Hi.
Have just finished removing and cleaning sump and oil strainer on my 9-5 2ltr W reg.
Saab wanted £220 + parts. Strainer, Oil, O ring.
You will almost certinly need to do this job if your car has hit 80,000 Miles.
Saab sugested this job and the replacement of breather pipes on my Saab at 64,000 miles even though it has had full Saab servising. This job is quite easy even for a novice, just a few hours under the car and a bit messy that’s all.
Drive car onto ramps for easy access.
First job is removal of exhaust heat shield to spray the exhaust nuts (3 of) on the join between turbo and down pipe with WD40. The night before is best.
Drain oil and refit sump bolt.
Undo the 3 x 13mm nuts and support down pipe with wire or string. There is no need to remove oxygen sensor but make sure you don’t put the wires under any strain.
Remove plastic splash guard from under engine. 5 self tapping bolts. No need to remove wheel to access bolt in wheel arch.
Prise off the 2 exhaust support rubbers under car.
Remover fly wheel cover on gear box plate 2 x 11mm bolts.
Remove the breather hose from rear of sump, just a push fit.
Remove sump bolts 18 x 13mm. You will need socket and spanner for this job. Some are a bit tricky to undo but all can be got at without removing any other parts.
A gentle prise and off comes the sump.
The sump is a tight fit but mine came off quite easily with a gentle prise from a wooden drift at the gearbox end.
Now it’s off you need to remove the 4 star screws from the plate.
Now you can see what all the work has been for.
There are 2 star screws on the strainer to be removed and then wriggle the strainer out off the sump. Mine was a very tight fit and took a bit of wriggling to remove.
Clean sump and strainer of old oil and any carbon deposits.
Refit is the reverse but I cleaned sump mating surfaces with paint thinners and applied a thin film of liquid gasket.
The sump is a very tight fit and with mine it needed a gentle tapping at the gear box end to fit back in place. You could also try jacking up the gear box a small amount to gain a small clearance. You only need to gain about 1mm.
Only nip up bolts at first all round and then tighten.
Check sump plug.
Fill with engine flush or cheap oil. Run until warm or as engine flush instructions.
Drain and then change oil filter.
Fill with new oil. Approximately 5 Ltr. Mobil 1 was recommended by my Saab dealer or a fully synthetic oil of the same grade. Approx £40
Tidy up wash hands job done £220 still in pocket
The job took me about 2 hrs, not including set up time and tidying away.
45 Min's for removal
45 Min's replacement
30 Min's Cleaning sump and strainer
