XP Loss of boost.

Has it just started doing it over the last few days, or has it been gradually getting worse?

Hot weather used to have the exactly the same effect on my Saab 900T16. Something to do with ambient temperatures. The boost gauge always went slightly higher if it was cool. Most noticeable early in the morning in winter.

Colin Stamp gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I can't remember for certain if it'd apply to an NG9-3, but the boost gauge on most recent Saabs isn't actually a "boost gauge", but a sort of ECU-controlled "load gauge", the calibration of which can be amended via the diagnostics...

First port of call, though, would be to see if it still does it on another tank of fuel, in case it's knocking back boost after seeing pinking. I'd also go over all the pipework - make sure there's no bleed- off from a duff vac hose somewhere.

You beat me to it. All donks like cooler weather, especially turbocharged.

Yep, now you mention it, I think I remember the service manual saying it shows injector pulse-width, so it's more of a torque gauge than a boost gauge. It hasn't been re-calibrated though, so the differences in the readings are down to some real effect.

I wondered about knock too, but it's been doing it through several tanks from several petrol stations. I've only had a quick look at the pipework so far, but I might get a better chance later today...

Cheers,

Colin.

It's been doing it for a few weeks, but I've been ignoring it. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse overall. About twice since it started, it's done it in a much more noticeable way, with a big drop in acceleration and the gauge dropping to about the middle of the orange at around 4.5K revs.

I've noticed that effect too, but this is different. The hottest days last year lowered the peak reading slightly, but it still went into the red zone and stayed there until the rev limit. I'm sure it never dropped right out of the red at high revs before unless I lifted off the throttle. At the moment the behavior is the same even on cooler days.

Cheers,

Colin.

A blocked air filter can do all manner of nasty things to any engine. I'd try changing that before anything else.

Si

Well, I had some time to do a bit of poking around today, so I tried taking out the air filter - no change, so that was that off the list of suspects.

The vacuum pipes for the dump valve looked a bit dodgy, so I thought maybe they ware causing the valve to leak air round the bypass loop. I tried it with the control pipe to the valve disconnected and plugged, which gave me low boost right through the rev range, which was inconclusive. So instead, I plugged up the bypass pipe. That gave me the original symptoms back, so I guess the dump valve and it's control system is off the hook too.

It could still be the dodgy vacuum tubes though. They share an inlet manifold tap with the fuel pressure regulator so I guess, if they were leaking, they might cause knock through low fuel pressure.

I've also finally RTFMd a bit, and I found a section entitled "Air mass limitation" which has a graph showing the torque reaching its maximum value at 1.8K RPM and then starting to ramp down at 5K. That doesn't really tie up with what I'm seeing now *or* how I remember it!

I think I'll just change the vacuum hoses and then forget about it, whether it fixes it or not. I'll be trading it in soon anyway...

Cheers,

Colin.

I must admit, I had my hopes pinned on it as a nice easy fix, but I've since tried it without the filter in and it's still the same :o(

Cheers,

Colin.

It's not got a little bit more rorty has it? A leak on the manifold/turbo sounds quite good until it's gross and then it sounds like a tractor. An exhaust leak before the turbo will reduce flow though turbine giving late spool and low boost. Grope all the nuts on the turbo flanges to check security.

A leak after the turbo reduces backpressure and thus pressure drop though turbo giving more boost. A 3" drainpipe exhaust does the same.

IF the air filter is "getting on" maybe its time for a thorough service (and as its a turbo - "decent" high quality Oil)

The exhaust seems solid and there aren't any audible leaks. I'll have a closer look when I change the control hoses for the dump valve.

Cheers,

Colin.

The filter is about 30K miles old, which makes it just due for replacement, though I've always thought 30K miles is quite old for an air filter. It's out of the picture now though. I do the oil/filter around every 6K miles against the 12K recommendation. The other service items are generally up-to-date. Are there any other routine service items that might affect this?

Cheers,

Colin.

Does it have a MAF sensor that could be gummed up? I know they're famous on VAGs for manking easy and just giving random symptoms including things like these... I'm not a specialist though, I'm betting others can give better advice.

Hmmm. Sounds plausible - I guess anything that could c*ck up the mixture might be the cause. I'll check that too.

Cheers,

Colin.

Hav eyou changed the plugs in the last 10K miles? If not, do it and use stock NGK's. Replace all those vacuum lines - you can do it with

10' of hose in 20 minutes.

I finally got round to doing the vacuum hoses yesterday. No change...

It's an interesting point about the spark plugs. They're a little over

20K miles old. The change interval is supposedly 30K. I think they might have to go anyway.

I think the car knows I'm thinking of getting rid of it. It even started demanding a service over the weekend!

Cheers,

Colin.

That's odd... they seem to be worn out at 10K :-)

I know of lots of stories about Saabs running much better after a change. For the $10 cost, I do mine yearly.

Oops - just spotted this post after getting back from holiday...

Yep, it might be worth it, though I guess the only way they can affect performance would be to cause misfires - wouldn't the system spot that and complain - especially with enough misfires to cause a noticeable drop in power?

Cheers,

Colin.