1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Had my 93 Aero 5spd for about 2 yrs now - 128k kms. Generally the car has been great, but I've had some issues (water pump, heater core, shift coupler, clutch master cylinder). Its a blast to drive and last week I was relishing the thought of driving from Vancouver to Calgary and Edmonton. The drive east over the southern mountain roads of BC was fantastic - not much traffic, good weather - and I was able to maintain indecently fast averages effortlessly. One particular stretch of about 240kms was the fastest I've driven since I stopped racing 30 yrs ago. Since Calgary was experiencing a late snowstorm (40 - 60 cms of snow in May!!!) we decided to wait for a day before crossing the Rockies into Alberta and the following day the roads were almost clear. After a short meeting in Calgary I noticed my temp gauge was close to the red so pulled over, as luck would have it, within 1/4 mile of the local Saab dealer (Hyatt Saturn Saab Isuzu).
The short version of a long story is I had blown the head gasket and had to fly back to Vancouver while it was fixed. A very expensive trip one way and another. I would have preferred to fix it myself but when you are 900 kms from home it doesn't make much sense. I was very impressed with the Saab dealer though, and their expat Swedish Saab mechanic - recommended for Calgary Saabers (Michael Smith I know you use an independent and thought about contacting you).
The gasket had failed between a cylinder and the water jacket. In retrospect there were some early warning signs. I had a leaking seal (water pump/block) and replaced the water pump as it didn't look great when removed. Following this the temp gauge read a little higher than previously - about 10 oclock. I also had a blown top hose and the heater core needed replacing. In discussion with the mechanic he feels that some of the cooling system and heater core issues with 9000Ts are related to head gasket seepage, and almost certainly mine had been going for quite a while. Under boost hot gases are forced into the cooling system causing cavitation and over pressurization. Interesting though that there were no performance issues, no loss of coolant, no discolouration or contamination fo the engine oil.
Are there any others out there who have had head gasket failures and related cooling system issues?
posted by 142.179.107...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
