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Re: oil and coolant leak under intake manifold Posted by Saana88 [Email]  (#207)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Saana88) on Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:11:57
In Reply to: oil and coolant leak under intake manifold, Austin Underwood, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:04:02 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Start with the major service (60k-ish) as listed in the owner's manual and the Bentley book. Get familiar with where you're going to be getting parts (I recommend our two heavily-patronized site sponsors, typically a better match for your Saab than at a place on the corner with a huge company's name on it) and read the manuals. Even if you're never going to deal with some aspects of the Bentley book, at least get to know the car better.
Start with vacuum lines, fittings and bushings. These are by far the easiest, cheapest thing to fix that will have the greatest effect on your car. Next, check everything that could leave you stranded somewhere. Are the fuel and brake lines in good shape? Is the battery holding a charge and is the alternator healthy under heavy load? Got air in the spare? Take out the jack and use it. Sweep your finger around under the pulleys in the back. You'd mentioned oil leakage there. Using a torque wrench, make sure all the bolts that hold the oil pump cover on the firewall-side of the motor (including one for the alternator tension arm) are tight. Clean the car up back there and figure out where the oil is coming from. $18 in rubber (or polyurethane) bushings will keep your alternator from vibrating around and throwing the belts. Next, move on to the 60k, which will give you new versions of the wearable stuff in your fuel and ignition systems. Once the regular service is up to date, move on to tasks that will smooth out bumps in the future: fluid replacements (coolant, brake fluid, transmission), lubrications (for example, the sliding surfaces of the brakes) and then end up at miscellaneous inspection. Get under the car and check things. Moisture means leaks. Degraded boots or rubber means moving parts wearing against one another.
Plenty of times, you'll knock off more than one item at once. For example, when you pull all three covers to drain out your transmission fluid, you not only get to have a good look inside (scoop around with your clean hands for metallic debris), but you also get fresh fluid in the transmission (everyone uses different materials there, just search the board on it, I use the Saab synthetic) AND you have fresh gaskets all around (with a touch of Loctite 518 anaerobic sealant). Don't overlook the really simple stuff. When you're doing your tune up, why not spend the extra five bucks and twenty minutes to replace your valve cover gasket and distributor shaft seal? While you're draining, flushing and refilling the coolant, why not throw in new hoses and a thermostat and thermoswitch combo? These are odd cars sometimes, how a four dollar thermoswitch can prevent overheating that will kill a $600 (labor, at least) head gasket.
As part of my 60k services, I always run a full tank of good gas plus some decent fuel injector cleaner through the car, then (after the FI cleaner is gone) change the fuel filter in case I stirred anything up.
How crazy you get (and proportionally, how much money you end up spending) really depends on how you plan to use the car. If she's your daily driver but you're a poor college student, then do the little, important stuff first and after a few months of steady work things start getting better. Every time you turn the key, the car will start up, idle fine, and shift right.
What year is this car, anyway? Did I hear '88 in there somewhere? How many miles?
Mileage is really the key. Some parts wear out on a schedule, and knowing that, you'll get a ton of responses like, "well, right around 120k my ball joints needed to be replaced" or "around 150k the alternator bushings started to get soggy" or "around 12 years old the original radiator started leaking" or "around 13 years old the thermoswitch lost sensitivity and the cooling fans came on later and later, eventually leading to overheating issues."
, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:07:07, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:09:29, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:19:20, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:56:51, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:52:30, Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:11:57 <-- Viewing This Message
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