Saab 9-5 engine rebuild - blow by

[@CardboardSliver]

It's cool that who ever owns this car is willing to get that work done, as it's not cheap. Here in the UK, people break (part out) their Saabs over silly reasons, like I've seen one get broken cause the door locks stopped working. No joke.

[@Retiq]

Cardboard Sliver some people prob don’t care enough about the car to want to keep putting money into them

[@drewgoodale460]

Just got a 2000 9-5 and wanted to see a guide on the rebuild these guys were great really professional awesome to see

[@Retiq]

Thank you!!

[@mariolaubli3877]

Really cool Video and professional work. I like how quiet and concentrated you communicate.

[@semiconductorsinarabic4090]

My man, I clicked and was like whattt!? Nice to see you bud, I got 07 9-5 wagon now

[@Retiq]

Nicee!! That’s a good year I can’t complain haha

[@garypowell4565]

Professional all the way, and so nice to have that garage and tools, bottom line, a really cool Video and professional work. I like how quiet and concentrated you communicate.

[@Retiq]

Sorry late reply but yes it’s a Saab dealer working with a mechanic of 30years and did saabs for most of that

[@jeroenk1526]

I bluw up piston 2....cracked in half.!. 600.000 miles... Now I'm having a B204R engine love it. 300.000 nothing wrong.

[@Retiq]

jeroen k yeah if u treat em right with oem dic and plugs and nice gas should run for a while with hopefully not cracked pistons or valves

[@scotthohn9255]

Supersaab man here lol I don't know you but I knew I heard that voice in the background. Wow so work was done at R L Smith. Wow miss seeing Greg and Ken

[@Retiq]

Haha Yeaa work was done sadly no more RL Smith..

[@scotthohn9255]

Greg is in North Carolina. I have some really cool saabs. Are you still local iknow you were going to school but that was like 4 years ago. Please reach out

[@Retiq]

@@scotthohn9255 Yeaa, haha all done with school. I’m still working and in ny.

[@scotthohn9255]

@@Retiq Do you do any side work have some saabs need doctoring

[@Retiq]

Wym doctoring? Haha? And I do have two Saabs in my fleet

[@Kent.]

Nice that you repair old Saab's!! Here in Sweden you almost not seeing any of the old 9-5 anymore. The facelifted 9-3 from 08 you still see, and some of the unusual new 9-5! I guess it's cheaper to fix that engine in US than here, i guess that should cost more than the car is worth here!

[@Retiq]

Kent Nilsson ahhh well it wasn’t cheep to do it haha... but being a dealer we get our parts from saab and some stuff takes a while bcz it comes from Sweden

[@TheWiseTent]

Where is this shop? Unfortunately, here in Canada the Saab dealerships are closed. Do you get parts from Saab/NEVS or from Orio? Also, I'm super jealous of your uniform with the SAAB badge. I'm in school right now for auto mechanics and I hope to specialize in Saabs when I'm finished. @@Retiq

[@Retiq]

thewisetent oh congrats! I’m learning from some veterans in the Saab world😜. But orio is Saab there is still oem parts being manufactured that we buy and install with some lifetime warranty on some parts

[@saabdashcamsweden4424]

nice looking 9-3 convertibles!

[@davevq]

Hey Danny, I was in 2 weekends ago, got your old transmission humming in my 2000 wagon. You weren't in, I'll have to swing by again sometime. Thanks again!

[@Retiq]

DaveVQ yeah I’m usually not there on weekends but that’s great to hear!

[@rrud59]

I got one of these an 06 with 240k on it. I dont drive It much anymore, still drives great but I do have an oil leak and some ticking lasting maybe a minute after start up. Considering pulling it in and taking it apart.

[@dstewart4520]

Great video. Just enough technicality to let me.know that I would leave it to the experts.

[@iamrusnak2932]

Very nice to actually see it :) PVC system shoudl actually be a PCV, but whatever :) long time no see a proper SAAB video of yours.

[@Retiq]

I am Rusnak abc ebd close enough haha thank you!!

[@xb7659]

Great job ! Just a question: when you hone cylinders with crankshaft in place, you seem not to be afraid to drop some sand dusts on crankpins or threw oil holes...have you a special procedure ? Regards from France

[@Retiq]

Xavier Bigand hey sorry might not show everything in the video but try and clean it out with break clean and a rag but rags that’s dont lint up, but careful not to scratch or gouge anything while cleaning anything

[@breadwinnerwolfman5686]

If this is happening to you do a wet compression test and if the compression is more in the cylinder than that’s means it’s the rings around the pistons are either bad

[@brettkramer]

Great video !! Thanks so much for posting. Saab owner here, really great to see repair videos like this. Prior to re-assembly, did you check the surface of the head and exhaust manifold for flatness?

