Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 08:02:52 -0500 From: Fred W <Malt_Houndnospamm-me-not*yahoo.com> Subject: Re: '88 900S head gasket?
James Sweet wrote: > The car is an '88 900S 16V, my girlfriend was driving and said it > started to overheat today while sitting in traffic but didn't get up > into the red and went down when the car was moving at a decent speed. > Tonight I checked the coolant and discovered it a bit low, added about a > quart and checked it out, car seemed to be running just fine. Checked > the oil and uh-oh, white milky crap on the dipstick. Am I right to > assume the head gasket has blown or is there anything else on these cars > that's likely to cause that symptom? Are there any tricks or tips I > should know before digging into this? I've done a number of head gaskets > before but never on a Saab. Do I need to replace the head bolts or any > other parts or should I just get a top end gasket set and replace > anything I disturb? The fact that the engine cooled down when you started moving does not suggest a head gasket, but there is no denying the milky white evidence, so what must (may) have happened here is that you have 2 problems... The original problem in the cooling system which caused the overheating and this then resulted in a head gasket leak between the water jacket and oil galley. Do a compression check on the engine to diagnose the head gasket. You will still need to sort out the cooling system problem once you get the leak resolved. -- -Fred W
