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[Guest Hooli]

Still getting the random cold heater after being running for a while. I'm going to have to flush the heater matrix I think, I bet I disturbed some crud when doing the 'stat & that must be sitting around in the pipes.

[Guest Hooli]

Right I've proved it's not the heater matrix, if I put the heater on 'hi' so it stays at max heat it doesn't get cold all the way home. So that makes it look like blend flaps, but they normally throw up an error code on the ACC unit which isn't happening.

 

Time to read the manual a bit deeper, think & procrastinate.

[SiC]

I've had a think about this and the only times I filled it up was when I did the coolant change a couple weeks before you bought it and then a week or so after when I noticed it a bit low. I assumed that second time was it burping.

 

I used the drain tap on the radiator to drain. When I looked up about coolant change, I did see mentioned that those taps sometimes can leak after being disturbed. Iirc you undo it all the way and can replace the o-rings on it. As I didn't see any leakage after I assumed all good and didn't.

 

So maybe it has a really slow drip leak out of it? When we have a rare dry day, maybe do the old trick of putting paper under that radiator corner overnight and see if any coolant drips on it?

 

I removed the upper hose too, but I couldn't get to the lower hose and so left that on.

[SiC]

Heater was great for me though (after I replaced the main fan). If you put it on high temp, does it come out hot one side and cold the other? Or cold both?

 

I'd expect it to be cold only one side if a blend door motors were squiffy.

[Guest Hooli]

I've not checked the passenger side when it plays up to be honest. I've meant to but always forgot, cheers for the reminder. As it always takes about 30mins before it plays up I'm not surprised you never had the problem from how you described your trip to work. It might be something I disturbed doing the 'stat of course, I must remember to check both matrix hoses are hot when it plays up to prove it's not a blockage in the pipes.

 

I'll check the drain tap, cheers for the tip. That's now on saturday's list along with prodding blend flaps etc as I know they are a common fault. Odd I'm getting no fault codes though, as everything I can find online suggests I should.

 

Took it to Wakefield instead of Rotherham today & it didn't go cold once. Maybe it's allergic to Rotherham, I couldn't blame it.

[SiC]

Another maybe you could try when it goes silly is to reduce the temperature on the cold side right to minimum (LO), wait 15seconds or so and then back to maximum (HI). Pretty sure the positioning is based on moving the motor all one way and then stepping as needed to the right position. The calibration routine basically drives the motor all one way to get to a known point.

 

Maybe try running the recalibrating routine when it's gone cold on one side.

 

Possibly something simple like a loose control arm or grease gone sticky.

[SiC]

If you want to test it, I'm pretty sure putting it on HI and/or LO drives it all one way.

[Kiltox]

Have you had a certificate of destruction for the Goona? I haven't and it went off to scrap a week ago so it might end up coming to you

[Guest Hooli]

I've done the recalibrate & fiddling with the heat when it goes cold. You hold ACC & OFF for 5 secs to trigger it, it recalibrates & then displays any error codes. Doesn't make any difference.

 

Having seen pics of how the control arms hanging off the motors fail I suspect it could be one of them just starting to go & once the plastic is warm & supple I get the problem. If it is I'll probably be able to glue the crack & stick something on the side to brace it in true shitter style rather than buy parts.

[Guest Hooli]

Have you had a certificate of destruction for the Goona? I haven't and it went off to scrap a week ago so it might end up coming to you

 

I got a 'we acknowledge you no longer own this' thing yesterday, so I suspect you'll get that cert eventually. But if it turns up I'll let you know.

[Kiltox]

Doesn't really matter anyway - it'll be bean tins shortly enough

[Guest Hooli]

Doesn't really matter anyway - it'll be bean tins shortly enough

 

 

Good, good, goooooooooood.

 

 

 

Hooli likes this.

[Kiltox]

Sadly my diesel Initiale might follow suit if the brake issues get worse! Can't be arsed fucking about with it and my Duster comes in a month or so

[Guest Hooli]

Right then, if I act like a southern pansy & put the heating on 24 or above, it stays warm when it gets 'cold'. So it's got to be the blend flaps starting to fail.