[@Retiq]

Yes we checked the head, idk about exhaust manifold prob not I personally haven’t had any warped manifolds, the gasket for manifold usually takes up a lot of imperfections. But I have had friends have aftermarket manifolds be warped

[@brettkramer]

@@Retiq Thank you for your reply. When I replaced my head gasket, I had my head leveled, it needed it. At the same time, I had the face of my stock, exhaust manifold leveled, to be honest, I don't know if it actually needed it, but it was done.

[@Questtt3]

Danny...great video! I have a 2001 9.5SE...bought it new and still love it! Have not been especially happy with techs working on my car...many issues from sloppy work to costly mistakes. I would really appreciate it if could work with you guys...where in NY is your garage? Thanks!

[@Retiq]

Questtt3 hey sorry to hear that...shop is In Rensselaer

[@itsjustsaeko4066]

When doing pistons and taking off the head. Will it require re timing the engine? I’m looking at a vehicle now with cylinder 3 no compression as well as most of the plugs being melted due to a shitty tune.

[@Retiq]

That is worrisome if the engine can have more damage, but yes it will need to re timed if I was working on my own car I’d take whole engine out and go thru the whole thing to check over it and have room, take my time double check everything send head and block to machine shop

[@toothrockrattlesnakecreek1728]

Nice video on the blow by. 2001 viggen 2.3 T7. Have same state. Rebuilder used forged pistons. I am doing the rebuild myself this time. What you say about forged vs OEM I tend to believe Forged are for short term high power. The stock Viggen is maxed out over torque as is and needs no more for street use. Also what supplier fills your Saab needs.

[@mikedillman2761]

where can you order a full rebuild kit pistons gaskets rings and mains?? and what are the dic (caset)? I have both a 2001 9-5 w/ a 2.3 turbo and a 2002 9-3 w/ a 2.0t and an 07 w/a 2.0t altho the 07 got totaled by Bambi it was able to be driven home. I'd like to rebuild it's engine as a replacement for the 02's engine. (assuming since they are both 2.0t's they can be swapped easily enough)

[@Retiq]

That stinks dang bambi… I’m not 100% this was when I worked at dealer so all parts ordered straight from saab… eeuroparts, is a good place for parts esaabparts I think is the other one, rock auto has been good to me idk about engine rebuilds… it’s thought to find oem dic tho…

[@mikedillman2761]

@@Retiq i will definitely check out those sources thank you...

[@ericmurray7482]

I think I'm going to need a sid I have to check when I get home be in touch though.

[@Retiq]

Eric Murray okay I may have one

[@troublelessone7999]

Nice vlog.. other than identifying the cracked piston.. was looking for more of the details of the "rebuild" and how you set tiiming marks..for example. I like that you tackled a lot of this in the vehicle.. but how did you determine whether or not the deck or head was true after the cleaning.. What piston was that with those ports all around the base of it..

[@merafekalier9284]

Nice to see this. Greetings from Sweden!

[@delcorick9967]

Which pistons did they put in, they looked different than the one new piston showed in box, they almost look like the ones that came out

[@Retiq]

So I don’t think I mentioned in video is the new piston we ordered wasn’t right. So we checked all of them. So by what block it had we had spare engines and matched up the same piston and used the correct one for this engine.

[@xb7659]

Hey ! Do you use oversized piston's rings ? Is your red oil a transmission fluid or a specific assembly oil ? Thanks for your videos.

[@Retiq]

No this was just a factory sized pistons n rings. And I believe it was trans fluid. There is assembly lube/oil u can buy when rebuilding an engine

[@iamjohan8453]

How come you changed all the cylinder if it was only #1 tht had issue

[@Retiq]

If I remember correctly we took all of them out to check them then replaced the bad one. The new one in the box was wrong. So we couldn’t find new one so we took a used one out of an engine we had as spare engine n clean n checked it

[@stocks4bt]

where did you all order the original saab parts from? and what is the name of the tool you used to hone the cylinder walls?

