Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 17:52:39 -0400 From: Chris Campbell <chrisfcnospaml.com> Subject: Re: Massive Loss of Oil... Did I kill her? (loooong)
I've run the car for about 250 miles since the no oil incident. So far, so good... Slight turbo whine when it spool up under moderate throttle (haven't dared WOT yet). And I get the slightest ticking from the engine during the first 5-10 seconds of startup (very slight, and I think it was there before the incident... probably the valves just waiting for oil to be circulated up there). > It's been my experience that when a turbo has been run low on oil the seals > will glaze over causing a small leak thru the carbon seating surface. It is > not always a given that the bearings are toasted, but it's a fair bet. The > turbo in late model Saabs are water cooled at the bearing. If you have been > fairly regular about oil changes with Mobil synthetic there is hope. I have been using sythetic since I've owned her, about 2-3 changes... before that who knows... but it had a Promto sticker so I'm guessing it used to run on the worst dino oil money can buy. > Given the same position I would turn the MBC all the way down, like you already > have. If you baby the turbo and keep the revs on the turbine down the seals > may re-break in. With luck the only permanent damage is having wiped out > about 20k of miles off the engine. I removed the MBC immediately... I am now running the bad BPC which is limiting boost to about 5-6PSI (base boost). Shaving 20k off an engine that'll probably do 250k or better isn't too bad by my standards. I may wait a good 3-5,000 miles and see how she's holding up. At that point I'll probably try and find a new BPC for her. Everyone on here has said that the MBC is not a good idea (I don't see too much harm running an MBC at stock boost levels while using 93 octane and sythetic oil... but since I'm unsure of the turbo... I'll probably keep it off for good). It sounds like you never ran completely > out of oil, instead just took the pressure way low. If you had actually > gone dry, there would have been far more indications. Having said that I > have never played Evel Kinevel with a turbo Saab and punched a hole in the > oil pan. My experience with boogered turbo's is mostly with rather large > diesel engines and my younger brother's C900 (RIP, waste gate stuck shut, > swallowed valve at full throttle). > > dave Thanks for your help Dave (and everyone else... Gnunff too!) -- -Chris 1994 Saab 9000CSE Turbo 2001 Saab 9-3SE (parent's) 1994 Saab 900SE V6 (*RIP*) 1987 Saab 9000S (*RIP*)
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