Shouldn't be too hard. Some of the oil/water lines might be a bit fiddly to get at, and you might want to remove the rad fan to give easier access. Pop the front of the car on axle stands; you should be able to get it just a the right height to still be able to lean inside from the top and be able to get underneath.

 

Should be quite easy with a bit of mechanical knowledge,I managed to swop mine and oil/water pipes in situ without removing the radiator due to an upgrade to a TD04, Just take your time and be methodical and you should be ok

 

Right. I'm going for it. With the aid of Mr Haynes though. Thanks.

 

Splish, you are wise not to leave it too long before replacing the turbo, it will keep the cost down.

On start up mine had been smoking for a year and a few weeks ago I noticed a blip of smoke after accelerating. I tried to get the breakdown warranty company to pay for replacement last year before the policy expired but they wanted me to pay for its removal and checks to prove it had failed. I was planning to replace it when the weather picked up. Then it failed over Easter on holiday towing a caravan on the M6 when leaving on the slip road, 100 miles from home and surrounded by massive clouds of smoke. We had the holiday whilst the car was repaired by the breakdown recovery garage (Ullswater Road, Penrith) and they seem to have done a decent job.
Total cost was £1300. Costs exc vat - 6½ hours labour £247, new turbo £396, new catalyst £285 (Bosal), new lamda sensor £74 (not Saab part), oil/filter/washer £39, 4 gaskets £27, 7 studs for turbo £32, 4 nuts £2. The Saab cat would have been £620 and their lamda sensor £130 - initially I was not going to have these replaced until they got the price reasonable and being 7 years old they do not last forever if they had recovered from the oil dosing.

I considered having the car taken home to do the repairs myself but then the bits would be the same cost and we would have missed the holiday. Plus the RAC would only pay for one tow and we keep the caravan away from home so there would have been a 25 mile towing charge to offset against labour costs.

 

Really sorry to hear your tale of woe Paul. Mine has been smoking on start-up for only a few months now, but I'll certainly get it done pronto. I was told it could last 6 months or 6 days. Have to admit, even embarking on a short journey worries me (well, for a few moments) Don't know how yours lasted a year though.

Even though it cost you heavily, as long as you didn't let it spoil the holiday - that's the main thing.

Cheers for the warning - off to get that manual now!

 

I have had problems with smoke on start up ever since I got the car, and unfortunatly didnt get the turbo replaced when I could have under the warranty - the garage just cleaned the breather tubes and it was a bit better for a while, if only I had known about Saabscene then!

Anyway, I have been planning to get mine replaced for a while but last Novemeber had all the latest PCV mods done to see if that would clear it - 'fraid not! So I bought a turbo, gaskets, studs and some incredibly expensive nuts (£3 each iirc!). And then they sat in the corner for several months, I guess I was saving up for the fitting!

Then at the weekend in the evening it made some funny noises under acceleration, but being dark I couldnt see the reason why! Next day driving around was like being in a fog! So I was lucky enough to get the car booked in at the specialist I use and they replaced the turbo yesterday.

They said it was 4 hours labour so I limped the car down there in the morning - it was not too bad smoke wise when on the move but once or twice on changing up / down there was a terrific plume of smoke, enough to make the cars behind swerve around, poor things. Then to make matters worse I had to queue as traffic merged into one lane and the smoke was TERRIBLE! I thought I wasnt going to
make it the next mile or so! But luckily we started moving again and the cars behind me were almost visible!

On arrival, they said that they would flush the intercooler out as that is where any debris / gunge etc would end up and could cause the new turbo to fail within a few miles. Obviously they would also change the oil and filter.

Anyway the car was ready later on yesterday and they gave me the old turbo, it was absolutly shot to pieces; lots of chunks out of the blades, but the worst bit had to be the "play" on the actual turbine shaft - it moves as if it is not even held in on any bearings or anything. They also reported lots of gunge and stuff in the intercooler so it was good that they had cleaned that out.

So I drove away in a car that after nearly 4 years does not smoke, and has a good deal more poke

so I wish I had done it earlier! And the bill was pretty reasonable, about £160 in labour + oil, antifreeze and the odd gasket that I hadnt supplied. £225 all in + the price of the turbo.

And at last I can use this

 

Smoking for 4 years! Is that a record?

New turbo: puts

in your pencil I'd say.

 

It might be a record, but could have been an unenviable (and super expensive) one had I been unlucky!

 

Lucky indeed.

How many miles had the turbo covered?

Mine is the first replacement on an 80k YM200 - which apparently is very good going. What I find shocking is the turbo on our 900 classic is 14 years old with 148k and still going strong. Don't make 'em like they used too I suppose.

 

As far as I know this was the original, and it had done 115,450m since July 1998.

You are right about the old models, I had a 9000 and it was up to 145,000m and still going very strong! And more to the point could be expected to last at least till 200,000m. Not so today, but then that was a full blown turbo, perhaps the lpt units just dont have the strength?

 

It seems to me to be 9-5s that eat lpt turbos, where 9000s and 9-3s that use pretty much the same unit can make them last much longer.

I've just changed the TD04 on my 9000 Aero at 148,000 and the one that came off is only suffering end float, with no other damage (i had the new one on within 4 days of the first puff of gear-change smoke), so is a prime candidate for an economical rebuild and balance as a spare.

Carl

 

Time for a turbo poll, along the lines of the old, and very informative, 'When did your DI cassette fail' etc?

One which asked at what mileage it failed, and [ii] classified replies by 9-5 model, would be very interesting reading.

 

Poll seems a good idea. Just need someone with permission to start one.