[@Retiq]

B T working at a Saab dealer so boss just orders everything from Saab (orio) but idk name can’t find it online few different styles and sizes for differ engines

[@InsertLife]

Hi. I have blowby on my 2004 aero hot. Gonna replace all 4 pistons, but to buy i find pistons for 90mm and 90.5mm cylinder . I have 180k miles on my car. Im i correct, 90.5mm pistons are for worn out engines and 90mm for low mile engines? Or i gonna need to bore cylinders for 90.5mm? Or should i just fit 90mm? Thanks

[@Retiq]

Blow by can also be the pcv system i can’t rember when the update was, but I’m not sure about that I’m sorry i didn’t order parts but I rember seeing letters inside piston which helped out pic the right piston for that year

[@InsertLife]

@@Retiq pcv update was 2004. And my saab is 2004. I changed all hose + valves. Alot preasure is coming out of oil filler cap on idle, but on full power oil is just gushing out of oil filler cap. Loss of power is very small amount

[@InsertLife]

@@Retiq compression test. 1st 2nd 3rd cylinder 175, 4th is 50. I hope its just a piston and rings and not case cracked.

[@kvn3104]

How much Blow by you have, alot smoke Out the fill.cap?

[@Samuelelofsson]

at 5:17, what is that part outside the head? the one with the red ring on it. Mine doesn't have that

[@Retiq]

Samuel Elofsson the part on the side of the head with the read circle peice is for automatic Saab 9-5s it’s a vacuum pump run off the cam to assist with breaking.

[@Samuelelofsson]

@@Retiq oooh, thanks! Been wondering for a while

[@vintageventures6267]

The ring blow by is title of the video, so when the original #1 piston was in hands, you did not address that the ring gaps were both next to each other, which likely caused the exhaust gases to roast that side of the thin walled orem piston and lead to the cracks. The new rings were put in correctly, thanks. Also the rods have numbers stamped, sometimes cast & which way do they face way towards the timing chain?

[@Retiq]

Vintage Ventures he had been looking at the piston and playing with it then I grabbed camera I don’t belive the rings were lined up from factory like that...

[@vintageventures6267]

@@Retiq Your mechanic friend is good, I’m sure. I wish there were video’s showing how some of these Saabs rebuilds are running after a major rebuild like pistons. I’m in the middle of assembling a freshly machined block, and crank with JE forged pistons. A specialty shop told me to make sure to face the flat faces of the rods to the exhaust side of the block, because the rods might cause excessive piston slap and jam the rings in their lands>>> causing blow-by again. Thanks for all your detailed videos!

[@Retiq]

Vintage Ventures yeah my co worker is great! He’s been doing saabs for super long and a mechanic for even longer and if u mark stuff before disassembly you put it in the same way you took it out. And in the comments I might respond to someone talking about the cars I haven’t seen this car come thru the shop lately usually just oil change last time iv seen it...

[@cbp1357]

Saab mechanic over here in Washington. First time I've seen a cracked pistion. Like you said normally a bad head gasket or valves. However we just had a 9-5 come in a few weeks ago. Cylinder wall was scored.... What shop are you at?

[@rangersammy]

Where are you? I'm near Tacoma and may have this same issue. #4 cylinder plug is always fouled by working. Need to get forged pistons put in by someone with knowledge.

[@Retiq]

capang9555 hey sorry late reply but I’m New York and co workers who have been here longer have said they have seen cracked piston a few times before...

[@SJSOmar]

What is that red fluid... transmission fluid ??

[@Retiq]

Saab Enthusiast- Omar yea just dipping in trans fluid

[@antoniamckinley1157]

I have a 2002 9-5arc and I needed this job done as well on my car.but I’m still currently driving it back and forth to work.what is the price for this type of work?plus I am on the west coast

[@toquefourtwenty]

Antonia McKinley dame just bought a 9-5 wagon for $400 but has no compression in #3 and won’t start :(

[@loganfredericks9166]

gotta love when it starts up with no issues! I hear that the t5 engines are more durable than t7 and you dont come across cracked pistons and blocks as much. Opinions?

[@Retiq]

Logan Fredericks it’s not super common and if ur driving car normally the t5 and t7 are both fine the newer engines like t7 have been made to be more effiecnt and lighter moving parts. The cracked piston was most likely caused by a cheap aftermarket DIC getting timing wrong

[@loganfredericks9166]

@@Retiq interesting. Makes since. Yeah I would never use a aftermarket DIC. I've heard those are terrible n unreliable

[@Retiq]

Logan Fredericks yeah as I have seen cracked pistons burnt valves and some of the DIC caught fire/melted

[@abbsgarage.9676]

@@Retiq yup a bad casset can cause that I have one for mayor engine refurbishment

[@simonpalethorpe8350]

My 9-5 was runing 300+hp for a long time be for that same thing hapond.is this 1 standod?

[@BRIANPOOPMILLER]

What millimeter bolt are the pistons

[@Retiq]

I am not sure it was a while ago...

