SAABSUNITED

Getting an older Saab updated with features normally found in newer cars making it more up to date is not a big issue. This weekend I got a USB charger from Belkin that fits almost completely into the power outlet in the dashboard. I also installed an AUX port from CDConnect which is sold by Realcar. Both work perfectly and the sound quality through the aux easily matches that of the CD player!

The best thing about the AUX port is that I can use the original stereo and thus the car doesnt lose its original look. The AUX installation is plug n play, replaces the cd-charger connection and is installed in less than 5 minutes.

The only negative issue with it is that it cant be used unless ignition is on.

In a previous post I talked about the things that are the most important things to replace on a used 9-5 in order to get it back into great shape. I got a question via e-mail if I could show exactly what the pendulum was. I did some digging and found a photo of a car on which we replaced the pendulums.

These things are sold for about 25 Euro’s and the replacement takes about 15 min per side when a experience mechanic does the job. An important upgrade to such a great car! I ordered mine from Maptun Parts (for swedish customers), over there they cost 135 SEK per piece. They are also available from all dealerships selling SAAB genuine parts.

Article number for the part is 5236823.

The procedure for replacing the pendulum is:

1. Lift the car
2. remove wheel
3. remove pendulum (sway bar links)
4. fasten the new pendulum, with 90 Nm (65 lbf ft) of torque
5. re-attach the wheel, use 110 Nm (81 lbf ft) torque for ALU wheels.
6. Done.

In the comments section a few days ago we started talking about 9-5 Engines and after a few hours that list had been completed. I’m posting it here and also adding the list to the resources. Fredrik Åberg from Maptun was nice to add some 9000 engines as well! Some variations might also be available with different markets.

SAAB 9000
B204E: 150 hp 1994-1998
B204E: 154 hp 1999-2000
B204L: 185 hp 1994-1999
B204R: 200 hp 1998-1999
B234E: 170 hp 1995-1998
B234L: 200 hp 1993-1998
B234R: 225 hp 1993-1998

SAAB 9-5
B205E: 150hp 1998-2010 (Petrol only)
B205E: 150 / 180 hp 2005-2010 (BioPower)
B235E v1: 170 hp 1998-2000 (Petrol only)
B235E v2: 185 hp 2001-2010 (Petrol only)
B235E: 185 / 210 hp 2006-2010 (BioPower)
B235L: 220 hp (same engine as B235R) 2002-2006
B235R v1: 230 hp 1998-2001 (First used in the 9-3 Viggen with 225 hp, used in the 9-5 starting with MY2000)
B235R v2: 250 hp 2002-2005
B235R v3: 260 hp 2006-2010

SAAB 9-3
B205L: 185 hp 2000-2003 (Petrol only)
B205L: 185 hp 2000-2003 (Petrol only)
B205R: 205 hp 2000-2003 (Petrol only)
B235R v1: 230 hp 1998-2001 (First used in the 9-3 Viggen with 225 hp)

Saab 9-5 Hirsch Dual Exhaust

Saab’s previous engines the 1,8t and 2,0t used in the 9-3 until 2010 were certified according to Euro 4 and Euro 5 requirements.

The different regulatory bodies in the world are today working on a harmonization system in which more or less the same regulations would be used all over the world, making development of engines much easier and to say the least, cheaper for auto-manufacturers.

About two weeks ago I contacted two sources to find out more about what requirements were in place right now and what a gasoline or diesel engine would have to achieve in terms of emissions compared to what they did before.

What I found out was very interesting. The current legislation currently in force since mid summer 2012 is the Euro 5B+ and in terms of pure emissions there isn’t really any significant difference is values compared to when the above mentioned engines were in use with Saab Automobile AB.

The big difference now is the measuring of certain peak values and that the car should achieve similar values in everyday use as it did during testing. These values should also be available through ODB-readout during maintenance or check-ups. Thus identifying any malfunctions in the catalytic system or engine. Certain peak values are programmed to be observed and reported.

This is however only the first step. Read the rest of this entry →

Click for high-resolution photo (turbo on the left is fake, turbo on the right is genuine)

Yesterday we had an interesting question to the guys working at Maptun Performance from one of our readers. He asked why some turbos cost between 2-300 dollars and the one from Maptun was so expensive? The answer was pretty simple, most often the cheap turbos out on the market are faked copies as Maptun only sell genuine turbos. After a bit of research we’ve even found that some companies sell these faked copies as genuine at the price of a genuine turbo.

So how do you know if what you’re buying is the real thing or a copy?. The answer, look for the logo. On all TD04HL Mitsubishi turbo’s which was used by Saab in the high power models of the 9-5 and 9-3, has the Mitsubishi logo on the exhaust housing right next to the beginning of the article number of the turbo, as seen on the turbo on the top (logo 89-11300). The fake copy version on the left does not have a logo but only the article number of the product.

By comparing the fake copy, on the left and the genuine on the right, you’ll also see that the waste-gate is of a much weaker construction than the genuine (right) version which often lead to waste-gate failure and also miss-alignment of the waste-gate compared to what is commanded by the engine management software.

When replacing a turbo with one you’ve bought compare the fan-blades of the compressor as these are normally of a much more rough cut and not as well machined in the copied version compared with the genuine. Reduced performance and failure is fairly common with these copied version, especially on tuned cars.

Garrett GT1752 turbos normally used on all low-pressure turbo engines in Saab has the name GARRETT written on the compressor housing, the copied versions do not have this text but only the type GT1752 written on it. There are many companies selling faked versions of the GT17 which is only natural as its widely used in many brands around the world.

After talking with a friend the other day regarding the Saab 9-3 ePower, he told me a very interesting detail that for some reason I’ve completely missed. The 9-3 ePower research and development was finished by Saab, the car even received its type-certification which means that it is ready for production. 200 cars were ordered as a test fleet. This car not be as far away from customer-launch as I first thought…

Shortly after I bought my 9-5 SportsCombi in 2010, I started hearing a squealing noise from somewhere in the back of the car. Two different dealers tried to deal with the noise and could not find it, it has been an extremely annoying thing I’ve had to live with, until today.

I’ve tried to empty the car from everything that I’ve put into the car since I bought it on several occasions, today everything went out, even the standard things that could be taken out and when I found out what made the noise, I almost got mad at myself for not finding it earlier, it was after all fairly obvious…

The source of the noise was the storage bay, a piece of add-on located under the floor-board of the baggage-compartment, which was shipped with the car as part of the Griffin-package.

Normally it rests against the metal bars on each side of the baggage-compartment but, if dirt makes its way there and places it self between the metal and plastic, there is noise…

The fix, clean it, put some duct-tape on the metal bars so that the storage-bay rests against that rather than pure metal, noise gone! =)

The announcement is finally near after some days of extremely hot discussions. The aim of NEVS to make electrical and hybrid cars was in the center of those discussions so I thought I’d bring up a a few videos of what a Saab hybrid could be. In the end NEVS may be much closer to Saab’s original plans than we all would think.

Test drive on a forrest track