[tonytoe_900]

9000 turbo, h reg,high pressure turbo.(so ive been told) six months ago, the head gasket went.had it fixed but because gasket went,turbo was shot. had recon turbo fitted, minimum boost, kept under 3000revs for 1000 miles,everything fine. 6 months later,head gasket goes again. took it back to guy who did head gasket, he had it a month, fixed the gasket and charged 300 quid. he said the hose from the turbo to the APC housing/sensor? was disconnected, causing the turbo to overboost, thus blowing the head gasket. the turbo is now shagged again.
can anyone please tell me if it is possible that this hose being off could cause the head gasket to blow. or is the turbo shagged because the head went.
thanks for any thoughts you can give me.

 

[john]

Welcome to SSc, tonytoe_900

Sorry to hear of the problems. Regarding the overboosting, disconnection of the hose as your specialist describes can result in overboosting - this would be felt as a noticable jolt on acceleration. Were you experiencing this prior to the failure?

 

[tonytoe_900]

on reflection, it did seem to hit the boost limiter pretty quickly. i thought it was because the boost was turned to minimum.

sorry john, thanks for repling. yes it was jerking

 

[murphwiz]

Question I'd ask..
Who disconnected the hose??

 

[laurent]

hello, tony,
I've got a hole in the return hose of the turbo to the APC, causing overboost troubles. I've got it repaired, and it never do anything to the head gasket. So, I don't think that it's the reason for your head gasket to blow. It's, for me ( not sure ! ) that your head was not correctly "torqued", as it' a three phase procedure. Anyway, a head gasket lasts a lot more than 6 months on a SAAB, as in other "species" of cars, so, I think that you musn't have to pay any further, assuming that the technician has done a really bad job. And having SAAB stamped on a wall doesn't waranty anything, as I could experiment on a few occurences in france and in netherlands. The only warranty you have, is when other people tell you that the one they know has always done a good job.
If you find a torque wrench, and an angle measuring gauge ( wich is not so expensive to buy ) it's relatively easy to DIY, and to be sure of the job done on your car ! and like that, you could have a look on the inside of the engine and evaluate the condition of it !
Hope that helps ! Laurent

 

[tonytoe_900]

sorry ive not replied for awhile, been a bit busy. thanks for your advice everyone. cash was tight, girlfriend was adamant, SAAB had to go. im now stuck with a vauxhall belmont.
thanks again for your help. hopfully, ill find another saab in the new year. merry christmas and a happy new year to everyone.