Hi from Belarus. I'm auto mechanic, and I'v been repairing SAAB since the middle of 90. I also study English from time to time as a hobby, trying to keep my knowledge of English on understandable level. But now about your problem with low oil pressure. It could be because of few reasons. If you are sure, your oil pressure sensor work correctly, you have to take off oil pan, disassemble it, wash it from inside and replace 3 O-rings on the oil tubes. Then, when your oil pan is taking off, you have to check out the third crankshaft bearing, because it is always "hungry" to oil, that's why it breaks down first. If it is at least a little bad, it will be necessary to check out all bearings. Probably, it will be enough to replace them. Maybe yes, maybe not. I saw engines absolutely break down with bad bearings. After that it is not bad to check out oil nozzles. They must work under pressure about 1.5-1.8 bar and more. But sometimes they could open at low pressure, I saw nozzles, open from 0 bar. So, such nozzle will drain oil from sistem into oil pan without work. I'm not sure, that it is possible to do all this things in your own garage, probably, you have to ask help professional mechanic. And all this engine flashings are good, maybe, but not in this case. Thanks for your attention.
@@messengermotorworks6639 Hi from Belarus once more. As you accepted my commentary so friendly, I'l make some explanations, why it happened. I mean low oil pressure. At first, engine SAAB 9.5 235 series is almost the same, as engine SAAB 9000. And when SAAB start to make 9.5 model, it was partially under GM control. So, GM made 9000 engine more powerful, cheeper and... worse in reliability. And first of all it is about engine ventilation. All those tubes, valves, and other staff. When the engine ventilation work incorrect, it causes the formation of oil sludges in the engine. And with every oil change all those sludges wash down into the oil pan, because every new oil have a good washing power at the beginning. I think, you know, that oil intake tube in this engine is fixing on the bottom of the oil pan. And when engine is running, it takes oil into the system together with oil sludges, which could blocking intake tube partially, or totally. The oil level could be normal, but engine couldn't take it enough into oil system. That's why running engine could be "hungry" to oil all time it works, and oil pressure sensor show nothing, because it works when oil pressure is lower, then 0.5 bar and it is the only time, when you can correctly control the oil pressure. It is possible, when engine idling and hot. That's why i heard recommendation for SAAB 9.5 engines to take off oil pan and clean it every 100K km for prevention. Besides that, 9.5 engines likes good oil and regular oil change, with no more than 10K km running. And a few words about the third crankshaft bearing. I call it "always hungry" to oil because all bearings are feeding with oil through the same holes, but from the third of them are feeding two balancer shafts. I think, it is all, what I want to add to my first comment. O, yes, I looked through some videos on your channel, I was wrong, you have all conditions for repairing cars. If you have wishes. I was only a little surprised that you drained oil laying on the floor, when you have a car lift. It was so uncomfortable. Best wishes!
Thank you for Sharing. I have a 2006 93 with V6. WIS website says I have to remove tho whole engine to get to the oil pan. I have metal color on the oil. Is it hard to swap the engine ?
The 9-3 is a different chassis than this old 9-5, and the V-6 is a completely different animal. It's a good engine. That engine swap is a pretty big job because it is such a large engine for the small space. Working on my old Turbo X was always a challenge. If you already have metals in the oil, something significant has already gone wrong, unfortunately. Even if you could get the oil pan off without lifting engine, there isn't much you could do. Best of luck!
Thanks for the vid. Probably it was because of the insufficient amount of oil. Had a similar thing. Next time I'd recommend sticking a semi-rigid USB endoscope (8 $) through the drain hole and checking the condition of the pickup screen. You can find some vids on YT. When cleaning the pan replace all O-rings, including the two from the oil line.
Yeah that happened to the owner before our 9-5. He was driving down the road and the oil light came on. He thought he was gonna make it home so he didn’t care. Then There was white smoke coming from behind the car and it started spewing oil all around the engine bay, and the engine locked up. When we took apart the engine there was two giant holes through the engine block. Cylinder nr1 was destroyed.