[@nataliamyszka]

Hello i need pistons for engine a20nft? Do you have any?

[@Retiq]

Natalia Nieckarz sorry I do not have any of those but they shouldn’t be to hard to find for that engine

[@yhird]

Great job. Great video.

[@Retiq]

yhird thank you!!

[@DerekChabrow]

great video 👍

[@RafaelGarcia-ek4wf]

QUESTION! Is this engine this loud? I have a 2001 9-5 and can't fix the clicking noise on the valve lifters

[@brookederry9387]

Mine is just as loud and its a 2007. I find the injectors is what causes the most noise.

[@matthewmiller7696]

What is the right angle tool you are using? Brand and model. Thanks!

[@colininglis5894]

16:20 Your mentor has done that just a few times..

[@chieftron]

If I may ask is this car from New Jersey? With a noticebly bad repaint on the side mirror?

[@derrijl]

Can you guys sent me the list of the parts you order in this video.

[@chipped_iphone7343]

My 9-5 needs to get worked on where are you guys located I don’t have anyone in my area that works on saabs

[@Retiq]

Hey sorry outside of Albany ny

[@Retiq]

But at new shop rn

[@krut00]

Hi. Did you guys do any work on the cylinder head and the valves, or just put everything back together? How long does the timing last on those things? I just bought a 2.0l 9-3 from 2011 and found out it is eating oil - 1 litre per 1000km. How much was this engine eating before and after it got fixed?

[@rassebengtsson744]

Both t5 and t7 is the same block and both are Good for over 1000hp the blocks are relly Good 👍🏻 and t5 stock can run 600-700before somthing brakes if its tuned right

[@Retiq]

rasse bengtsson pretty optimistic there the pistons are prob the weak point in these engine. I have a 900 with forged pistons with 9000 bottom end

[@rassebengtsson744]

Retiq have seen pepole here in Sweden run 600hp on stock Pistons and roods No problem it will take it . And i know one that did run 700hp on stock things and it was taking it No problem if u get the tune right .

[@rassebengtsson744]

Retiq the t5 and t7 do not have the same pistons or roods thay are much more beffy in the t5 thats why thay work well with hp. I run 400hp in my daliy and everything is stock :)

[@smeckles101]

nice video mate!

[@zero13ftp]

How much does a repair like this cost ?

[@Retiq]

zero13ftp anywhere from 1,000-1,500

[@wernerdanler2742]

That was good Danny. Do you work as an apprentice there and do they only work on Saabs?

[@Retiq]

Werner Danler yeah I guess you can say that haha and yeah we work on like 80% or more saabs.

[@wernerdanler2742]

@@Retiq when I came back to read your answer the vid restarted and I realized I missed the part about your hair. I wish I still had that much hair to mess up! Lol take care Danny and don't work to hard.

[@Retiq]

Werner Danler haha yeah I can never get my hair the way I want lol thanks you too!

[@ThisReckless]

Think the pistons could be pulled from the bottom, also where can we find aftermarket pistons/rings? One of mine cracked in my 2000 9-5.

[@jeppenord1187]

speedparts.se it's in Sweden but I think they ship worldwide

[@saunderslee3935]

CANNOT be pulled from the bottom with the crank installed!

[@ThisReckless]

Saunders Lee can you remove crank from the bottom? I think I’m just gonna swap it lol

[@saunderslee3935]

@@ThisReckless nope engine would have to come out IF you dont take the head off. Front of the engine (timing chain and cover) would have to be disassembled AND the rear as well is bolted to the trans. I've done several head off/pan dropped provided the crank wasn't damaged!

[@ThisReckless]

Saunders Lee yea they have to be removed from the top huh. I figured as much, I couldn’t figure out how to remove mine with the crank in the way. Thank you for the advice just gonna swap a 2008 motor into it.

[@saabturboguy]

i had that problem also my dad worked for sabb for 30 plus years and ha said he had never seen that problem before he said only over heating or thrashing had caused that my car had been too the garage for a service and came back with that problem so i never used them again but u just cant prove it!!

[@husseinkhafaja103]

Where can I buy the pistons?

[@Retiq]

Working at a saab dealer so we got them thru orio but just buy forged pistons off genuinesaab haha make it a little fun??

[@husseinkhafaja103]

@@Retiq Thank you

[@jimbo1299]

Where are you located?? I’ve got a Saab with the exact same problem. I got half the rebuild done and run out of time.

[@Retiq]

Sorry late reply but I’m on NY

[@gbriank1]

great rescue video!

