9-5 Aero Hot - sludge & knackered turbo

[groomi]

Had a preliminary discussion with the garage today as my car was in for a service. They think the seals on the turbo have gone as it's been using oil, probably caused by sludging.

So, how much should I be expecting to be quoted by the garage (specialist) to:
Replace turbo?
Drop sump, clean out sludge, replace oil & filter?
Carry out breather mods?

Is it worth considering recon turbos, if so where from and how much?

Many thanks for any help.

[siwil1]

Someone im sure will correct me but i'm sure Aero's didnt suffer from sludge problems as they were run on synthetic oil from day one with a different breather kit.

Is the car smoking? as if its oil seals it will be burnt and chuck loads of smoke out the back.

Reconditioned turbo is £350+vat and prob 3-4 hours labour so not cheap.

Did you watch wheeler dealers last night, Ed changed a Turbo on a 93 and said it was a job that could be done by a home mechanic.

check put partsforsaab, gsf, or elkparts to get ideas for costs of parts.

HTH

[DavidY]

If the 9-5 Aero has been 'properly' and 'regularly' serviced it will only ever had Synthetic oil put in it, these engines were not prone to sludging unlike the 2.0 and 2.3 LPT engines, (that said I had a 221k mile 9-5 2.3LPT that never had any sludging issues, I did over 214k miles in that car). If the turbo bearings and seals have gone, check that the vanes don't connect with the housing on removal, if they do then I would get the intercooler flushed as well.

[aeropilot]

siwil1 said:

Someone im sure will correct me but i'm sure Aero's didnt suffer from sludge problems as they were run on synthetic oil from day one with a different breather kit.

Can't really say didn't suffer, rather it's a lot less likely for an Aero to suffer from sludging issues, especially as mentioned if it's been correctly serviced.
I certainley have seen evidence of sludged Aero's, so yes, get a sump drop and clean if neccessary.
Re-con turbo from Universal Turbo or similar as mentioned in the region of 350 notes etc.

[MoonMonkey]

Mine is also a 2003 and has a recall detailed in the service history for the revised PCV in 2005. Might be worthwhile checking yours..??

I agree with what has been said above that the Aero is alot less susceptible aslong as it's been looked after. However, if it's using oil via the turbo then surely you would see oil smoke..??

[Russ35]

Just had the sump dropped and the crankcase ventilation kit fitted on my recently purchased 2002 Aero by a local SAAB indy. It had full history to 50K+, but then not sure what my Uncle (who I bought it from) did for the next 20k, apart from having a friend do the servicing. It was badly suffering from sludge.

The garage did say that it was unusual for an Aero to suffer, but they had seen them with it.

[groomi]

Have been told today that there isn't any sludging and the turbo is worth living with for a while as although it is letting a little oil through, it's not too bad and certainly not enough to create visible smoke. There is a slightly oily film on the inside of the tailpipe though, which suggests the oil is getting through...

Not quite sure what to make of it really.

[DavidY]

If the Turbo has leaking oil seals/bearings, I would get them changed, in this state the turbo can easily be reconditioned. If you wait for it to become so bad that the turbo suffers impeller damage then a) you're looking at a new turbo or a very expensive recon one, as your old one is worthless and b) potential intercooler damage. It does depend though on age/mileage and value of the car.

[aeropilot]

DavidY said:

If the Turbo has leaking oil seals/bearings, I would get them changed, in this state the turbo can easily be reconditioned. If you wait for it to become so bad that the turbo suffers impeller damage then a) you're looking at a new turbo or a very expensive recon one, as your old one is worthless and b) potential intercooler damage. It does depend though on age/mileage and value of the car.

Definately agree with this....... you potentially run the risk of a much bigger bill if you leave it as it is.... much cheaper to get a recon turbo now.
Again though, the TD04 turbo's fitted to the Aero are usually quite robust and reliable. Seen many do mega miles before needing a recon...?

[groomi]

aeropilot said:

Again though, the TD04 turbo's fitted to the Aero are usually quite robust and reliable. Seen many do mega miles before needing a recon...?

