Originally Posted By: JFAllen
Great to hear you've got a Saab 9-5 Aero. They're great. Couple of points to remeber:
Use a low/Mid SAPS oil that has a HTHS >3.5. Great options are: Any DEXOS-2 or VW504/507 oil. I personally use Shell Helix Ultra 0W30 ECT C2/C3 (VW507/507) or Shell Helix Ultra 5W30 ECT C3 (DEXOS2.) These are marketed as Pennzoil Plat Euro LX and Euro L in the USA/Canada. But any licensed VW504/507 or DEXOS2 oil will be great. Remeber that DEXOS2 is the update to
GM-LL-A-025.
But key to it all is to drain the oil cooler each and every oil change!!
This holds ~800mL of oil (~18% of the total oil system volume.) If not drained you'll start you engine with a new sump of oil only to have it polluted with nearly 20% old oil. I personally believe that this is one of the major causes of sludge formation as so much old oil is left in the system if the oil cooler is not drained.
You'll also find that you'll probably get oil burn in the vicinity of 1L per 5000kms/3000miles. That's just a reality of the B235 Engine. Mine was much worse than that when I first got the car, but using the SHU oils and a few oil flushes, that's about what I get (last oil chage was 7500kms, it's getting better) after 35,000kms of ownership (185,000kms total on engine with ~200PSI compression in each cylinder, the motor is in excellent shape and blows not smoke at all.) As a result of this oil burn, it's good to swap out the oil every 5000kms / 3000miles as that's the point where it falls past the
Low mark on the dip stick.
This oil burn is also an excellent reason to use Mid/Low SAPS oil as it leaves fewer deposits (sludge/coke) which is important for these engines. All being equal you should expect fuel economy in the 8.0L/100kms (~30mgp) if the motor is in good shape. The fuel economy in mine has also improved on the diet of Helix ultra as I believe it's helped mobilize deposits out of the ring lands and as a result improved ring seal (noting the reduction in oil consumption from earlier.)
My Sump was particularly bad when I first pulled it off. lots and lots of grit (coke,) screen was almost blocked and the base of the pan was coved in a rock hard layer 2-3mm thick of sludge/coke...
The cam cover was also rather nasty, needless to say I cleaned them up to a factory standard. This was at 153,000kms shortly after I bought the car and read up on the problems. I had the sump off a month ago at 185,000kms and having run nothing but Helix Ultra ECT and ensuring the oil cooler was drained each oil change. Sump was absolutely clean. Save a few pieces of coke that no doubt had come loose from being stuck somewhere in the engine over the 32,000kms of travel. No additional build up or even the start of buildup on the oil pan.
Have fun with your Saab, They're great fun, reasonably economical, very comfortable, quiet and reliable if taken care of. Mine's never left me down (Except that time the Direct Ignition Cassette failed and I couldn't start the car...
.
Regards
Jordan
Why the mid SAPS vs full on something of this vintage? Also, it'd likely be harder to find and slightly more expensive. I think there's PP 5w30 Euro in jugs at Walmart, but that's about it. The OCI's would have to be shorter as well with the US fuel IIRC, but with these being sludge prone, I guess that's not a bad idea either.
0w40 is full SAPS by the way.