Post by eggyolkedzx3 on Aug 19, 2011 0:26:21 GMT -8
After seeing some of the other build threads I thought I'd post the story of my Mom's "new" '03 Saab 9-5 for enjoyment.
Well to start, the previous owner of the car lives in St. George and was heading out to Las Vegas for the weekend during last summer. About mid way here the passengers side rear tire let go on one of the gangsta 18's and he couldnt change to a spare because the car was missing the lug wrench so he sat on the side of the road with the car idling and A/C on for... 3 HOURS! So tow truck takes him to get new tire, then the guy starts on his way again only this time, with a smoke screen behind him. He absolutely COOKED the seals out of the turbo from sitting on the road idling. Eventually he makes it to my dads work, Pepboys, where they quote him on the faint side of $4K for new turbo and labor. Needless to say, the guy wanted to part ways with it so he arranged for the junkyard to pick it up the next morning for $500 while he bought a brand new Saturn and was on his way back to St. George.
That night my dad told mom and I about picking it up and either fixing it ourselves or worse case, part it out. We decided on trying to fix it as my moms current '07 Jetta was coming up on lease in October so why not actually OWN a fully optioned luxury car with clear title in hand? Next morning, dad and I were off so first thing we did was head to Pepboys for dad to get the guys number while I looked over this...
Pops called him and offered $700 for the car as is to make a solid deal. He agreed and off to St. George we were to pick up the title. Get back from Vegas asap to arrange for a tow truck to drop it off at the house. Tow truck comes so we start the car (had to put 2 or 3 quarts of oil in as it wasnt even showing on the dipstick) to get it behind the flat bed. INSTANT smoke screen, couldnt even see across the street after 15 seconds, it was that bad. Get it to the house and that's where I'd work on it 100% myself for the next 2 to 3 moths. Unfortunately that's where the mechanical aspect of the pictures would end, just didnt have time nor think about it. But here's a list of what I did to it. Pretty much restored the whole thing in this order:
-Replaced original Garrett GT1752 turbo out of the "Linear" (rated 185hp/207tq) model with a Mitsubishi TD04 out of an "Aero" model (rated 250hp/258tq). Nothing was good on the old turbo, the shaft had broken in half and the exhaust wheel just rolled around inside the housing.
-Scored Aero ECU (still yet to be installed but we payed only $400 with Aero turbo to gain a 65hp/51tq difference!)
-New Aero style turbo oil feed/return and coolant feed/return lines.
-New PCV #6 update kit (Saab B235's are known for sludging up mostly due to PCV issues and factory recommended 10k mile oil change intervals)
-Pulled oil pan and valve cover to clean a TON of sludge, oil pickup screen was over 70% clogged! Luckily no damage to the bottom end.
-New coolant temp sensor and thremostat
-Changed all fluids and filters
-New downpipe with cat (old one was ruined with oil burning action)
-New O2 sensors
-All 4 new motor mounts
-New drivers side windshield visor (Saab uses a twin visor setup and the first one would always fall down, Saab quirk)
-New shocks and struts
-New brakes (Hawk HPS pads/ Brembo blank rotors all around along with new parking brake shoes)
-New 16" wheels and Falken 512's to get rid of the bent 18's and chinese tires
-New emblems (another Saab quirk, emblems start to flake if not cared for right)
I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton more things but we probably put $4.5-5k worth of parts into it which really isnt bad at all for the amount of things I did to it. Well after all that and driving it for a couple months, I decided to do 16+ hours of TLC to the paint. I did everything to claybarring to doing a 2 step polish process to a sealant. The car had medium to heavy swirling, RIDS, and a few imperfections which I magically ereased ;D
Wished I took more full car before shots but here's before pics:
Already restored the headlights in this one
HID headlights, finished on left, original on right. Looked way worse than in the pic
And now onto the afters!
Next project will be cleaning up the engine bay and this mess when I get time...
Well that's it for now. I've actually had a ton of fun working on this as I feel I saved an overall decent car from going to the junkers because of a neglectful previous owner. Saabs are a very well thought out brand and not like the other European makes, YOU CAN work on them without the inflicted migranes an hemroids that come with! They do have alot of quirks but at the end of the day, having the passing power similiar to a Porshce while having truly innovative new technology, it makes it all worth it.