 

I've got a bit of anti-freeze so I can check that drain plug & check the flaps out (oh errr missus!). Looking at pics of how they fail, superglue & a bit of extra plastic on the sides of the arm should fix it.

[Guest Hooli]

Drained the coolant today & then put it back again after fiddling with the drain plug & flushing the heater. The heater was clear, at least nothing came out which is much the same. After about six cycles of the drain plug it felt smoother to operate & felt like it seated better, so it could have been a bit of muck in there from when SiC drained it. Hopefully that's stopped it loosing coolant, I couldn't see anything else that'd do it.

 

Took the stepper motors off the sides of the heater box after that. The driver's side one was loose, as if someone had forgot to do the top screw up after starting it by hand. Looking how it moves I think it could push itself out of the mech due to this, that'd make sense on the flaps moving & then getting 'stuck' but no error codes. We'll see, I'm not convinced, but until monday I won't drive it far enough to find out.

 

Put everything away after that & went round a mates. Cursed a bit on the way home as I remembered I'd spotted a loose mounting bolt on the LH front fog lamp & had forgot to tighten it while under the car. So that's tomorrow's excitement.

 

Had to put fuel in it again today! did 25mpg on the 2nd tankful, that's about what I hoped/feared it'd do. It's done over 750miles since I've had it so that's probably further than the goona ever went with an important failure.

[SiC]

Put everything away after that & went round a mates. Cursed a bit on the way home as I remembered I'd spotted a loose mounting bolt on the LH front fog lamp & had forgot to tighten it while under the car. So that's tomorrow's excitement.

 

You'll be thankful you didn't! The other side is a captive nut held in plastic. Unfortunately the captive nut spun round in circles when I tried to do it up. Spent 10minutes trying to grab the otherside with molegrips, started getting cold and pissed off, so gave up.

 

 

Had to put fuel in it again today! did 25mpg on the 2nd tankful, that's about what I hoped/feared it'd do. It's done over 750miles since I've had it so that's probably further than the goona ever went with an important failure.

I reckon it's most thirsty by far when it's cold. I.e. Get it up temp quickly (e.g. to main roads) and fuel economy will improve.

[Guest Hooli]

I've got a box of nuts n bolts if that's the case. Things like that annoy me, so I'll have to do it.

 

Oh & mpg - the 200kg of coal in the boot this morning when going around town can't have helped, didn't slow it down much though.

[Guest Hooli]

Tonight I saw this on the dash, not bad since I got it & no major issues. It seems to have settled to claiming just over 28mpg too.

 

 

I think I've worked out the coolant loss too, and why it started just after I got it. I took the rad cap off when it was still hot to top it up tonight & it wasn't holding much pressure at all, so I think the cap is worn out. I have seen wisps of steam twice when stuck in traffic & its got as warm as it gets. If I'm right that's why it didn't leak for SiC, it never got warm enough with a dodgy 'stat.

[SiC]

Sounds logical. Especially when above previously when you bought it and drove it back, you said there was coolant marks on the expansion bottle. I assume the radiator drain tap was all ok?

[Guest Hooli]

It's not been dry enough to prove the drain tap is ok, so yeah that could still be the issue too. But yeah there were a few drops of water sat on the expansion bottle when I got home from work the day after collecting it & it'd been a dry day.

 

Went up a local 'test hill' on weds. The Goona used to pass the NSL signs at the top doing 45 & slowing in 3rd. This was pulling 70 & still accelerating I was off to a pub lunch with a work mate & some ex work mates, it got the comment 'its got some grunt'  which I liked.

[SiC]

It honestly feels puncher than the 9.1s 0-60mph suggests. I'd love to try it remapped to 220bhp. Or even better, an Aero.

 

Once the Gooner has popped it's cloggs (or I get bored/fed up), an Aero estate is definitely in order.

 

Bigger turbo though on the Aero, so will take longer to spin up. I think I said before but the guy who owned your Saab before us, his wife had an Aero. Off the line in the traffic light GP, when they took both cars out, he said that this one beat the Aero everytime upto around 40-50mph, when the Aero pulls forward.

