Tom Donney Motors

Saab Village Saga

This month I want to write about my experiences and recommendations for service on SAAB cars, or for that matter, any vehicle.   I will mainly talk about routine maintenance that all cars require only with my own twist of some twenty plus years of working professionally on cars.

First, you need to know what kind of success I've had with the cars that I've owned long term.

1975 SAAB 99 LE, 4 speed:  Driven as a company "truck" for over 450,000 miles.  Replaced original engine & transmission (neither needed to be replaced, but I had a newer, lower miles engine) at about 250,000 miles.  Again, no major engine or transmission work done.  I still have this car.

1977 SAAB 99 EMS, 4 speed: Driven as my own personal car to about 300,000 miles.  It never had any major transmission or engine trouble.  I replaced a timing chain (because of noise) and a  transmission input shaft (splines worn off ).

1978 SAAB 99 LE, 4 speed:  Driven as my own personal car; then as a company sales vehicle and later in life as a delivery "truck" and loaner for over 400,000 miles.  No major engine or transmission work. (Did replace the input shaft also) I still have this car.

1982 CHEVY S-10 Pick-up, 4 speed:  Driven as a company delivery truck for over 465,000 miles.  Rebuilt engine at 200,000 miles for carbon build-up, although engine had very little wear.  Replaced transmission bearing at about 300,000 miles.

1984 CHEVY S-10 Pick-up, 4 speed:  Still driving this as a company truck with over 475,000 miles on it.  Replaced engine at 400,000 miles and rebuilt rear end at 200,000.

1984 CHEVY S-10 Pick-up, Automatic O/D:  Still driving this as a company truck with over 365,000 miles on it. Still the original engine, but this truck has had three automatic transmissions in its life time.  (And you wonder why I'm in the automatic transmission business?)

1987 SAAB 9000 Turbo, Automatic:  Still driving as a family car with 200,000 miles on it. Replaced timing chain & head gasket at 175,000 miles and turbo at 165,000 miles.  Transmission had governor seal break at 170,000; but was a minor fix in the car.

The service all of these vehicles received is very similar.

Engine: Oil & filter change, and check all fluid levels every 2,500 miles or every 3-4 months.  If it is a vehicle that gets about 1,000 miles a week on it, we extend it to 5,000 miles for its routine maintenance.  A good quality 10-30W of most any brand works.  I've never used synthetic oils. With turbo cars it is a must to keep a good quality oil in them and to change the oil regularly!! On most SAABS the engine life is exceptional and all I've ever done to mine is replace timing chains.  I would recommend replacing your chain every 150,000 miles or when they get noisy.  I try to repair alternators and water pumps at about 125,000 - 150,000 miles.

Tires: Rotate tires every 5,000 miles!  I didn't believe this one at first but it really proved to be very beneficial.  By rotating tires every 5.000 miles instead of 10,000 to 15,000, we were able to nearly DOUBLE tire life on all of our vehicles! We rarely have an alignment done unless there is a major problem or parts replacement, and I own a 4-wheel computerized alignment rack!

Transmissions - Manuals: Change fluid as often as you like, but we normally do it every couple of years or when the oil began to lose its new appearance or 50,000 miles.  We normally use a GL-5 rated oil in most SAABs and I have never used synthetic oils. I recommend for any 5 speed transmission to only use fifth gear on long highway trips with little load in vehicle, no head wind and no hills.  This may mean you are in 4th gear most of time, but I feel this is one of the best kept secrets of long transmission life. If you feel you must use your SAAB to tow, tow only light trailers and be very slow on acceleration and don't lug the engine.

Transmissions - Automatics: Change fluid and clean or replace filter once a year in a SAAB or every 25,000 miles.  The thing to do here is to be sure to keep on eye on fluid color.  If the fluid starts to change color from red to brownish, change it right away, regardless of when the last service was performed.  On a SAAB 9000 only, it is okay to use 4th gear or overdrive unless you feel it downshift on hills.  If it downshifts on hills then keep it in third gear until conditions change.  Based on the number of SAABs I've seen with trailer hitches at the rear and BAD automatic transmissions under the hood, I would avoid this color combination  (Green color that is--the color of your  green money leaving your pocket and going to mine!). If you own a 900 automatic, remember your transmission and differential have separate and different oils! You must check the differential fluid level separately!!  This gets forgotten by many service people, so don't be afraid to remind them of this.

Other Fluids: With the rest of the fluids, anti-freeze, power steering, differential (900 auto only), and brake fluids we normally  change these every 50,000 miles or three years. This is probably the only areas where we sometimes have fallen behind.  We never replaced any parts, be it a belt or hose until it showed signs of stress, regardless of mileage.  I can remember maybe only one or two radiator hose ever going bad on my SAABs.

Oil Leaks: This one some people may disagree with, but whatever! SAABs tend to leak "minor" amounts of these three fluids, transmission, engine, and power steering, period!  A quick walk through my showroom confirms this again.  Of over 30 cars most of the cars with drips under them are SAABs.  I consider any leak "minor" if it leaves small drops over night and DOES NOT require adding fluid to it between car’s normal 2,500 mile engine oil and filter change.  In my transmission business I discourage customers from trying to have us fix minor transmission leaks because they are so hard to get to be 100% dry and always seem costly.  I've heard a lot of stories from people through the years about all the hundreds of dollars they've spent on SAABs or any vehicle trying to fix "minor" leaks.  In my opinion it just is not worth it just to have a super clean garage floor.  Heck, that's what old carpet and my newsletters are for -- to put under your SAAB to catch the "minor" leaks.  For those who disagree, may the Silicone Gods be with you (and a full pocket book!)

I tease people that SAABs are like old Harley's and are required to have "minor" leaks to be a real SAAB.  I'm still trying to prove scientifically that SAAB's leak oil as a way of scenting their territory in order to find their partners.  (How many families do you know that have more than one SAAB?)

Note: Any signs of brake fluid leakage is extremely serious and the car should not be driven until it is checked out by a qualified technician!

Bear in mind that many people have their own thoughts on service intervals and procedures. Do what works best for you and your given situation.  This is only free advice on what I’ve done and been successful with.

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Thank you for letting me be a part of your SAAB story!!

"THANK YOU!!"

--Tom Donney