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Project 9-5 Wagon

37K views 155 replies 32 participants last post by  DrivenPerfection 
#1 · (Edited)
New guy here -

Thought I would share my Saab Story:

I have known this Imola Red 1999 Saab 9-5 Wagon since it first rolled off the truck at Shaw Saab as a brand new car. The owner of the dealership took this car as his personal demo, and added some 16" Fondmetal wheels, a rear spoiler, and a Saab exhaust tip. He drove the car for approx 5K miles, then it was time for a new demo. At this time, my Grandfather was looking to replace his Buick wagon. Working as a detailer at Shaw Saab, I knew I could get him a good deal on a new wagon. He was uneasy at the thought of a 4 cylinder replacing his Buick 6, but after test driving the red 9-5 he was sold.


Saab1 by drivenperfection, on Flickr


Saab2 by drivenperfection, on Flickr


Saab3 by drivenperfection, on Flickr


Saab4 by drivenperfection, on Flickr


Saab5 by drivenperfection, on Flickr

My grandfather used the car sparingly during the time he owned it. Mostly driven for short rides around town, he only added 11K miles in the 15 years he had the car. He was fanatical about servicing the car, and would take it back to Shaw Saab for anything that it needed. My grandfather really loved this car, and I really enjoyed helping him take care of it. Sadly my Grandfather passed away in January. He was 98 years old, and lived an amazing life.

The car was passed down to me, and I never thought to do anything with it, other than to keep it just the way it is. That all changed last week.

I brought the car to Andy Lee, who was the Shop Foreman at Shaw Saab for many years. Andy has a lift in his home garage, and performed an oil change, tune up, and full vehicle inspection. Although the car was never garaged, its in very nice shape for its age. I decided to freshen the car up as a tribute to my Grandfather. He was always tinkering with things, and I believe he would be very pleased with what I have planned. We are laying his ashes to rest on July 8th. I am pushing to get the car ready for that event.
 
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#155 ·
i have not read the whole thread, but if this is a 1999 Saab 9-5 Wagon with very low miles that had only 15k miles of mostly local trips in its first 15 years of previous ownership before you had it, i would still do a quick check that the PCV system has been upgraded to the latest version Kit #6 (there are lots of threads on this topic (and do the easy 5 min "glove test" to have a ballpark indication your PCV system is functioning ok ).

since the car was likely dealership serviced you are probably ok (the #6 service kit was released in 2006 ), but the one main weakness in many european engine designs in cars of that era is their potential poor PCV ventilation leading to premature engine failures in very low mileage cars (6% officially recognised by saab HQ). the factors that increase risk on the pre-kit#6 cars are: mainly short trips, frequent city/town driving, cold climate, and incorrect mineral oils used.
 
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