I thought for sure my engine was done for! It was a miracle I made it home after listening to it tick for much of the trip. My light didn't flicker on until I pulled up to my home, and I was able to shut down immediately. Still running strong!
@@messengermotorworks6639 yeah but as long as you have little oil pressure and being carful they will never blow👍🏻. If something happens to my car I will cry cause it’s the best car ever
Generally, Saab B engines shouldn't tick. The hydraulic lifters will start ticking if oil pressure is too low; which happens if oil gets too low, or worse, the pump cannot keep pressure high enough due to a sump clog or bearings worn past spec. A lifter can collapse, causing a tick, but it is difficult to figure out which one of the 16 it is. The chain can also tick/rattle if guides are worn or chain has stretched beyond tensioner extension.
I tried to flush on my 2000 Saab 93 with liquid moly and still had low oil pressure but, only when I slow to idle after operating temperature. I don't have the means to do a pan drop and pick up clean or change oil sending unit myself. Do you have a general idea of shop prices for that kind of job? Thank you
Yeah, at that point you'll want to stop driving the car. That condition, in my experience, is the beginning of the end. The engine should easily be able to sustain oil pressure when warm at idle. It is likely your pickup screen is clogged, and you'll start losing bearing material soon. Unfortunately, most shops will consider that an engine pull. It's hard to tell you a number with any accuracy, but you're looking at over $1000 in labor, surely. For a shop to repair, you may end up spending nearly what the car is worth to solve this. Try to find a Saab specialist, they could maybe do better for you. Sorry for the bad news. I encourage having it looked at by a pro.
I will suggest to check if oil pressure sensor or oil pressure relife valve first. Also we use 5W40/0W40 as warmer climate. If the temperature is below 10 degree C, I think you can use 5W30/0W30.
Hi from England - this Dis-United Kingdom (with a Queen). I have a Saab 9-5 Aero B235 engine with 230k miles. It has the #6 PCV breather kit - self-installed. Soon after that was fitted the engine when first fired up started groaning, or moo-ing like a cow - really, the strangest of noises that went as the engine warmed until silent again. No oil light warnings though. Much internet research led to the opinion that very noise was caused by The Black Death Sludge! I was warned to expect a completely, or almost completely blocked, oil pick-up strainer with the steel mesh gauze covered in a rubber-like goo, the remains of the deceased rubber hoses from the previous PCV revision mixed with black carbon from the use of well cremated non-fully synthetic engine oil. On dropping the pan it was truly disgusting to see how bad it was in there. It was exactly as described. Like someone had poured in black bitumen which was very thick, had set and was extremely hard to remove. The oil strainer was almost entirely blocked and if you can imagine the oil-pump trying doing its best to create a vacuum at that point when the engine oil was cold it would likely produce some extremely weird noises. It was recommended to also upgrade the oil strainer gauze to the next bigger size (I forget the spec.) because as standard the pitch really is very small. With new strainer gauze fitted and about a week's worth of soaking in various strong chemicals the oil-pan was refitted. Also the oil cooler drained and blown through - about 1-litre of nasty old oil hiding in there. A new oil filter, fresh branded 5w30 full-synth oil and all was well once again and without any sick cow mooing noises!! Silent Saab restored. However, a few years down the road I now have the flickering oil-pressure light. Only when hot and only when stationary, in traffic, and only at tickover. Sometimes the tiny rise in RPM if you shift the autobox between Drive and Neutral is enough to extinguish the oil light. No nasty valve driveline noises or bottom end thumping but I suspect the End is Nigh. My thoughts are general wear and tear to shell bearings given the mileage but also a worn oil pump. Seems the pumps on the 9-5, being part of the engine front cover and driven by the crank, are not of the best when it comes to producing pounds per square inch of oil pressure and not terribly long lasting when compared to a traditional 'pump in the sump'. On the other hand they are supposed to create less 'windage' and thus the engine is "more efficient". Changing one, on the other hand is not so easy. Not impossible with the engine in-situ but much easier if it were out! I have thought about fitting an external electric pump as per some dry-sumped race cars but have no experience of these other than breathing in deeply when I have seen the price of such pumps! Do you have any thoughts or ideas that come to mind in order to help this ageing Grey Lady maintain her mobility? Many thanks, Piers from Wiltshire (not far from Stonehenge - just to give you a sense of location). :-) PS: its raining!