 

I still reckon a 220bhp remap on the LPT will be quicker in the real world (and legal speeds) than the Aero. The LPT really is a very lag-free setup.

 

Tbh, given it's done 210k odd, that engine still must be putting out decent BHP. Probably loose enough now that it might be putting more out.

[Guest Hooli]

Yeah I don't think many ponies have fallen out over the years, it still feels rather frisky doesn't it? a remap does sound a laugh, but I just don't drive like that often enough to bother. It does feel like it wants a few more psi of boost to really wake it up though so I bet they drive well when remapped.

 

Tell you what, I might sell it back to you at 300k & you can fit the aero bits.

[Guest Hooli]

The coolant leak is getting worse... I can see where it is now though. Top of the rad at the timing end, so I think it's getting some snake oil K-seal stuff as I'm too damn busy moving out to get & fit a rad currently.

 

Anyone suggest a stop leak thing that actually works?

[Sigmund Fraud]

The coolant leak is getting worse... I can see where it is now though. Top of the rad at the timing end, so I think it's getting some snake oil K-seal stuff as I'm too damn busy moving out to get & fit a rad currently.

 

Anyone suggest a stop leak thing that actually works?

 

If it's the rad itself, I'd clean up the corroded/cracked area and use a chemical metal type product on it.

 

In my view, putting K-seal in the cooling system is an act of desperation and only worth the risk if the alternative is taking the cylinder head off to investigate HGF or removing the dashboard to get to a leaky heater matrix.

[Guest Hooli]

By the time I've got the rad out to get to it, I might as well replace it. I just need something quick n nasty for a couple of months till I can do it properly.

[Guest Hooli]

Hmm then again http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-2008-SAAB-9-5-WATER-COOLANT-RADIATOR-RAD-2-3-AERO-P-N-5193370-/262510545403?fits=Car+Make%3ASaab%7CModel%3A9-5%7CCars+Year%3A2004&hash=item3d1ed909fb:g:zGsAAOSwZ1BXeoGb

 

£38 for a rad.

 

I can see what's happened, the mounting pins at the top have broke so it rattles about & that'll have cracked it where the tanks fit to the end of the matrix. At least that's what I assume as I can't see enough to confirm it without removing stuff.

[Sigmund Fraud]

They're easy to replace on the naturally aspirated versions, a bit more of a pain in the turbos.

 

Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, though, and unlike with a K-seal repair*, the problem will definitely be fixed.

[Guest Hooli]

Well I thought about it & I ordered the rad about two hours ago.

It's even possible it'll fix the oil leak that I thought was around the bottom pulley. The leaky rad is the same end as the engine oil cooler, so it could be getting blown back from the rad on to the belt & flung around the bottom pulley that way.

 

I've not bothered to check the book yet but it looks like -

 

Remove metal trim panels on inner wings

Remove slam panel

Drain rad

Undo hoses

Swap rad

Reassembly is a reversal of removal

 

Shouldn't be too bad, just hope it's dry next weekend & this one lasts that long.

[SiC]

I wonder if the coolant change flushed out some crud that was bunging the leak up?

 

I had this same dilemma with the Astra G I had. I ended up changing the rad with a £23 eBay special. Really glad I did tbh. More work but properly fixed it. You could see there wasn't anywhere near as many fins the original, but then if you're not towing in really hot weather I suspect it'll be just fine.

 

Iirc the ATF is cooled by the coolant radiator too. So might want to get a cheap bottle of ATF too. I think the turbo is cooled by the coolant too, if so, k-seal I'll imagine will kill the turbo pretty quickly.

 

At least the weather is getting more reasonable now!

[Guest Hooli]

Pretty sure the ATF has a small cooler fitted separately below the main rad. There is one down there, piped towards the gearbox anyway. I can't think what else it would be, the aircon one is between the main rad & the fans.

Judging by how it moves when wriggled, once the top mounts snapped it's banging back in forth & being stopped by the engine oil pipes, so that'll explain why it looks as if the end is coming off.

 

It's slightly annoying I didn't notice when I've been under the bonnet before, it's the sort of thing I normally pick up. Guess I was too excited by my first pez turbot!