[@navarda4life]

where are these guys located

[@Retiq]

JAYUNUWA Findlater New York

[@dumbasswinslow1965]

hi danny, I have a 2000 9-5 aero wagon with 325k on it. it's my daily driver to and from work (50+miles). I recently noticed it starting to feel like it's having a hard time getting past 70mph. any advice on how to fix this issue?

[@chieftron]

When's the last time you changed your spark plugs and are you running the correct ones? Also, what oil and how often are you changing it?

[@SamiHentunen]

When was the air mass sensor last replaced? They deteriorate with age and should be replaced maybe every 5 years/100k as a matter of course. Resulting lean condition in Trionic 7 cars is what cracks the pistons and makes the engine feel gutless under load. I bet that is what killed the engine of this video also.

[@EmilBMWable]

Did you use oversize pistons?

[@Retiq]

No stock engine stock pistons

[@TriniManIzaRa1ningDj]

hey, what shop is this?

[@norbertlodkvist6364]

Is it expensive to do this?

[@Retiq]

Yes it’s a pretty expensive fix lot of time for sure...at least 1000$ I’d guess

[@ericmurray7482]

Hello do you sell parts as well as repair cars?

[@Retiq]

Eric Murray I do sell parts do u want new or used?

[@zachtong5985]

The cost of this overhaul must have been substantial and then you wonder what else will go wrong. Clearly in the later production models as the company became less and less viable and they cut corners reliability feel off. I just had to part with my 99 9-5 automatic 4cyl. after 17 years and 114,000 miles since off lease in '02. It was for the most part alot better than my '89 9000S which I bought after 7 years and 66,000 miles and got another 100k out of it , but boy did it eat me up in repairs the last 40k. But they sure were fun to drive and comfortable.

[@Retiq]

Zach Tong this repair was a little while ago and other than tires I haven’t seen in it, I see these cars with 200k miles a lot some in nicer condition that others but I bought a running driving one with 290ish thousand on it

[@nickpathoffman]

If you dont mind about how much did this job run the customer? I have a 97 900 convertible and love it. Even would pay to have engine rebuilt if ever needed. Was curious

[@JPGH89]

Ure a member in saab nuts fb group =)?

[@Retiq]

Pascal Högström yupp!! Haha

[@JPGH89]

Yey =) seen me there =), ? 🥰

[@Retiq]

I might have haha big group

[@GM-F]

copyright for all the music in the background from the radio.

[@ЛюбаЯрославцева-ж7б]

Как знакомы эти болячки турбированых моторов, правда у SAABов они меньше проявляются, но 9.5 их конечно прибавил. Следите за качеством бензина и давлением турбины и не дай бог на низкооктановом бензине вам втопить на полную!

[@thefinalroman]

How many hours did this take and how much was the labor?

[@hughneutron5303]

f to pay respects to my brethren

[@barenekid9695]

GM degraded the engine design for the 9-5 and onwards. Cost savings reasons. Seriously weakening it. No surprise it's failed. Most all do in one way or other.

[@novideohereatall]

I still dont get it why Saab put all forged internals EXCEPT for the pistons!. The B207 9-3 engine handles about 300hp stock. Swap to forged pistons and it will reach over 400hp...

[@Retiq]

I’m not sure about the hp number but this was just replacing broken parts to fix a car. Not making a racecar or anything other than stock. Customer had an issue so we figured out the issues and replaced the parts. Just factory replacement

[@novideohereatall]

@@Retiq I don't question your use of cast pistons, just saabs decision not to use forged pistons when everything else is forged. It will definitely improve reliability too

[@saabturboguy]

that pick up was a problem on that engine thanks to gm lol

[@bEEBO178]

Problem was fixed after 2004. That car is post 2004 so pickup issue won't affect that car.

[@jessadamueankaew3729]

😉😉😉

[@seansingh8862]

Looks like the son from Breaking Bad.

[@TheAcethunder32]

if you didn't check the ring gap after 100k of engine wear and a hone then you're doing it wrong....

[@Retiq]

TheAcethunder32 did u watch the video lmao new rings and hone

[@lassila3]

Should not run these cars on e85

[@Heinz1zwei]

mumble in the jungle

[@Wu-Forever]

just put it in the bin because next week it'll be something else

[@Retiq]

steve Bolton nope cars been good since this just usually oil change and maybe breaks don’t see it much

[@charleshultquist9233]

such a boring looking engine...

[@smolnysmolny6269]

если ето хонинговка то я черчиль....

[@nerobliz]

If u like saab search Jonas kakarikas