Hello from the significantly less interesting American Midwest! At that mileage and given the history that it once suffered a short moment of starvation, I'd definitely assume the bearing clearance is opening up. The end may indeed be nigh. As for keeping it alive without a rebuild, I wouldn't be adverse to changing the oil pump and going a bit thicker with the oil. That pump isn't so bad once the plastic is out of the way, the bugger is that ring clip holding the pump in the casing. To go a step further, assuming the crank surfaces are okay, you MIGHT get away with swapping the rod bearings with the engine in the car, I've managed it before. If you pulled that off, plus the oil pump, stay with factory oil specs and enjoy the thing for a few more years. For less than $300 (whatever that is in your money) it could be worth the weekend of effort.
@@messengermotorworks6639 Happy Winter Solstice - the shortest day! Though Stonehenge was closed today to druids, pagans, new age travellers and other visitors due to Covid worries but English Heritage (managers of the World Heritage Site) did stream the sunrise (though it was raining here 25 miles away) online via the wonders of the internet. Thank you for your helpful advice: I hadn't thought of replacing the big-end shells with the engine still in the car. Good idea. As to the oil-pump replacement I certainly will look at doing that as reasonably achievable with engine in-situ. The car is not being driven just now 'cos- a/ the oil-light was triggering the CEL light and b/ the car is due its MoT test and a CEL light being on during the test is now an automatic fail. These annual tests just keep on getting tighter and tighter! I've acquired and endoscope with an 8mm camera head including LEDs for illumination. As a point of interest I might give the Grey Lady (actually silver metallic) a colonoscopy via the 12mm sump-plug hole and have a close look at the oil-pump pick-up gauze to see what has gathered there since the last time. She has always had fully synth. oil since then. These engines seem to run so hot. We have a good Saab specialist here that deals in new and used parts. They are called Neo Bros, quite near London and have always been helpful and reliable. I shall compose myself a Parts Wishlist and check on-line for some prices. American Midwest?? You have "back East" and the "West Coast" - Midwest? Somewhere in the middle between New York and Los Angeles? How do you define the Midwest - which would be your nearest city? I should like to look that up and see how the land lies. It is always interesting to see where people hail from. Avebury, where I live on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, is 80 miles from London, 40 miles from Bristol and a similar distance from Southampton. And tonight it's still raining, unseasonable warm at +8 degrees Centigrade and quite windy. Thanks once again and, Happy Motoring!
It sounds like you'll be in the right track soon. Getting in the pan with an endoscope is always a good idea, but I suspect you won't see much sludge this time - instead, look for the shiny metallic bits that make up your bearings and journals. If you see a lot of reflecting, it may be too late to change the bearings. But I doubt it is that far. The Midwest here is the chunk of states slightly left of center mass. Ohio, indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and the states directly above and below. Chicago, St Louis, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, those are some cities in this body. I'm in Iowa, right on the Mississippi. The area is generally unremarkable but comfortable. Good luck with the Saab! I'd bet a little love for those bearings and it'll be back.
I think it might be a good idea to check if thr oil pressure sensor is bad or oil pressure relife valve is bad. Fully synthetic oil is better but still build up sluge over time, I suggest flush the engine every 20,000km and make sure to check engine oil level frequently. Normally I change oil every 5,000km with fully synthetic oil occasionally 10,000km for oil change but experienced interment engine choke (suspecty as oil flow choke) at cold start without oil pressure warning light; I flushed the engine recently and the symptom goes away.
