1997 Saab 900 SE 2.0L Turbo Question

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So a buddy of mine from Montana is a groomsman in my wedding this June. He has to drive from MT to Iowa which will total about 1800 miles one-way and will quickly add to his already accumulated 93,000 mile total. I told him I would change the oil in his Saab for him since that is a lot of driving to do.

I had planned on using a Napa Gold or PureOne for the filter. I'm just going back and forth on the oil to use. I have 5w30 Pennzoil Platinum and Mobil 1 in my storage closet at home. Both meet some of the toughest turbo specs. Which would you all choose? I was leaning to the Mobil 1 since it has a slightly higher HT/HS viscosity. What do you all think?

Also, I've been looking for some listing on the sump capacity, but I can't find it. My guess is that 5 qts would fill it, but I wanted to be sure. Thanks in advance!
 
Check on the Amsoil web site for capacity, they just might have it.

Congrats on the up coming wedding!!

What part of Iowa are you in?
 
I would use Pennzoil Platinum since he has a substantial commute. What I have noticed is that the higher the HTHS the worse the gas mileage and since he'll be doing a lot of highway miles it is easy on the oil and you dont necessarily need a higher HTHS oil.
 
Back when I was more into Saabs, I seem to recall many of the indy techs preferring higher vis /thicker oils for the motors. It was more about protecting bearings than anything else. I think a lot of those guys liked M1 15W-50 or similar. They didn't like anything thinner than a 10W-30.

I had great performance using GC in my former 9-5 (not the same motor, I know) so I'd be reluctant to use either of the oils you have on hand. Instead, I'd grab some M1 0W-40, 15W-50, or some GC and do it that way.

If I can find something about oil from Tom Townsend (uncontested Supreme GuruMaster of Saabs), I'll post the link.
 
So a buddy of mine from Montana is a groomsman in my wedding this June. He has to drive from MT to Iowa which will total about 1800 miles one-way and will quickly add to his already accumulated 93,000 mile total. I told him I would change the oil in his Saab for him since that is a lot of driving to do.

Please, forget the OIL in his engine. You are getting married !!!, Dang...whats more important? his OIL or your new wife?

He's a grown man let him take care of it.....for now, at least
 
Thanks for all the help guys. Right now I have all 5w30 on hand which is what the shop he goes to in MT uses during the winter, but I was thinking about 10w30 since it will be summer. He had mentioned 5w30 though.

As far as doing it for him, I figure it is the least I can do since he is driving all the way out to Central Iowa to meet us before things get going and I drive to Eastern Iowa. He's also a graduate student and doesn't have a lot of money either. Advance Auto has a Pennzoil Platinum and M1 special now for $25, so it would be a small amount of money on my part, and only a little bit of time.
 
Yeah, that Pennz Platinum + M1 filter deal for $24.99 would be nice. Use their 10W-30 in it and it should be fine. Nice of you to take care of your buddy like that.
 
Mobil1 0w40 is what we use for SAABs at my dealership. I wouldn't recommend anything too light, those engines don't like it at all.

On my 900, I used a Bosch filter.
 
Thanks KLowDX9 for the insight. How easy is the filter to get to in this application?
 
Originally Posted By: Nyquist
Thanks KLowDX9 for the insight. How easy is the filter to get to in this application?


Very easy. I used to change the oil on my SAAB 900S by pulling the front two wheels to the edge of my driveway where it sloped down. A pair of medium sized channel locks was more than sufficient to get the old filter off. It is right at the front.

The drain plug is a 13 or 14 mm. It's been almost two years since I had mine, so I don't remember exactly.
 
Originally Posted By: KLowD9x
Mobil1 0w40 is what we use for SAABs at my dealership. I wouldn't recommend anything too light, those engines don't like it at all.

On my 900, I used a Bosch filter.


Supports what I've heard from other Saab experts. Thanks for the input.
 
A member on here (Eiron) has gotten great results running a M1 0W-40/15W-50 mix in hi NA 1990 Saab for 20k OCI's.

On a turbo, I also wouldn't go lower than a high 30-weight. I'd be using M1 0W-40, or GC 0W-30.
 
Thank you all for your responses. I had a free minute and talked to a Saab dealership in Des Moines, Iowa this morning. He said that either a modern 5w30 or 5w40 with good turbo specs would work. I asked about PP 5w30, and the guy said it should work but to be sure to stick with a full synthetic.
 
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