Well to start, the previous owner of the car lives in St. George and was heading out to Las Vegas for the weekend during last summer. About mid way here the passengers side rear tire let go on one of the gangsta 18's and he couldnt change to a spare because the car was missing the lug wrench so he sat on the side of the road with the car idling and A/C on for... 3 HOURS! So tow truck takes him to get new tire, then the guy starts on his way again only this time, with a smoke screen behind him. He absolutely COOKED the seals out of the turbo from sitting on the road idling. Eventually he makes it to my dads work, Pepboys, where they quote him on the faint side of $4K for new turbo and labor. Needless to say, the guy wanted to part ways with it so he arranged for the junkyard to pick it up the next morning for $500 while he bought a brand new Saturn and was on his way back to St. George.
That night my dad told mom and I about picking it up and either fixing it ourselves or worse case, part it out. We decided on trying to fix it as my moms current '07 Jetta was coming up on lease in October so why not actually OWN a fully optioned luxury car with clear title in hand? Next morning, dad and I were off so first thing we did was head to Pepboys for dad to get the guys number while I looked over this...
Pops called him and offered $700 for the car as is to make a solid deal. He agreed and off to St. George we were to pick up the title. Get back from Vegas asap to arrange for a tow truck to drop it off at the house. Tow truck comes so we start the car (had to put 2 or 3 quarts of oil in as it wasnt even showing on the dipstick) to get it behind the flat bed. INSTANT smoke screen, couldnt even see across the street after 15 seconds, it was that bad. Get it to the house and that's where I'd work on it 100% myself for the next 2 to 3 moths. Unfortunately that's where the mechanical aspect of the pictures would end, just didnt have time nor think about it. But here's a list of what I did to it. Pretty much restored the whole thing in this order:
-Replaced original Garrett GT1752 turbo out of the "Linear" (rated 185hp/207tq) model with a Mitsubishi TD04 out of an "Aero" model (rated 250hp/258tq). Nothing was good on the old turbo, the shaft had broken in half and the exhaust wheel just rolled around inside the housing.
-Scored Aero ECU (still yet to be installed but we payed only $400 with Aero turbo to gain a 65hp/51tq difference!)
-New Aero style turbo oil feed/return and coolant feed/return lines.
-New PCV #6 update kit (Saab B235's are known for sludging up mostly due to PCV issues and factory recommended 10k mile oil change intervals)
-Pulled oil pan and valve cover to clean a TON of sludge, oil pickup screen was over 70% clogged! Luckily no damage to the bottom end.
-New coolant temp sensor and thremostat
-Changed all fluids and filters
-New downpipe with cat (old one was ruined with oil burning action)
-New O2 sensors
-All 4 new motor mounts
-New drivers side windshield visor (Saab uses a twin visor setup and the first one would always fall down, Saab quirk)
-New shocks and struts
-New brakes (Hawk HPS pads/ Brembo blank rotors all around along with new parking brake shoes)
-New 16" wheels and Falken 512's to get rid of the bent 18's and chinese tires
-New emblems (another Saab quirk, emblems start to flake if not cared for right)
I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton more things but we probably put $4.5-5k worth of parts into it which really isnt bad at all for the amount of things I did to it. Well after all that and driving it for a couple months, I decided to do 16+ hours of TLC to the paint. I did everything to claybarring to doing a 2 step polish process to a sealant. The car had medium to heavy swirling, RIDS, and a few imperfections which I magically ereased ;D
Wished I took more full car before shots but here's before pics:
Already restored the headlights in this one
HID headlights, finished on left, original on right. Looked way worse than in the pic
And now onto the afters!
Next project will be cleaning up the engine bay and this mess when I get time...
Well that's it for now. I've actually had a ton of fun working on this as I feel I saved an overall decent car from going to the junkers because of a neglectful previous owner. Saabs are a very well thought out brand and not like the other European makes, YOU CAN work on them without the inflicted migranes an hemroids that come with! They do have alot of quirks but at the end of the day, having the passing power similiar to a Porshce while having truly innovative new technology, it makes it all worth it.