Hi from Belarus. I'm auto mechanic, and I'v been repairing SAAB since the middle of 90. I also study English from time to time as a hobby, trying to keep my knowledge of English on understandable level. But now about your problem with low oil pressure. It could be because of few reasons. If you are sure, your oil pressure sensor work correctly, you have to take off oil pan, disassemble it, wash it from inside and replace 3 O-rings on the oil tubes. Then, when your oil pan is taking off, you have to check out the third crankshaft bearing, because it is always "hungry" to oil, that's why it breaks down first. If it is at least a little bad, it will be necessary to check out all bearings. Probably, it will be enough to replace them. Maybe yes, maybe not. I saw engines absolutely break down with bad bearings. After that it is not bad to check out oil nozzles. They must work under pressure about 1.5-1.8 bar and more. But sometimes they could open at low pressure, I saw nozzles, open from 0 bar. So, such nozzle will drain oil from sistem into oil pan without work. I'm not sure, that it is possible to do all this things in your own garage, probably, you have to ask help professional mechanic. And all this engine flashings are good, maybe, but not in this case. Thanks for your attention.
Your English is good! These are great tips for people trouble shooting their oil pressure issues on these Saabs. Thanks for contributing!
@@messengermotorworks6639
Hi from Belarus once more. As you accepted my commentary so friendly, I'l make some explanations, why it happened. I mean low oil pressure. At first, engine SAAB 9.5 235 series is almost the same, as engine SAAB 9000. And when SAAB start to make 9.5 model, it was partially under GM control. So, GM made 9000 engine more powerful, cheeper and... worse in reliability. And first of all it is about engine ventilation. All those tubes, valves, and other staff. When the engine ventilation work incorrect, it causes the formation of oil sludges in the engine. And with every oil change all those sludges wash down into the oil pan, because every new oil have a good washing power at the beginning. I think, you know, that oil intake tube in this engine is fixing on the bottom of the oil pan. And when engine is running, it takes oil into the system together with oil sludges, which could blocking intake tube partially, or totally. The oil level could be normal, but engine couldn't take it enough into oil system. That's why running engine could be "hungry" to oil all time it works, and oil pressure sensor show nothing, because it works when oil pressure is lower, then 0.5 bar and it is the only time, when you can correctly control the oil pressure. It is possible, when engine idling and hot. That's why i heard recommendation for SAAB 9.5 engines to take off oil pan and clean it every 100K km for prevention.
Besides that, 9.5 engines likes good oil and regular oil change, with no more than 10K km running.
And a few words about the third crankshaft bearing. I call it "always hungry" to oil because all bearings are feeding with oil through the same holes, but from the third of them are feeding two balancer shafts. I think, it is all, what I want to add to my first comment. O, yes, I looked through some videos on your channel, I was wrong, you have all conditions for repairing cars. If you have wishes. I was only a little surprised that you drained oil laying on the floor, when you have a car lift. It was so uncomfortable. Best wishes!
Thank you for Sharing. I have a 2006 93 with V6. WIS website says I have to remove tho whole engine to get to the oil pan. I have metal color on the oil. Is it hard to swap the engine ?
The 9-3 is a different chassis than this old 9-5, and the V-6 is a completely different animal. It's a good engine. That engine swap is a pretty big job because it is such a large engine for the small space. Working on my old Turbo X was always a challenge.
If you already have metals in the oil, something significant has already gone wrong, unfortunately. Even if you could get the oil pan off without lifting engine, there isn't much you could do. Best of luck!
Thanks for the vid. Probably it was because of the insufficient amount of oil. Had a similar thing.
Next time I'd recommend sticking a semi-rigid USB endoscope (8 $) through the drain hole and checking the condition of the pickup screen. You can find some vids on YT.
When cleaning the pan replace all O-rings, including the two from the oil line.
Yeah that happened to the owner before our 9-5. He was driving down the road and the oil light came on. He thought he was gonna make it home so he didn’t care. Then There was white smoke coming from behind the car and it started spewing oil all around the engine bay, and the engine locked up. When we took apart the engine there was two giant holes through the engine block. Cylinder nr1 was destroyed.
I thought for sure my engine was done for! It was a miracle I made it home after listening to it tick for much of the trip. My light didn't flicker on until I pulled up to my home, and I was able to shut down immediately. Still running strong!
