Hi all,

My '05 Arc with 68,000 miles seemed to be cranking slightly slowly the last couple of weeks. A week ago, the bypass valve started to leak more than a drip or two every warm day so I replaced it. No more external coolant leaks.

Yesterday, it was slow to restart and then misfired once it started after a long highway trip. I figured the DI or CKP might be going down. I shut the car off and restarted, everything was ok and drove another 100 miles.

This morning, I took a look under the hood and the coolant level was low again. Went to open the tank and a big "whoosh" as vacuum leaked out and the coolant level went up. Car didn't want to start, and finally did to an enormous cloud of grey/white smoke which smelled like coolant, oil, and fuel. Ran one errand and checked under the hood again. Coolant level appeared slightly low, opened the tank again, "whoosh", back to normal level.

I pulled the spark plugs to take a peek - slightly white on all four, slight whiff of coolant from the motor as I pulled each out of the engine. Engine restarted easily but was misfiring slightly. No CEL.

Do you think it's the headgasket?
How much would it cost for an indie garage to replace it?
My usual indie mechanic (Andrews) is 120 miles away - would you risk driving it that far or take it to an honest local shop (with little Saab experience)?
Do you have a shop recommendation in western WI or perhaps St. Paul?

I've also been experiencing a loss of boost (mid-yellow boost) issue under full throttle - should I suggest they check anything else if they have to tear lots of stuff apart anyhow? AMM, throttle body, and many vacuum hoses have been replaced trying to chase down that problem.

Thanks for any and all suggestions, and for taking the time to read this. I'm a little worried about this one...

posted by 66.188.242...

• '05 with headgasket going? (sorry, a bit long), terminaldegree, Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:53:36 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Mine went at 60K, john b, Tue, 2 Nov 2010 14:12:08
  • back on topic now..., terminaldegree, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 14:10:30
    • Update-- not looking good!, terminaldegree, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 16:27:12
      • In Conclusion..., terminaldegree, Sat, 6 Nov 2010 07:42:12
  • I'd be surprised., B Millar , Sun, 31 Oct 2010 19:26:51
    • correction on fill level...., Mark from Toronto, Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:40:06
      • Really? When I was losing coolant and topping off, Joseph (jgARC03SW), Mon, 1 Nov 2010 05:43:43
        • Did that for years with my last saab.., Mark from Toronto, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 07:24:39
          • KALT is MAXIMUM, Joseph (jgARC03SW), Mon, 1 Nov 2010 08:30:14
            • There is no "Maximum", B Millar , Mon, 1 Nov 2010 09:37:27
              • The arrow is the range, the Kalt line is the maximum, Joseph (jgARC03SW0, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 10:12:51
                • Too much confusion, SWEDECAR , Mon, 1 Nov 2010 11:32:46
                  • So what's the danger in having had it overfilled, Phil, Tue, 2 Nov 2010 07:11:35
                    • Re: So what's the danger in having had it overfilled, SWEDECAR , Tue, 2 Nov 2010 08:19:52
                      • Re: So what's the danger in having had it overfilled, BrettB, Sat, 4 Dec 2010 21:31:31
                      • Thanks. May explain why I have a leaky, Phil, Tue, 2 Nov 2010 08:33:36
                  • Right, and it's stupid, Stephen Goldberger, Tue, 2 Nov 2010 06:08:23
                  • good explanation thanks!, LesH, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 11:46:26
                  • Re: Too much confusion, Joseph (jgARC03SW), Mon, 1 Nov 2010 11:37:12
                • Geez, now I'm getting confused, but, Phil, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 10:30:40
                • Hmmm..., B Millar , Mon, 1 Nov 2010 10:24:46
                  • Re: Hmmm..., Joseph (jgARC03SW), Mon, 1 Nov 2010 11:34:06
                  • The seam IS where you fill it to when..., Carlo , Mon, 1 Nov 2010 10:43:23
                    • Owner's manual no help, Phil, Mon, 1 Nov 2010 11:13:21

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