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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a 2007 Saab 9-3 2.0T w/manual transmission and w/76k miles on it which I really love to drive, would like to keep it another 12+ years if I can. Some trim pieces here and there are falling apart, some issues with central locking and window regulator, but mechanically its been solid (minus throttle body replacement and coils failing....latter likely because its tuned to Stage 1 w/20-30 more HPs and bucket-loads of more torque).

What kind of preventive maintenance (in addition to schedule maintenance) can I do to make it last another 12+ years? If its inexpensive, I'd like to change inexpensive parts earlier/before failing to make it run well, like last year I had the O2 sensors replaced, and as for all other sensors, I disconnected them as many as I could and have them cleaned myself. I replace the plugs every 25-30k miles, perhaps overkill, but plugs turn black fairly quickly, perhaps because I don't drive often. Because I don't drive it much, when I do, I've started driving the car much harder (after a full warm-up of course).

[img]https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-LsDQzbg/0/64b45e0a/L/i-LsDQzbg-L.jpg[/img]

Thank you for your contribution.[/quote]

Wow, I haven’t seen a Saab in forever. They are truly a niche car now, the only people still driving them are people who WANT to. I’ve never worked in them. I do know that the shared a platform with Opel, and being a GM subsidiary, there are probably OTS GM parts (coil packs, lock relays, O2’s etc) that are the same part #. You’re a tuner, so you already know more about it than I do.

The biggest advice I’d give you or anyone with a turbo on a small engine is let it idle for about a minute (longer if you been driving it hard) when you parked, before shutting it down. Reason being, the oil stream that lubricates the turbo bearings also acts as a heat sink, carrying heat away. If you shut down the engine (and oil flow) before this residual heat has been removed, it cooks the remaining oil in the bearings to sludge. Like making a reduction in cooking candy. Thickens the oil up, which clings to the bearings, becomes sludge, and blocks further oil flow. Let it cool off for a full minute. Also, use only synthetic oil. No natural oil at all ever.

Lastly, remember this: there are only so many horsepower-hours in an engine before it fails. It’s like a bucket full of water. You can pour it out all at once, have crazy amounts of horsepower for a brief time, or you can trickle it out slowly, and have an underpowered engine that lasts almost forever. But the amount of horsepower-hours is the same for both cases. [/quote]

Thank you for your reply, that was kind of you, much appreciated. Yes they are rare indeed, apart from my own, I see perhaps 1-2 Saabs on the road every month so. Thank you for the reminder on letting the car idle. The Saab has a variable/on-demand kind of turbo, so by the time I've left the highway, back on local road (where it rarely adds much turbo pressure) and in-parking lot, its normally been around 4-5 minutes. Not sure if you think this is sufficient for cooling, of you think an additional minute or two of idling post-parking would be recommended, would be grateful to hear your input.

Also thank you the horsepower-hour/"bucket full of water" analogy. Yes, I'm kinda aware of that, but was hoping Stage 1 (ECU reprogramming only, no other mods) would be "mild" enough not to "empty the bucket" too early. The failing/cracking coils were perhaps a result of this, but I know people do Stage 2/3 going north of 300 HPs which would stress the engine even more. In general, are there any particular parts of the engine (not specific to Saabs) which are prone to fail in high(er) powered (turbo) cars?[/quote]

I forgot to mention, the only place in the area that I know specializes in Saabs is out in Virginia, on Rt 29 eastbound, in between Warrenton and Gainesville. I think it’s called S&S service.  [/quote]

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