@@messengermotorworks6639 yeah but as long as you have little oil pressure and being carful they will never blow👍🏻. If something happens to my car I will cry cause it’s the best car ever
I love mine too!
is that ticking sound at idle bad? Mine does that too
Generally, Saab B engines shouldn't tick. The hydraulic lifters will start ticking if oil pressure is too low; which happens if oil gets too low, or worse, the pump cannot keep pressure high enough due to a sump clog or bearings worn past spec.
A lifter can collapse, causing a tick, but it is difficult to figure out which one of the 16 it is. The chain can also tick/rattle if guides are worn or chain has stretched beyond tensioner extension.
Another banger video!!!!!!
Alfa 75! You sir have good taste 👍
Thanks!
I tried to flush on my 2000 Saab 93 with liquid moly and still had low oil pressure but, only when I slow to idle after operating temperature. I don't have the means to do a pan drop and pick up clean or change oil sending unit myself. Do you have a general idea of shop prices for that kind of job? Thank you
Yeah, at that point you'll want to stop driving the car. That condition, in my experience, is the beginning of the end. The engine should easily be able to sustain oil pressure when warm at idle. It is likely your pickup screen is clogged, and you'll start losing bearing material soon.
Unfortunately, most shops will consider that an engine pull. It's hard to tell you a number with any accuracy, but you're looking at over $1000 in labor, surely. For a shop to repair, you may end up spending nearly what the car is worth to solve this. Try to find a Saab specialist, they could maybe do better for you. Sorry for the bad news. I encourage having it looked at by a pro.
I will suggest to check if oil pressure sensor or oil pressure relife valve first. Also we use 5W40/0W40 as warmer climate. If the temperature is below 10 degree C, I think you can use 5W30/0W30.
Hi from England - this Dis-United Kingdom (with a Queen). I have a Saab 9-5 Aero B235 engine with 230k miles. It has the #6 PCV breather kit - self-installed. Soon after that was fitted the engine when first fired up started groaning, or moo-ing like a cow - really, the strangest of noises that went as the engine warmed until silent again. No oil light warnings though. Much internet research led to the opinion that very noise was caused by The Black Death Sludge! I was warned to expect a completely, or almost completely blocked, oil pick-up strainer with the steel mesh gauze covered in a rubber-like goo, the remains of the deceased rubber hoses from the previous PCV revision mixed with black carbon from the use of well cremated non-fully synthetic engine oil.
On dropping the pan it was truly disgusting to see how bad it was in there. It was exactly as described. Like someone had poured in black bitumen which was very thick, had set and was extremely hard to remove. The oil strainer was almost entirely blocked and if you can imagine the oil-pump trying doing its best to create a vacuum at that point when the engine oil was cold it would likely produce some extremely weird noises. It was recommended to also upgrade the oil strainer gauze to the next bigger size (I forget the spec.) because as standard the pitch really is very small.
With new strainer gauze fitted and about a week's worth of soaking in various strong chemicals the oil-pan was refitted. Also the oil cooler drained and blown through - about 1-litre of nasty old oil hiding in there. A new oil filter, fresh branded 5w30 full-synth oil and all was well once again and without any sick cow mooing noises!! Silent Saab restored.
However, a few years down the road I now have the flickering oil-pressure light. Only when hot and only when stationary, in traffic, and only at tickover. Sometimes the tiny rise in RPM if you shift the autobox between Drive and Neutral is enough to extinguish the oil light. No nasty valve driveline noises or bottom end thumping but I suspect the End is Nigh. My thoughts are general wear and tear to shell bearings given the mileage but also a worn oil pump. Seems the pumps on the 9-5, being part of the engine front cover and driven by the crank, are not of the best when it comes to producing pounds per square inch of oil pressure and not terribly long lasting when compared to a traditional 'pump in the sump'. On the other hand they are supposed to create less 'windage' and thus the engine is "more efficient". Changing one, on the other hand is not so easy. Not impossible with the engine in-situ but much easier if it were out!
