Messages

I was seriously looking at staying with a Swedish car but SWMBO made the same comments you and a MINI Countryman seemed like a good compromise.

Would you believe that a "Mini" could be two inches wider than a 9-5? It's no wonder that the SAAB looks so small when looking at a row of cars in a car park.

Still, I can admire it for at least another year and enjoy travelling in comfort.

Good news, and it's going to be 48 years by the time the next MOT is due.

What needed fixing ?

Very little, one drop link worn and one brake pipe connection had an unacceptable level of corrosion.

The main problem is not covered by the MOT, i.e. the height of the seat above the ground 

Car now repaired and back on the road.

47 years SAABs and still counting   

Heart beats head

If so, I have a 2002 9-5 3.0 TiD Arc estate which has just failed its MOT and, though easily repairable, I feel it's time to move on after owning a number of SAABs since 1972. The only ones I haven't had are two strokes, 90 and 93/9-3.

If anyone is interested, I could upload a few badly lit photos along with more details.

I first started using it in my wife's Citroen ZX 1.9D after I reading an article in "Diesel Car" about a strip down of a fuel system/engine after more than 100,000 miles. There was no measurable wear in the system.

What I'd like to know is did they strip down another one that had also run for 100,000 miles with fill ups of fuel at the same places which ran without additives

I suspect that you know the answer to that already 

Thanks for the suggestion David but I think I shall continue with the Miller's Diesel Power Economax, as I have for around 20 years.

I first started using it in my wife's Citroen ZX 1.9D after I reading an article in "Diesel Car" about a strip down of a fuel system/engine after more than 100,000 miles. There was no measurable wear in the system. As the Citroen ran without a hiccup for 160,000 miles, I feel justified in continuing.

I shall be more circumspect about using Shell VPower 

Sorry, I'm a bit confused as you seem to suggest that the improvement and fault came about at the same time after filling up?
Anyway, did you ever get the fuel filter changed and the fuel pump solenoids tested as I suggested in April? 

After re-reading what I wrote, I'm not surprised

A couple of years ago I used VPower for a while until the engine started to run roughly at idle, even cutting out on one occasion. Shortly after returning to Sainsbury's/Miller's the roughness disappeared and the engine ran normally for quite some time.

Some months ago I had to fill up twice with VPower and, towards the end of the second tankfull the high power reluctance appeared and I changed back to Sainsbury's/Miller's. As it was a performance area that I very rarely used, I let things continue in the hope that there would be an improvement. It took quite a while but, after the fuel filter was changed during the service mid-August, I gradually felt an improvement so I was able to get the car through the "flat" period and eventually get full throttle and 4400 rpm in third. The hill is about half a mile long.

A couple of weeks ago I just floored the throttle and the acceleration was back to normal.

Something gradually becoming unstuck?

Anyway, it's now working satisfactorily and I shall watch with interest to see if the problem re-occurs with my present fuel.

Thanks for your valuable input, I shall just hope that your further suggestions prove unnecessay

A good point, though the change has taken several months to come about after I stopped using the Shell fuel. Would not the improvement happened fairly soon after the fuel change?

The Shell would have disappeared from the tank fairly quickly as I always run the tank quite low before filling it with just over 50 litres (65 litre tank). Also, the Miller's additive is supposed to increase by 4 points the cetane number and, in spite of being a Yorkshireman, I do tend to be generous in helping the sales of a local company 

Two or three years ago I filled up my 3.0 TiD with Shell VPower Diesel after 20 miles of a 200 mile trip, so the car was well warmed. At the end of the journey, mostly motorway, the SID was showing 50 m.p.g. instead of the 45 m.p.g usually shown. This seemed like a good idea so I started to use it regularly.

The following spring, the car began to run roughly and so I booked it in to my local SAAB specialist for investigation but he couldn't see it before I went on my bi-annual 400 mile round trip. Fault cleared, so I decided to revert to Sainsbury's diesel with Miller's additive, which I have used for years.

Last autumn I put in two tanks full of Shell again as not near a Sainsbury's which lead to this problem http://www.saabtechtalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=2547. Went back to Sainsbury's/Miller's again.

As it was only a minor problem, I ended up doing nothing more about it as I felt that the fuel was the problem then, a couple of weeks ago, the car returned to normal.

Has anyone else had problems with Shell VPower Diesel?

His main points are what not to do to the engine that will make things worse in some situations.

Including not using Forte Diesel treatment 

Thanks for the pointers. Will read further, though I do now remember that the vacuum hoses were checked and found in good condition.

Thanks Audax.

I'll pass the message on though I suspect it will be after Easter before I can get back to the Saab specialist.

I have owned from new a 2002 9-5 3.0 TiD which has now done 67000 miles. This is a low mileage with the lowest rate of increase most recently as the car is mostly used locally with little chance for high speed.

Every now and again the car starts to get lumpy (and who can blame it) so, after warming the oil, it gets a clearout with some full throttle in third uphill. It's no good doing this on the level as it doesn't last long enough. Normally the view out of the rear window is obscured but the pipes are cleared and it can pass the MOT smoke test without having to go through all five max r.p.m. tests.

When I last did this it started to accelerate as normal but above 2000rpm lost enthusiasm. Eased off accelerator and service normal until full throttle resumed.

Took car to local Saab specialist who hooked up Tech2 after a test drive which confirmed boost being reduced over 2000 rpm as if it was overboosting, which it wasn't.

Tech2 showed no codes.

Other tests showed that EGR valve was working as expected and that wastegate operated freely.

Turbo was also shown to be free.

As the visit was at short notice, that was as far as it got but with no ideas as to what it might be.

Since the visit, I have tried it with a bottle of Forte Diesel Treatment, more in hope than expectation, as a couple of years ago there was a fuel related roughness which cleared.

Before I take the car back to the Saab specialist, does any one have any suggestions?

The 9-5 will try to start on a battery that is very nearly dead, often with a dud cell in it. The battery will often read 12V or more, and even accept charge to some degree. Cranking will be slow, but 9-5s are not all that quick to spin up anyway.
Only a new battery can solve the problem. But I would certainly get yours load tested by a mechanic who has a hand held battery computer to put it through its paces. Three years is all you will get on a battery these days, particularly if you short trip a lot.

This happened to me last winter on a relatively low mileage V6 3.0TiD. It started normally and I went to a friends house about a mile away. When I came to start it, no joy. Needless to say my friend's house is at the bottom of a long drive but fortunately he had a charger, so the car started normally a couple of hours later.

Drove straight to Halfords for a new battery which I hope will last longer than the nine years of the original 

In 1998 I got some winter tyres for my 900 8v turbo which worked so well that we had no snow for the next five years   .

Even though we live on the Pennines, I have not bothered since as the winters have not been too bad until 09/10 and 10/11. Last winter I admitted defeat and got some winter tyres for my wife's 19yo Citroen ZX, as we live at the top of a steep hill with a T junction at the bottom, not to mention a 100' drop at the other side of the wall.

They were a great improvement and on one occasion I drove sedately up the hill following in the tracks of someone who had obviously only just made it by going from one side of the road to the other.

There are details of Auto Express's winter tyre test here.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tyre-guides/36694/winter-tyre-test-2011