1 0W-40 for me. $23 at Walmart for 5 quarts and a $12 rebate from Mobil twice a year. Rebate on now until end of May I believe
 
#44 ·
.???

Equating quality solely to price is not solid reasoning, IMO.
It's motor oil
It's all I have to go by
Other than the writing on the container
Although I do read some "spec" pdf's sometimes

I'm not the kind of guy who buys cheap food hoping it's as good for me as more expensive food.
My health is more important to me than saving money or not getting ripped off, if you prefer.
To each his own I suppose.

All full synthetic oils from major refineries are good.
Mobil 1 does not claim any of their motor oils in the US market are "synthetic" as far as I know.
I mean it says "fully synthetic", but when you read their website they don't claim any of their oils are "synthetic"
That's America, cut corners and scam everywhere
Like my Swiss friend says, big business, big ****
I think they say they meet "synthetic specs" on their website, so then by that logic they put "fully synthetic" on the bottle, but not "100% synthetic" supposedly, I read somewhere

Like cereal says "no high fructose corn syrup" on the front of the box in big writing and the ingredients on the side says "corn syrup" which might be and probably is, if I had to guess, high in fructose
I mean what is "high" anyway?
What is food?
What is medicine?
What is the speed limit?
What is synthetic?
What is a GM-LL-025 spec?
 
#43 ·
I have a feeling that since DEXOS rating came out, the oil quality standards of acceptance are lower than they were for the GM-LL-025 rating. There really weren't many oils that met the GM-LL-025 spec, but DEXOS? I think my cooking oil meets that spec...
 
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