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Re: Blown Head Gasket
Posted by David Prantl (more from David Prantl) on Mon, 29 Apr 2002 00:19:58
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

>  is this a characteristic weakness of a turbo?

No, it is not a characteristic weakness of a turbo engine.  I have almost 
200k miles of hard miles on my original turbo head gasket, and that includes 
driving at speeds of 130+ mph and several long-haul towing exercises (3000+ 
lbs).

I suspect your car is a victim of under-tightened head bolts from the 
factory.  There are official Technical Service Bulletins on this:

http://www.townsendimports.com/Saab_TSB_Folder/Saab_TSB_List


http://www.townsendimports.com/Saab_TSB_Folder/Saab_TSB_pdfs/210_1714.PDF


http://www.townsendimports.com/Saab_TSB_Folder/Saab_TSB_pdfs/210_1704_utg2.PDF


As you can see, the recommended fix is to re-tighten the bolts.  Either your 
dealer tried this without success, or they didn't even try it 'cause the 
service department needed some extra revenue...
---
>  In my opinion, this is standard maintenance item on any saab,

I strongly disagree there.  I've had nearly every kind of SAAB 16V engine, 
2.0, 2.3, turbo and non-turbo, and I have yet to see my first head gasket 
failure.

>  My 93 9000 normally aspirated engine had one at 27K.

A single case of overheating the car to where the temp gauge enters the red 
zone can be all it takes to make the gasket start weeping.  An acquaintance 
of mine did this to a '90 Accord.  Within minutes it stopped running, 
because cylinder compression was reduced to 20PSI.  Personally, I prefer the 
SAAB failure mode.

If all the excuses you have listed truly do not apply, then you're just very 
unlucky with cars.

>  Fact of life with a Saab: head job every 50K.  If  you beat the  50K mile 
>mark, keep looking over your shoulder....

I've personally done 200k+ miles in SAABs wihtout a single head gasket 
failure.  Extending this to my immediate family (wife, brother and father), 
we'we done 350k+ miles in SAABs without a single head gasket failure.  We're 
all still looking straight ahead, with confidence.

>  Lucky for you the repair was under warranty....I just hope  for your sake 
>that they did it right.

I hope so too.  IMO, the number one reason for SAAB engine unreliability is 
mediocre technical competence at the dealers.  Even those that know what 
they're doing can be crafty to the point of *making it last* for two years 
or so, to keep the business rolling.  Using inferior aftermarket gasket 
products is one strategy to achieve this.  For the record, if a SAAB head 
gasket doesn't come in a red/white package with ELRING written all over it, 
it is garbage.

>  For all this 'wonderful engineering' that SAAB keeps touting,  why can't 
>they design and make a head gasket and assembly that  will go the life of 
>the car  (OK, I'll settle for 150K miles)
>  without dying ?

They can, and they have, with the exception of the late 1990's factory head 
bolt torque fiasco.  If they would figure out a way to keep incompetent 
mechanics away from the motors, and build in an engine overheat ignition 
cutoff that even the most persistent driver could not override, SAAB would 
have a better head gasket record than most other automakers out there.

The area where SAAB designers continuously fall behind their competitors is 
idiot-proofing.  Honda and Toyota excel in this area, and that is the main 
reason for their overwhelming success in the USA market.

David Prantl
david_prantlno39sdcx6spamx782hotmail.com
'84 900S, 5M, 210kMi, RIP as of 2/98
'89 900, 3A, 116kMi, restored and SOLD on 3/24/01
'86 9000T, 5M, 198kMi
'88 9000S, 5M, 142kMi
'90 9000S, 4A, 140kMi
'93 9000CSET, 5M, 74kMi  -- FOR SALE in the TSN Classifieds --
'97 9000CSET, 5M, 60kMi
'68 97 Sonett V4, 4M, 76kMi, #000467

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