I have thought about fitting an external electric pump as per some dry-sumped race cars but have no experience of these other than breathing in deeply when I have seen the price of such pumps!
Do you have any thoughts or ideas that come to mind in order to help this ageing Grey Lady maintain her mobility?
Many thanks, Piers from Wiltshire (not far from Stonehenge - just to give you a sense of location). :-) PS: its raining!
Hello from the significantly less interesting American Midwest! At that mileage and given the history that it once suffered a short moment of starvation, I'd definitely assume the bearing clearance is opening up. The end may indeed be nigh. As for keeping it alive without a rebuild, I wouldn't be adverse to changing the oil pump and going a bit thicker with the oil. That pump isn't so bad once the plastic is out of the way, the bugger is that ring clip holding the pump in the casing.
To go a step further, assuming the crank surfaces are okay, you MIGHT get away with swapping the rod bearings with the engine in the car, I've managed it before. If you pulled that off, plus the oil pump, stay with factory oil specs and enjoy the thing for a few more years. For less than $300 (whatever that is in your money) it could be worth the weekend of effort.
@@messengermotorworks6639 Happy Winter Solstice - the shortest day! Though Stonehenge was closed today to druids, pagans, new age travellers and other visitors due to Covid worries but English Heritage (managers of the World Heritage Site) did stream the sunrise (though it was raining here 25 miles away) online via the wonders of the internet.
Thank you for your helpful advice: I hadn't thought of replacing the big-end shells with the engine still in the car. Good idea. As to the oil-pump replacement I certainly will look at doing that as reasonably achievable with engine in-situ. The car is not being driven just now 'cos- a/ the oil-light was triggering the CEL light and b/ the car is due its MoT test and a CEL light being on during the test is now an automatic fail. These annual tests just keep on getting tighter and tighter!
I've acquired and endoscope with an 8mm camera head including LEDs for illumination. As a point of interest I might give the Grey Lady (actually silver metallic) a colonoscopy via the 12mm sump-plug hole and have a close look at the oil-pump pick-up gauze to see what has gathered there since the last time. She has always had fully synth. oil since then. These engines seem to run so hot.
We have a good Saab specialist here that deals in new and used parts. They are called Neo Bros, quite near London and have always been helpful and reliable. I shall compose myself a Parts Wishlist and check on-line for some prices.
American Midwest?? You have "back East" and the "West Coast" - Midwest? Somewhere in the middle between New York and Los Angeles? How do you define the Midwest - which would be your nearest city? I should like to look that up and see how the land lies. It is always interesting to see where people hail from. Avebury, where I live on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, is 80 miles from London, 40 miles from Bristol and a similar distance from Southampton. And tonight it's still raining, unseasonable warm at +8 degrees Centigrade and quite windy.
Thanks once again and, Happy Motoring!
It sounds like you'll be in the right track soon. Getting in the pan with an endoscope is always a good idea, but I suspect you won't see much sludge this time - instead, look for the shiny metallic bits that make up your bearings and journals. If you see a lot of reflecting, it may be too late to change the bearings. But I doubt it is that far.
The Midwest here is the chunk of states slightly left of center mass. Ohio, indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and the states directly above and below. Chicago, St Louis, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, those are some cities in this body. I'm in Iowa, right on the Mississippi. The area is generally unremarkable but comfortable.
Good luck with the Saab! I'd bet a little love for those bearings and it'll be back.
I think it might be a good idea to check if thr oil pressure sensor is bad or oil pressure relife valve is bad. Fully synthetic oil is better but still build up sluge over time, I suggest flush the engine every 20,000km and make sure to check engine oil level frequently. Normally I change oil every 5,000km with fully synthetic oil occasionally 10,000km for oil change but experienced interment engine choke (suspecty as oil flow choke) at cold start without oil pressure warning light; I flushed the engine recently and the symptom goes away.
Run Shell T6 5W40. That will clean up that engine.
6:10 it starts. Stop jibber jabbering and get to the point.
I'll run my videos how I'd like, move on to the next channel. Cheers.