99 9-5 Too Hot!

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Oliver - 05 Sep 2004 01:20 GMT

My daughters 99 9-5 lost the plug in the radiator along with all the
antifreeze. The car got very hot before she found a place to pull
over. Now that the plug has been replaced, it is hard to start and
does not have much power.

This is my first experience with a Saab so I don't know what to
expect.

Is this a known failure, losing the radiator plug?

What normally happens in this case, blown head gaskets? warped
heads? de-tensioned rings?

I need to decide whether to look for a replacement engine right
away, or have the engine tore down to inspect for damages.

Any insight would be appreciated.

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Charles Christacopoulos - 05 Sep 2004 01:43 GMT

> My daughters 99 9-5 lost the plug in the radiator along with all the
> antifreeze. The car got very hot before she found a place to pull
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Any insight would be appreciated.

Sorry to hear the bad news.

Start with a compression test. That should show if there is a blown
headgasket and therefore low compression, which would explain explain
both the sumptoms you describe.

I hope I am wrong.

Regards
Charles

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Johannes H Andersen - 05 Sep 2004 01:46 GMT

I don't see how it can suddenly loose the radiator plug. If there was a
leakage, it would gradually loose water; this should have been picked
up by regularly checking the cooling level. Has the radiator been worked
on recently?

It could be a blown head gasket if you're lucky. But it doesn't sound too
good. The car should never have been driven for any length in this condition.

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Oliver - 05 Sep 2004 23:27 GMT

Just as she came off the freeway at 50mph, there was a cloud of
smoke(steam) that flew up behind the car. She started to pull over,
but before she could stop, the engine quit. She was in the middle of
the ramp and some guys at a local gas station came to her rescue.
They put the car in neutral and rolled it down the hill to the
station where it was towed to a garage.

Apparently, the Saab has a plug for drainage instead of a petcock
and no leaking was seen. A check of the driveway & garage supports
this. This is why the catastrophic failure of the plug blowing out
seems plausable.

The plug has been replaced, the car started and driven a few 100
feet, but no power seems to imply no compression. This could be
either gaskets or rings. I'm hoping its gaskets.

I will know on Tuesday. I will replace the engine (found one in
Houston from a 2001 with 30K miles) or have the gaskets replaced. If
it is easy to check the gaskets, I'll do that first.

Thanks for the responses

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Charles Christacopoulos - 06 Sep 2004 08:41 GMT

> Just as she came off the freeway at 50mph, there was a cloud of
> smoke(steam) that flew up behind the car. She started to pull over,
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Thanks for the responses

If the engine got *HOT* the head will be warped. It will need to be
taken to a machine shop and have it resurfaced before you refit it on
the engine.

Charles

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Oliver - 10 Sep 2004 00:30 GMT

OK youve convinced me, bought another engine.

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