Since the water temperature could have been the problem with no heat, I decided to tackle that first. With some help from the SaabCentral Forum and EconMancer.com’s writeups on the 9-5 I was able to determine that the problems were only mildly related.

The 9-5 blend door fix that I had done over the summer was a botched job. Due to the fact that I did the repair in 100 degree heat, I didn’t notice that I had merely jammed the blend door into the “cold air” position. After last night though, I could actually tell you how the whole thing works. Clocking the arm and the gear on the motor properly fixed my no heat problem.

I am still having an issue with it taking a long time to warm up. I found that the 9-5′s temp gauge is not really a gauge at all though. It simply tells you when things are cold, normal, or bad. If the car doesn’t come up to temp in a given period of time (I think 15 min) the needle drops to cold to tell you something needs fixed. I had replaced the thermostat over the summer when it was stuck closed. I used one that sticks open when it fails. I think it failed already because around town I don’t have an issue, but at highway speeds that car cannot maintain water temperature. I also bought a coolant temp sensor to replace while I’m at it.

With this done and some other little things fixed the 9-5 should be a great commuter for a while to come!

ZDDP is the substance beign removed from oils. Modern car owners have the complaint that ZDDP damages catalytic converters over time. It is also toxic. Older car owners though need the added level of protection in their engines to keep bearing wear at a minimum.

Maintaining 6 cars with very picky oil requirements and related horror stories means I need to know about this stuff. The Saab T7 engines found in some 2000 to 2004 Saabs are notorius for engine sludge. There are a number of reasons why, but it most likely points to the catalytic converter being directly under the oil pan. The current mechanic suggestion is to use full synthetic 5W40 oil. Good luck finding that. After much reading, I went with Shell Rotella T Synthetic 0W40 found at Wal-Mart. Sicen all of the oils are changing due to regulations, you need to read the labels. Saab is standing by the Group III standard, although Group IV would by just as well if you can find it in the correct weight (Shell Rotella T Synthetic)

Check out the wikipedia page on Rotella: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Rotella_T

I will also be starting a Saab 9-3 (NG900) stereo upgrade ebook/blog series as work begins on my own project. It won’t be anything wild, but a significant upgrade from the late 90′s CD and ONSTAR technology. This will be MP3 and possibly HD.