9-5 NG Rescue project

[carrera]

Excellent - been following this with interest (and hope).

Thanks, I like to try to create a halfway interesting story, that may serve as a bit of a reference for the future.

MOT is booked for 5th April

I was hoping for Saturday or next Tuesday, but apparently they aren't working on Saturday & are busy because of something called Easter

Today I ordered a new cover for the DPF valve as there is still a (very) minor leak and an idler pulley for the drivebelt, taking a guess that it is this, rather than the tensioner which is making a little bit of noise when cold

[sgould]

Whisper...

There's a guy on the facebook page of the Saab Owners Club looking for a diesel NG 9-5 as his has just been written off........... 

[carrera]

Whisper... in which way

Suggesting I move this on, now it's fixed & I'm looking forward to the comparison with the Turbo4, or suggestion for another project to keep me busy & out of trouble 

This is apparently an incrediby rare car, even before you consider the panoramic roof

How many left, or indeed How many registered. I had no idea.

[sgould]

Looks to be very rare

But "How Many Left"  are in the hands of the original dealers who described the car on the original registration document.

[carrera]

Yeah, I understand the point, not much to be done if a dealer registers an AWD as not being an AWD alternative, but when it comes to trim level they should have a good idea and the engine / gearbox are important for CO2 based road tax, so should be of a decent quality

I had previously a look at the generic "Saab 9-5" listing, and while there are a few, none of them appear to be from the NG years. I think the engine size / model description generally helps there

Still, it's the best information we have, unless Saab GB have disclosed their information somewhere

[sgould]

I found this, but it doesn't give any model split.  But it does show regional distribution.

https://www.autoinsider.co.uk/cars/saab/reports/regions

[carrera]

Not so many in my neck of the woods, I must have most of them 

[carrera]

What am I working on here ?

A small steam engine perhaps

Well no, far more boring than that, it's the EGR gas cooler. If I understand the operation of this correctly, hot exhaust gas, controlled by the ECU, is allowed to pass into the intake stream to reduce emissions, and along the way, it passes through a water jacket to cool the gases.

The failure mode is that the plastic outer shell develops a crack in it which allows pressurised coolant to escape. In my case, it was little more than a weep, a few drops, but over time that depletes the coolant level with the risk of overheating, so best fix it. I'll admit that I was unable to see a crack on the old one, so here's a more advanced version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3gWlKUVckg, watch from about 1:20

This isn't a difficult job, apart from the fact that a couple of the securing bolts did seem a bit resistant to removal and access is not easy

I just need to clean the soot off the engine block side and then reassembly can begin

Edit: all back together and leak free. I had another look at the old cover in bright sunlight & did manage to see the crack

 

[carrera]

I confirmed yesterday that the slight rhythmic squeek from the drivebelt is the idler pulley so that's a straightforward job when the part is delivered.

Today I have refitted all the underbody covers and taken her into the sun for a few photos.

Seems like I had full boost after refitting the disconnected pipe, but another fault code has put it into limp mode, so I'll need the diagnostic kit to find that as there is nothing immediately obvious. I anticipate/hope this is something minor, so she's mechanically complete.

Photo's are always good. The exterior & boot have received some attention, which means that the interior needs a pretty good clean

[carrera]

Today was the MOT day

She passed 

A couple of advisories, which I was expecting , one tyre, rear brake disc & shock absorber covers dropping down

So, now she is taxed, time to get some local miles on her to see if anything crops us with a bit of use. The previous error code was an apparent EGR flow issue, P0402, but all I had to do was clear the code & all was fine

[welshwizard]

I found this, but it doesn't give any model split.  But it does show regional distribution.

https://www.autoinsider.co.uk/cars/saab/reports/regions

It would be interesting to see the distribution over time in London from 2018 to 2024.... Since the advent of the TiD engined cars (esp the 1.9) the majority of cars sold in the UK were diesel....and given that our beloved Mayor has outlawed all Saab diesels from the capital (unless you pay the daily ransom) I see a lot fewer Saabs in the capital now.

[TomPaine]

I think they're vanishing everywhere really. Even in cities that I always thought very Saab - Bristol, Oxford - their presence is evaporating. Alas.

[carrera]

In the 10 days since the MOT I have done over 700 miles, so some impressions:

Not as quick or responsive as the 2.0T. In a sense that was to be expected, but the TTiD does allegedly have 400 Nm compared to 350 Nm in the petrol car. Somewhat the reverse experience of the old 2.2 TiD tractor engine in the 9-5 where with a lowly 120HP she was remarkable quick, with loads of torque.

Speaking of torque, there really doesn't seem to be much below 1500 rpm, though in higher gears she will pull from those speeds, so perhaps this is a"by design" mapping feature. I don't think there is a problem as there are no DTC's registered. Wish these cars had OpenSID so I could see more of what is going on. Hooking a laptop up to see the live information on boost / torque isn't really a great idea for busy A roads. 

The gear ratios seem quite sensible, 2nd may be a little low, and with 33mph / 1000 rpm in 6th I was hoping for good fuel economy. It seems at motorway speeds, I'm likely to see 37-38 mpg, which is less than hoped for and quite a lot less than the old 2.2 where on a run I could easily get above 45, so long as the speed wasn't too high.

Handling wise, this non Drivesense equipped 2011 car is quite different to the 2010 Drivesense Aero. Both are on H-arm suspension, AWD, 19" turbine rims and lowered suspension so should be comparable. I have read that Saab received feedback on the original cars and they responded to hard ride criticism by putting softer springs/dampers on. I have to say, I can feel it. The 2011 car provides much more traditional feedback of what the car is doing, whereas the 2010 car is certainly more sporty, suffers from very little roll, yet has high grip levels but fails to communicate with the driver what exactly is going on, except when it gets a bit twitchy, which it can do.

I have just had the front wheels balanced, fitted new front discs / pads to get rid of the braking vibration and andusted the front end wheel alignment so that the steering wheel is aligned and toe-in is correct. The latter adjustment is no doubt down to small differences in the dimensions / position of the subframe compared to the original. Wheel alignment went from 20' out to 10' in. We shall see this week if the new suspension settings make the handling any different.

[carrera]

Well, another 250 miles on the car and what a difference small changes can make.

I am used to feeling the difference between  20' toe out and 10' toe in, but didn't expect to feel it so strongly on the road. The centering of the steering wheel (which means centering of the rack) has resulted in the adjustable power steering working properly, and feedback is more direct. Handling is much more similar to the 2.0 petrol as well, with better ability to carry speed round corners and the transition from a FWD bias to RWD under power more evident.

Immediately, whether due to the wheel alignment (reduction in scrub), non distorted discs causing some pad dragging, or simply she's getting used to more frequent driving cleaning the system/combustion chambers out, today's journey had me up at 43mpg, rather than the 37-38 for the same journey last week.

That's more in line with prior expectations, happier than yesterday 

The trip computer can't do maths though. Last week a full tank was apparently good enough for 360 miles, and it stayed like that until less than 3/4 of a tank was remaining. This week it showed 480 miles, when the reality last week for a tankful was more like 580, this week 660