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So, I finally was able to get around to doing the turbo swap on my '01 9-3 coupe. I am really impressed with the results. It took me about 10 hours to swap my GT17 to a TD04, Put in a new performance intercooler, replace the throttle body, and to button the whole thing back up. May I first premise this by saying doing all of this at the same time is a royal PITA. But, I did it.
I replaced all of this because I had oil in my delivery pipe, excessive soot in my exhaust, and very sooty spark plugs;I suspected a turbo seal had gone bad.
I started by replacing the TB this took me a grand total of about 45 minutes. because of all the oil going through the systemI had a faulty TB that I had been putting up with (I didn't want to replace the TB until the turbo was swapped). The bad throttle body cause surging and an inconsistent rpm at any speed. Overall, really irritating. I bought a re manufactured TB for about $220. I would recommend when you replace the TB to get a new rubber TB gasket for the intake pipe and the seat of the TB; they are only $2 and give peace of mind. I don't care how mechanically inept you are, this is the easiest part replacement I have done/seen on any car. Just remember that the tubes on the delivery pipe and into the manifold that have a red ring around them; All you have to do to disconnect them in push them in and pull the line out (real nice system).
The next thing I did was replace the turbo and intercooler. I removed all of the panels and parts as outline in the above guide and got the turbo out. As I suspected there was a big pool of fresh oil in the bottom of the turbo. To replace the turbo, the guide in the above thread does a great job out outlining the process. But, I would recommend to those who have T7 like me (where the coolant line to the turbo come from the H2O pump) to plan on refilling their refrigerant. The bolt on the H20 pump is impossible to get to unless you move a AC line out of the way (it is one bolt, some R134, but it will save you a great amount of time and frustration). When you move this all of the R134 in the system will leak out, but you can just bolt it back into place and it can be refilled with less than 3 cans of R134. The only other suggestion I would give is to get an assortment of copper washers. I have no leaks (which I hear is an accomplishment). I used the stock washers on the inside and the replacement ones on the bolt side. I tried to get copper washers that were pretty thick across and I think it helped quite a bit they were. While I was doing all this I attached the MP performance IC I bought. went in really easy, nice unit. After this I bolted it all back into place.
I took it out for a drive and WOW. The car is a completely different beast. Acceleration is powerful and strong all through the spectrum. Idle and RPM's are much smoother. I also feel that spool up is significantly increased. I would recommend this upgrade as a necessity for any 9-3 base owner that is interested in performance.
My Car:
2001 Saab 9-3 S coupe
Black with Tan leather
MP Performance Short Shifter
MP Performance Steering Rack Clamp
MP Performacne Intercooler
Genuine Saab 1" rear sway bar
Genuine Saab 6 point subframe brace
Genuine Saab Open intake system
TD04 Turbo charger swap
Koni lowering springs (yet to be installed)
posted by 24.173.12...
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