1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
First thing I do on any car that is new to me is change all the fluids (engine oil and filter, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid, coolant, brake fluid, etc.) and the ignition components (spark plugs, spark plugs wires, dist. cap, dist. rotor, etc.).This allows me to rule out wrong or old fluids and parts, and lets me establish a 'known' condition for the critial fluids and ignition parts.
If this vehicle has been maintained by a dealer, you may be able to get copies of the service records from the dealer. That will help narrow down the things that need changed.
Given what you know at the moment, I would change the spark plugs using NGK BCPR6ES gapped to .039". This is easy and inexpensive. One possible explaination for your Check Engine (CE) light is a failing Direct Ignition (DI) cassette. The first step in Do-it yourself trouble shooting is the replace the spark plugs and run some fuel injector cleaner like Techron Concentrate or Redline Total Fuel Sytem Cleaner through the gas tank. Hopefully that will fix the spark plug mis-fire problem. If not you may need a new DI cassette for around $350 USD (ouch).
As far as oil, I sugguest synthetic oil like Mobil1 or Amsoil in 0W-30, 5W-30, or 10W-30 depending on hold cold it gets where you are, and good quality filter like AC/Delco Ultagaurd Gold, Mobil 1, or Purolator Pure One. I change my oil every 5,000 miles for 90% city driving. You can go 10,000 miles for mostly highway driving.
Fuel should be premium, name brand stuff.
The 1998 900SE uses Pentosin CHF-11S synthetic power steering fluid and SAAB synthetic transmission fluid (if a manual transmission). If an automatic then use Dexron III automatic transmission fluid (ATF). I use Mobil 1 Sythetic ATF myself.
posted by 208.49.24...
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