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Detroit, 1:00 AM
Wed Nov 25
23 posts in the last 24 hours
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07/26/09
all these things can be fixed though, and when it's running right, that 2.0L 16v Turbo is one sweeeeet motor. Oh boost, how I love thee.
149k miles, no oil leaks or consumption.
07/27/09
07/26/09
and that pesky SAAB V-8.. Two of the 4 cyl engines stuck together... from 1989...
GM bought the swedes in 1990... and the Northstar came out in 1993...
any resemblance, you reckon?
how about that spiffy set-up... single intake valve gets air up to 3000 rpm... then the second intake valve butterfly opens up? on both SAAB and northstar?
or 2.3 liter saab times two equals 4.6 northstar?
07/27/09
07/26/09
and in the SAAB screamer territory, perhaps a little threadjack for this one...
although never a big HP monster... it sounded fine...
07/25/09
i had the dreaded 71 stanpart engine, and a 74, 79, 81, 95-16V ...
they fookin rock!!!
300 HP easy will just a bit of messin with the turbo controllers...
and really, the 1972 all saab design/build was the start of this ICON of 4 cyl... the funky water pump was still in the block, but everything else was ready for 300,000 miles of fun... and they did get that kind of service... i'd dare say they were better ( i.e. longer lasting) than the engines cursed by GM...
07/25/09
This is still years ahead of the new Ford ecoboost engines. Even with all the crappy GM parts substituted on over the last few years.
07/25/09
H-engine = CIS fuel injected B201
While this engine is indeed called the H, it's internal designation is still B201 (2.0L, 1 cam) and is very related to the earlier B20 (99 & early C900s) and later LH-injected B201 and 16v B202 (late C900s and early 9000s).
The H/B201 eliminated the sTuPiD, rev-limiting jack(ass)shaft driving the distributor and I'm-gonna-leak-SOMEDAY water pump but maintained the CIS injection.
The H/B201 Turbo is known for it's low end torque. Also, with the advent of the H, the Turbo APC was enabled.
If any differentiating would be made in the B engine series, I'd start with the '91 (or was it '90) in the 9000 B204 Turbos. They changed the slant angle to more vertical to accomodate balance shafts/chains. This angle followed for subsequent 4cyl engines.
Not sure where this rod-throwing party thing came from other than a poorly maintained engine.
If anything would let go on the H, I'd guess it would be the headgasket.
Sincerely in your shadow,really scary, foaming-at-mouth SAAB zealot :)
07/25/09
P.P.S. I luv Wikireality...
07/25/09
I lost the headgaskets on my '99 93 but surprisingly also severed the camshaft which broke cleanly enough that non of the pistons were damaged, one end just spun and the rest stayed still...
07/25/09
07/26/09
07/25/09
Is he smiling because he really enjoys his job or is he smiling because he knows how much he can charge to work on a European car?
07/25/09
07/25/09
07/25/09
Sludge.
(from the idiot previous owner)
And the resulting timing chain "rattle of death".
That was $2700 for a replacement with a new split link (done without pulling the engine) by the experts at Jeremy's in Toronto.
Another 3 words:
"Upper Engine Mount"
In the NG 900/9-3 these things would torque under hard acceleration.
Powered some bloody sexy looking cars and IF MAINTAINED will last forever!
07/25/09
Motor mounts may fail, and the engine might move a bit, but you can go for thousands of miles in that condition. Replacing the pressed in rubber dampers is a pain, but doable. Solid silicone replacements seem about right.
07/25/09
07/26/09
07/25/09
I had an 85 turbo with the 16v and well over 300k miles and it still ran great when I got rid of it. I would own another in a heartbeat.
07/25/09
07/25/09
07/25/09
If you replaced the chain before then, the head gasket would blow before 80K. We used to delay that until about 100K by running a mixture of distilled water and antifreeze in the radiators.
Saab's redesign was a much better mill: the double-row chain would outlast the car, and they managed to fix the head gasket issue. They used that motor until the next redesign, at which time they dropped the auxiliary shaft that drove the distributor and water pump... driving them directly off the cam & crank, respectively.
07/25/09
Maybe they abated the HG issue. I've seen numerous postings on Saab boards about the oil in the coolant 'issue'.
07/25/09
Also, is that guy in the pic the famed Jamaican Saab mechanic from an earlier LeMans Race? I wish I could of met him.
Rastasaabism!!!
07/25/09
07/25/09
07/25/09
The latest Aero versions of the 2.3 liter unit are producing 260 HP! My last one, a troublesome '06 with an autobox, would roll about 15 feet, then break the ires loose (when it ran correctly).
It was more than an oil screen. GM also cheapened up the oil pump with an inferior unit that produced low pressures.
They also did away with forged pistons at the time.
GM was truly evil to SAAB.
07/25/09
Perhaps GM's bankruptcy was punishment for what they did to SAAB. Of all the places to save a few cents, the oil pump isn't where I'd start looking.
07/25/09
The obvious tuning tricks - exhaust, filter, engine control unit changes - push the torque an hp onset higher. In college I had a first-gen 9000T. A buddy had another and a third guy had a classic 900T. We tweaked the APC units & wastegates. Ran around at 16 psi. Power hit at 3500 rpm and they pulled like bastards 80 mph-120 mph.
So hooray for the H. Overboosted, they ate our transmissions.
01/10/09