Okay, I need some advice about one of my cars please
I'll try and explain this as clearly as I can.
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A month or two ago I broke down at the side of the road, the engine wouldn't even turn over. The car had started knocking that morning when I started it up and I'd only driven a few miles before it stopped... So I called a friend who towed it back to his garage for me and it's been there ever since.
I'm going to have it brought home and I want to repair it, but I'm worried about the engine as it has a hole in the block. I know it might sound obvious that the block is done for, but I'm not so sure.
As the initial knocking sounded like the bottom end and it was now seized, we took the sump off. I thought the crank might have broken and locked everything up which would have just been a new engine for the time involved in fixing it.
But, what has happened is the end cap from the connecting rod on cylinder number 1 had worked loose and the connecting rod has come off the crank and then been hit and then jammed by the crank to the side of the block.
When we moved the connecting rod out of the way, it's punched a hole in the block which is about the size of a small coin. Now the connecting rod is not jammed, the crank turns freely and everything else seems okay.
Theoretically, I should be able to take the head off, slide a new piston/connecting rod in, back onto the crank (probably put new shells in all the way along and do the torque on the rest of the end caps properly [this is probably why it came off]) and then rebuild her. That is if it wasn't for this hole in the block.......
I haven't actually seen this hole yet, which is why I'm asking for advice.
The mechanic who removed the connecting rod has told me that it's at the front and it's only small, but it's by the oil filter housing under the turbo. He said he cannot see daylight looking through the hole to the outside, which suggests it might be behind the filter housing and would potentially mean it's sealed up?
It might be just that no light was getting down to behind the turbo though...
I just wanted to know if this was possible as until I see the car, I'm not going to know. I chickened out and just went and bought another car and haven't been near the Saab since. I might get the car back and it might need another block and a piston (or welding), simple as that, but if I can rebuild it without an engine out job, that would be fantastic!
The engine doesn't suffer from normal 9-5 sludge so far and it's had a new turbo, exhaust and so much more (I've spent about 2.5k on a 1998 car). It would be a shame to waste the car.
I know the engines usually have a sludge problem don't they?
Unfortunately this hole was caused by the conrod. Is it something I can get away with if I rebuild the engine? The car is back on the driveway now so I will check as soon as possible.
hoping that the hole sealed up all by itself is wishful thinking. I'd start looking for another block if I was you, hopefully you can come along one cheap, or fully assembled bottom end. If not, it would be a matter of looking for another set of pistons/rods (noboy sells just one unless you buy from a dealership) and gaskets and reassembling the motor with parts from both.
I understand what you're saying, but I'm not hoping the hole will have somehow sealed itself up, I'm just hoping that it punched through into a section that's already sealed so I don't have to do anything. If not, then it needs replacing or welding without a doubt.
I have already located a scrap engine with a blown turbo, so the block and pistons are likely to be in working order meaning a rebuild will be possible. I will need this whether the block needs replacing or not really as if it's okay, I can just salvage a single piston and rod and replace the bent one.
In fact the piston is fine, just the rod and end cap are gone.
I'm not going to buy new parts for a 1998 car, although obvious things like shells, sump gasket, head gasket/set will need replacing.
The clogged pickup probably caused your turbo failure. Many peoples blame the bad quality of the garret GT17 turbocharger but i would say that 95% of all failures is caused by a clogged pickup.
When you are replacing turbo's on 9-5 you should allways clean the oil sump and pickup to avoid conrods flying out of the engine block later on, becouse this will happen after a few months or so.
I've rebuilt many 9-5's and 9-3's with same problem and the majority of them had oval cylinder bore.
The solution to this problem is to replace the engine block to an older version like the 900NG 2.0T or 9000 2.0T 1994-1998. These blocks are far more robust. They are also cheaper.
B204L is the engine code you will need to look after.
This block will fit your car with no modifications other then using a head gasket from 900NG 2.0T. You need to use this head gasked to compensate for the higher pistons in the B204L. 9-5 engines has shorter pistons becouse they use steel head gasket which is 1mm thinner then the 900NG and 9000 head gasket.
Sorry for my English, i hope you understand what i mean.
Yes I understand what you mean. I need to use the 900NG 2.0T head gasket on the B204L block to basically lower the compression to a similar level as before using the old block and a steel gasket.
What sort of levels are these engines tunable to (reliably)?
From what I read, although people say this is a lpt (2.0t - 150hp) and different from the 2.0T (200hp?), some Saab specialists I have talked to say that the only difference between the two cars was a remap from Saab? The turbo and engine were identical?
Is there any truth in this?
By the way, your English is better then most English people manage. I really appreciate your help.
/Emma
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The only thing that is diffrent in a lpt 9-5 is the ECU and the injectors. With these injectors your abled to get somewhere around 220hk.
I would say that you could easly tune your 9-5 to 400-450hk with the stock B204L engine block.
Im currently building a 900NG with stock engine block, just new bearings and piston rings. Dynoned the car to 515hp @ 1.65Bar last summer, this year im boosting 1,9Bar so i belive its closer to 600hp now. Still no problems yet but it wont last forever with this high boost.
I'm glad the engine information was roughly accurate then as it would be nice to get it to move a little bit. Unfortunately it's an auto at the moment, so the box saps what little power I have. 250hp would be more than fine, but more is always good.
Anton, it would probably be easier to just have it remapped. Although I'm not sure about your engine, our cars seem to be very similar in both design and spec, so it would be nice if yours was that simple too. Slapping an ecu on from a T5 'might' mean it's not going to be set up. It's easier if your injectors, block and turbo are up to the job, to wind the turbo up manually and then have it mapped to match
Itsfun chip?
I hope so, that things looks so good!!
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If you do plan with switching out ecu and injectors I'd also consider and research into possible oem turbo upgrades; newer turbocharged saab models may come with similar or identically flanged turbos which you'd be able to upgrade to.
Also a repair manual will help tons! One thing to look at in the block you are intending to use is cylinder wall blemishes or faults caused by pistons based on carious reasons. If you have deeps scorns or scratches, the block would need a machine hone oversized from its factory bore spec which means you'd need to use oversized pistons, in alot of cases the walls are good and need nothing more than a hand hone. Factory spec repair manuals explain all this and more. Also, I wouldn't skimp on main/rod bearings, unless its oem or greater; don't buy cheap substitutes!
Also, when reassembling everything I'd look into strengthening the rod/main/head bolts. If you are planning to use this car for a long time I'd go with something offered by ARP for these parts. Factory head studs aren't really meant to be reused and usually are supple for factory hp ratings/use. Stornger ones like a ARP set (if they make them for your motor) would be much beneficial and provide peace of mind, same goes for rod (conr/connecting rod) bolts and even mains too.
Also I see the mention in up above posts of steel headgaskets; these are a great oem way to improve durability. Alot of headgaskets are made out of cheap gasket material but are supple enough to deal with factory power levels, again, in your case you should consider nothign but a multi-layer steel head gasket for duarbility.
Also, with matters like engine failures, your sourced or factory head, I'd look for warpage; uneven surface spots on the head face. One easy way is to just take it to a automotive machine shop to have them inspect it for you. Or if you happen to have or know anyone that works in a machining business, this can be easily check via placing the head on a surface plate over two square blocks (at least 5-6 inches tall) and using a height gauge on the bottom head surface checking the dial for taper runout from end to end and confirm specs to factory service manual.
I know that all this sounds tedious but, do it once, do it right!
