9000CSE turbocharger replacemet.

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- Chris Campbell
  
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posted
18 years ago

Sun, Oct 30, 2005 6:18 PM

Ugh, I was driving down the road, and after about 2 months of my turbocharger whining at me it finally blew (94 9000CSET). Now its incredibly loud and is making the car smoke. My question is this: how much do you think it will cost me to have the turbo replaced by a local indie shop. Also, what is the feasibility of changing it myself because I have seen used/rebuilt turbos for $150-650 which is much better than what it would cost me to get a shop to do it. Having said that, I'd guess my mechanic ability is a 3-4 out of 10. I do a lot of my own maintenance, and I've undertaken some larger projects like water pump R&R, rebuilding a transfer case on my 4x4, and doing a clutch job. I'm going to try and get an estimate in the near future... if its out of my price range (college student) I might have to sell it. If anyones interested, I'm in Maine, 94 9000CSE FPT (with a bad turbo). 110,000mi automatic. Make an offer if interested. Thanks for your input guys.

-Chris

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- yaofeng
  
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posted
18 years ago

Mon, Oct 31, 2005 4:07 PM

You are way ahead of me. When I was in college I couldn't afford a car like a SAAB 9k. Besides, anything happens to it I would have done it myself. But I digress...

It is not that difficult to replace the turbo unit. Space is cramped but you'll manage. There are oil inlet (from the oil filter base) and outlet (oil drain to the engine block), coolant inlet (from near the water pump) and outlet (again back to the engine block transmission side). Then there are air inlet and outlet, exhaust inlet and outlet, a number of vacuum lines. Strictly unbolt and bolt.

I'd get a used or rebuild turbo if I were you.

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- James Sweet
  
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posted
18 years ago

Tue, Nov 1, 2005 5:06 AM

It would have been much better to have the turbocharger rebuilt for a few hundred bucks when it first started whining than to drive it until it destroyed itself but it's too late for that now. If you take it to a mechanic to have it replaced you're probably looking at $1500-$2K to have a rebuilt unit installed. Installing it yourself is not too terribly difficult, I've done turbo replacements on several old Volvos, the Saab can't be too much harder.