1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
This may seem obvious, but look very carefully for signs of oil leakage. A '91 9000T, unless highly maintained, is likely to be leaking oil from somewhere. The main culprits are the valve cover gasket and the main crankshaft/oil pump seal + oil pump o-ring. Leaks from the valve cover are obvious and leaks from the crank seal/o-ring will appear as oil all over the passenger side sub-frame. The thing is that neither of these leaks is necessarly indicative of a serious problem as long as the owner was vigilant about maintaining the oil level...but how do you know? Replacing the valve cover gasket is a 20 min DIY job. The crank seal/o-ring is more complicated and is 1-2 hours DIY or probably about $200 at a mechanic.
Also, oil leaking from the crank seal will end up all over both passenger side front/rear motor mounts, which, if they're not already shot, will contribute to their decay.
Of course, if the head gasket appears to be leaking anything, RUN AWAY!
Let the car idle to see if the cooling fan comes on before the temp needle passes half-way.
Also look at the serpentine belt tensioner pulley while the car is idling, if it apperas to be vibrating and/or bouncing around then the tensioner shock is probably shot (it contains a spring and hydraulic fluid which can leak out). It's the same idea as when you see a car with a blown shock on the highway; The wheel vibrates and bounces around.
Gees! What else? Uh... there's a cloudy area...meaning: may or may not be bad/marginal, difficult to check thouroughly and/or discretionary to replace/fix:
Suspension bushings, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump, vaccum lines, dash illumination, 5 sp shifter coupler, a vast array of electrical components (sensors, switches etc.), seat heaters, ACC -(MANY subcategories here), AIC valve, APC components, rust in general.
This is the dilemma that one must face when buying a used car, especially a Saab, because all these little problems are just waiting to emerge. And why am I telling this to you as opposed to the half-dozen other people who asked about buying a used 9000 this week? I don't know...I guess because I own a '91 9000T which I bought a year ago and I'm in the mood to explain why I have a love/hate relationship with my car.
Maintaining my car is like having a second, part-time job that COSTS $8/hr.
But then again...my car runs like melted BUTTER and I enjoy driving it every single day.
QED
IMHO, a well maintained saab should run and drive like almost NEW regardless of mileage - period.
Good Luck!
-Kyle
posted by 64.65.195...
, Thu, 9 May 2002 15:55:31, Thu, 9 May 2002 14:27:55
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