Average Turbo Engine life

How long does a turbo engine last, in terms of milage?

I am considering buying a 2000 Saab 9-3 hatchback with 68K km's. It has a 2.0 Litre Turbo engine.

Also the lug nuts on the wheels are rusted. A friend of mine told me that this because the car might have been sitting in the snow and the rust peeled the chrome off.

The guy who is selling said it had to do with "percussion" tools when changing the tires.

Reply to
Interested in Saab
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Many hundreds of thousands of miles isn't unusual:

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What chrome? The ones I've seen are grey, either paint or galvanized.

Seems reasonable. I wouldn't worry about it.

Dave Hinz

Reply to
Dave Hinz

No problem these days. Only carelessness and lack of maintenance will shorten engine life. With a turbo, the engine is less stressed as it need fewer rpm.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

It is not uncommon for the Saab 2 litre turbo engine to last for 200,000 miles (320,000km) without any major work at all. I had a T16S of 1990 vintage that had done 215,000 miles when I sold it, all without ever had an engine rebuild, and with the original turbo. As far as I know, it's still going strong. Oh, and it still produced 190 bhp on a rolling road test. Secret of long life - frequent oil changes, and synthetic oil. Richard England

"Interested in Saab" wrote in message news:2004102215563616807%particularistElevenIDONTLIKESPAM@gmailcom...

Reply to
Richard McBride

BTW they are not lug nuts, they are lug bolts

Reply to
WhyDoYouAsk

In my experience Saab turbos are very reliable. It may depend on how they are driven and how often the oil is changed. One should always let the engine idle for at least 10 seconds before shuting it down. We have had five turbo Saabs in our family and never had any problems with the turbos or engines. The 1985 900T had 282.000 miles on it when my son sold it to a Saab aficionado. Neither the engine or the turbo had ever been touched and it still did not need oil between changes. On the other hand,every suspension bushing, clutch, shocks, and wheel bearings were replaced at one time or another. My son's

1994 9000 CSE has 225,000 miles on it and the turbo is fine. My 1998 9000 CSE has turned over 104,000 miles and aside from replacing the direct ignition cassette the engine has not been touched.

Regarding the rusted lug nuts, Saab lug nuts are notorious for rust. I did learn the other day from our lacal Saab tech that there is a recall on 9-5s and maybe 9-3s regarding rusting of lug nuts on certain types of wheels. If the wheels meet the criteria theyh will replace them for free.

Good luck, R. Frist

Reply to
R. Frist
[snip]

If you can't get them free, SAAB sell them really cheap anyway. Something like UKP 0.20 each IIRC.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Stamp

While following this advice will not hurt anything, it really is based on old procedures from before the turbos were water cooled. Nowadays, it is OK to shutdown a modern SAAB turbo engine once you have parked the car. Reving any engine just before shutdown is a bad idea.

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

message news:...

I know the Classic engines are good for 300,000 miles. The NG engine designs changed, so the book is out until there is a history on how long these engine will last. I know my Classic 900 engine is much smoother than my NG 900. The technician gave me a list of things to watch out for on the NG engine. Then he told me I did not have to worry about the Classic engine because it was a solid design - no nylon gears on the timing chain(4 cylinder), no DI cassettes or rubber timing belts(6 cylinder).

With that said, I drive the NG Saab where it will get beat up. I had an SUV back into the front grill at a soccer game and not leave a note :-( So much for honorable "soccer moms or dads".

Reply to
ma_twain

It's still not a bad idea to let it idle for a few seconds after a hard run, the old oil cooled turbos would glow red hot for several minutes of idling, the water cooled ones will still glow, but they do cool down a lot quicker. When you shut it off, the water stops flowing too, if it's very hot the shaft can still coke up oil.

Reply to
James Sweet

How do the NG and later engines compare to the classic ones?

I know from experience that the classic four-cylinder Saab engines have very few problems, usually none. It's been my understanding that the engine design and manufacturer has varied since the classic Saabs, and I have an unverified yokelish suspicion that the new ones probably won't match the old quality. If I recall correctly, some models don't even have Saab's own engines -- please tell me I'm wrong :-)

br, S

Reply to
Simo Melenius

"Simo Melenius" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@sme.intra.citec.fi...

If you buy a Saab up until today, you'll get a real Saab 4-cyl. It's first from the 9-3SS, that it's a co-developed 2-litre engine. Before that, both the 2,0 and the 2,3 is Saab's own engine. In my opinion, the 2,3 is the best engine Saab has ever built.

Cheers!

Reply to
Henrik B.

[...]

IMO the 2.0 B202 is the best engine.

The 2.3 needed balancer shafts, the 2.0 didn't need them, but got them because of marketing considerations. The 2.0 is equally massive and strong.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

"Johannes H Andersen" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@sizefitter.com...

I'm talking overall - durability, performance, noise, fuelconsumption a.s.o.

Cheers!

Reply to
Henrik B.

It really depends on what you want, hence two engine sizes or differences in stroke. Otherwise, the differences are the same... The 2.3 is the main engine in the US market since they expect larger engines and normally run automatics. I disagree that there is any difference in durability and noise.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

They are? I didn't know that, and I've been driving them for a very long time. Haven't noticed any particular problem other than that they're made of steel.

Um, no. The recall you're thinking of is for a new design of lug _bolts_, for people who switch between alloy rims and steel rims (as in winter tires). The rust related to this recall is rust on the hubs, which if ignored could cause the wheel not to seat properly, putting undue stresses on the lug bolts.

I know that applies to the 9-5, not sure about the 9-3's lug bolts. The replacement is a 2-piece arrangement.

Dave Hinz

Reply to
Dave Hinz

With the classic Saabs one was supposed to wait 20 seconds or more for the bearing to cool. With any turbo one should give it time to wind down before you shut off the the oil supply. Granted, the turbo usually will wind down in the time it takes to park but I still think one should make a conscious effort to not shut down immediately.

Reply to
R. Frist

I agree, it can only do good, particularly after a "dash home to pick the kids up in time" type of run! (Clearly once they're on board, dashing anywhere is simply not on the agenda)

Lets face it; it takes 30 seconds to apply the handbrake, put it in neutral/park,take off your seatbelt and remove the facia from the horrid non original equipment stereo many of us have fitted. Why not leave actually turning the engine off till then?

Al

Reply to
Al

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