Hey !
First of all I just wanna mention I'm new here and have owned my Saab since I got my license 3 months ago February 2023 and I love the car ! My dad is such a car person and has owned tons of older sport cars and just likes driving in general and thought a Saab would be a great first car! I totally agreed because Im literally the only one driving it as a daily in my area other than some newer 9-3s and the feel and driving experience in unique in my opinion. Me personally I wanna do the one thing my dad doesnt bother doing and thats the mechanical part and just doing things on the car by myself and putting upgrades on it and so on and i thought THIS is the perfect place to get quick and professional answers
I just have to say I love my Saab and the time has already come for some parts that needs replacements and so on probably from the last owner or just from age and wear.
!! As of my knowledge im NOT an expert but i really wanna try get into this and learn and do stuff myself so please throw words at me haha
Im not sure if i can talk about the whole car and what ive done to it in this post but i will do so for now so everyone that reads this understands.
This is a 2004 Saab 9-5 2.0T with original 150hp. The engine is a T7 pretty sure. The car is TUNED using the BSR Performance tuning kit and then probably should have 221-225hp?
I've replaced the Air filter to a K&N air filter.
Just replaced to new Spark Plugs and a used DIC (around 50,000km on it)
Also probably important to mention MY LAST TIME BEING AT THE GAS STATION, E10 95 FUEL WAS FILLED. If that info is any helpful ! Ive read that most saab engines could take it and not that much info about the 98
And here comes the problem. Car wont go over 3,000ish rpm. Mechanic has said that the turbo is bad and needs to be replaced. I have to be honest and say i have been driving the car here and there once in a while as its making a loud fighter jet sound under the hood when i press a bit on the gas but i have been easy on it. I know its not good for the engine but to my defense the mechanic said it should be ok and the raw fuel that gets into the cat is a tiny amount it wont hurt it. But that was before the oil pressure light has recently started showing up. Standing still and restarting the car makes it flicker and go away and maybe flicker again.
I got the oil pressure tested and they said it had ok pressure at low temps but at normal operating temperature it had 0.8 bars lower than whats recommended by them. They said this could be impacted from the type of Oil i use and they said since it is an older car it should use 5W-30 and not the 0W-30 like saab has told to be used on it Other than that theres no fault code because the light didnt come on when they were testing it and the engine runs fine in idle like its normal, but obviously as the turbo isnt really on. Mechanic has told me it might be the oil pump which ive read is the last part to go out on the engine so the easiest way to fix was to use a oil system cleaner fresh liquid type thing? You pour it in let it sit for a bit while the car is running then do an oil change. Seems easy enough and might help? Then check the pressure again. They also said this NEEDED to be done before fixing the turbo anyways so i kinda dont have a choice for now. I also wanna mention theres not really any white smoke from the exhaust so maybe the turbo isnt that worn? Might be wrong.
Also when the oil pressure light has come on the engine sounds a bit more echoey? If that makes sense? I have oil thats for sure. Mechanic has said the fuel should be good and the pump works fine. All i rememebr was the number 6. Probably how much is going into the engine at start but thats all for now.
So to end it and questions i would love answers on are:
In the end im probably just gonna have more questions as we talk about the topic but i hope thats okay as im learning ! Ive tried to include as much as possible about the car so its easier to understand my situation and the car itself and what ive done with it so far and what i can do in the future without risking the whole thing
Thank you!!
First of all I just wanna mention I'm new here and have owned my Saab since I got my license 3 months ago February 2023 and I love the car ! My dad is such a car person and has owned tons of older sport cars and just likes driving in general and thought a Saab would be a great first car! I totally agreed because Im literally the only one driving it as a daily in my area other than some newer 9-3s and the feel and driving experience in unique in my opinion. Me personally I wanna do the one thing my dad doesnt bother doing and thats the mechanical part and just doing things on the car by myself and putting upgrades on it and so on and i thought THIS is the perfect place to get quick and professional answers
I just have to say I love my Saab and the time has already come for some parts that needs replacements and so on probably from the last owner or just from age and wear.
!! As of my knowledge im NOT an expert but i really wanna try get into this and learn and do stuff myself so please throw words at me haha
Im not sure if i can talk about the whole car and what ive done to it in this post but i will do so for now so everyone that reads this understands.
This is a 2004 Saab 9-5 2.0T with original 150hp. The engine is a T7 pretty sure. The car is TUNED using the BSR Performance tuning kit and then probably should have 221-225hp?
I've replaced the Air filter to a K&N air filter.
Just replaced to new Spark Plugs and a used DIC (around 50,000km on it)
Also probably important to mention MY LAST TIME BEING AT THE GAS STATION, E10 95 FUEL WAS FILLED. If that info is any helpful ! Ive read that most saab engines could take it and not that much info about the 98
And here comes the problem. Car wont go over 3,000ish rpm. Mechanic has said that the turbo is bad and needs to be replaced. I have to be honest and say i have been driving the car here and there once in a while as its making a loud fighter jet sound under the hood when i press a bit on the gas but i have been easy on it. I know its not good for the engine but to my defense the mechanic said it should be ok and the raw fuel that gets into the cat is a tiny amount it wont hurt it. But that was before the oil pressure light has recently started showing up. Standing still and restarting the car makes it flicker and go away and maybe flicker again.
I got the oil pressure tested and they said it had ok pressure at low temps but at normal operating temperature it had 0.8 bars lower than whats recommended by them. They said this could be impacted from the type of Oil i use and they said since it is an older car it should use 5W-30 and not the 0W-30 like saab has told to be used on it Other than that theres no fault code because the light didnt come on when they were testing it and the engine runs fine in idle like its normal, but obviously as the turbo isnt really on. Mechanic has told me it might be the oil pump which ive read is the last part to go out on the engine so the easiest way to fix was to use a oil system cleaner fresh liquid type thing? You pour it in let it sit for a bit while the car is running then do an oil change. Seems easy enough and might help? Then check the pressure again. They also said this NEEDED to be done before fixing the turbo anyways so i kinda dont have a choice for now. I also wanna mention theres not really any white smoke from the exhaust so maybe the turbo isnt that worn? Might be wrong.
Also when the oil pressure light has come on the engine sounds a bit more echoey? If that makes sense? I have oil thats for sure. Mechanic has said the fuel should be good and the pump works fine. All i rememebr was the number 6. Probably how much is going into the engine at start but thats all for now.
So to end it and questions i would love answers on are:
- Overall what can I do to my car? Is there any step by step on what to do like an example: 1. Turbo 2. Exhaust 3. Intercooler? Or do i just have to go as the car needs?
- I need help and lots of info regarding the turbo replacement. What Turbo should i get? Should i actually go for a TD04 as many people are telling me to get? What does the 19T 15T 20T stand for ? What do i need to know about the turbo itself? LIke what cables does it have what do i need to transfer from the old to the new one and so on.
- When and why do i need a king cobra over a normal cobra if i do?
- SHOULD i actually replace the turbo by myself? What can go wrong? Is it hard to fix something that can go wrong during a turbo replacement?
- Is there any parts i can add to help the engine survive just a stage 1 or 2 tune other than a easier exhaust system? Simons exhaust and a less restrictive downpipe though ive heard a down pipe is a hard and expensive process and not that worth it unless ur pushing for the max
- Is the china turbo copies actually that bad or can a new one hold for a while?
In the end im probably just gonna have more questions as we talk about the topic but i hope thats okay as im learning ! Ive tried to include as much as possible about the car so its easier to understand my situation and the car itself and what ive done with it so far and what i can do in the future without risking the whole thing
Thank you!!