Do they usually let a little oil through though?

If I'd been ragging it everywhere, then I'd be more inclined to think it's almost normal, but I've been driving quite delicately to see what sort of mpg I can get.

[aeropilot]

groomi said:

Do they usually let a little oil through though?

Not usually.
My Aero is coming up for 8 years old and has 87k on the clock on the original turbo and doesn't burn a drop.

groomi said:

If I'd been ragging it everywhere, then I'd be more inclined to think it's almost normal, but I've been driving quite delicately to see what sort of mpg I can get.

It's usually low mileage sedateley driven cars that have such problems, along with the ECU adapting down the performance in such cases. They definately benefit from being given a bit of 'regular exercise'

[groomi]

>dons lead boots<

[trig9k]

My 2002 Aero with 127k had a sump drop when I first purchased it and there was no sign of sludge but it started using a lot of oil with no leaks, I discovered that the breather hoses had gone squidgy so replaced with these http://www.partsforsaabs.com/product_info.php?cPat...

problem seems to have gone away, fingers crossed..

[Straight6DOHC]

Aeros do suffer from sludge. Ask me how I know. 2001 FSSH and generation 2 upper breather pipes changed by saab dealer. The pipe that was knackered was the return pipe from breather reservoir to sump - it has become spongy and gooey. I got it in time when I noticed oil on the driveway and investigated. Oil pick up gause from sump was partially blocked. Car is about 187k miles though.
I believe I got it in time so all you aero drivers that think you are immune...you have been warned.

[groomi]

Straight6DOHC said:

Aeros do suffer from sludge. Ask me how I know. 2001 FSSH and generation 2 upper breather pipes changed by saab dealer. The pipe that was knackered was the return pipe from breather reservoir to sump - it has become spongy and gooey. I got it in time when I noticed oil on the driveway and investigated. Oil pick up gause from sump was partially blocked. Car is about 187k miles though.
I believe I got it in time so all you aero drivers that think you are immune...you have been warned.

From what I've read, it's only the HOT's which are supposed to be 'immune' as they were the only ones with fully sythetic being the only recommended oil. Ofcourse there is no way of knowing whether a previous owner/garage has incorrectly put in semi-synthetic at some point...

[aeropilot]

groomi said:

Straight6DOHC said:

Aeros do suffer from sludge. Ask me how I know. 2001 FSSH and generation 2 upper breather pipes changed by saab dealer. The pipe that was knackered was the return pipe from breather reservoir to sump - it has become spongy and gooey. I got it in time when I noticed oil on the driveway and investigated. Oil pick up gause from sump was partially blocked. Car is about 187k miles though.
I believe I got it in time so all you aero drivers that think you are immune...you have been warned.

From what I've read, it's only the HOT's which are supposed to be 'immune' as they were the only ones with fully sythetic being the only recommended oil. Ofcourse there is no way of knowing whether a previous owner/garage has incorrectly put in semi-synthetic at some point...

Yes, generally Aero's don't suffer from sludged engines like the lpt's, because they should have been run on full synth oil.
What has been described above isn't the same as a sludged engine, although the end result is the same, hence the oft missused term of sludged Aero engines.
As mentioned above, breakdown of the PCV rubber hoses (and this not being picked up in routine maintainance) and remains of them blocking the oil pick-up is the usual reason for a damaged Aero engine, the end result being the same as for a sludge affected lpt engine.

[spider589]

A word of warning from my experience - I bought a 143,000-miler Aero estate 3 years ago, and was told by the previous "mechanic" owner that he had just dropped and inspected the sump and strainer, and that it was clean as a whistle. This reassured me and compensated for the lack of a full service history, so I serviced it with £50-quid a time fully synthetic oil every 5-6k, but after a couple of years ( at about 160k miles) it developed a slight knock and the oil light started to flicker on when idling. I had the sump dropped and it was, along with the strainer, badly sludged. I doubt whether that has happened from the type of driving I have subjected it to, so watch out for missing periods of service history!