Arx oil selection advice for saab 9-5

[greenjp]

I'm going to be giving my 2003 Aero w/114k miles an Auto-RX treatment later this year. No particular reason - it's been on a steady diet of mostly Mobil 1 5W-40 it's whole life with great UOAs, no burning, and excellent performance but I figure Auto-RX every couple of years can't hurt.

I picked up a bunch of regular Pennzoil 10W-40 for both the clean and rinse phases. They'll be in the car for less than 3k miles so I'm not worried. I was planning on using Rotella 15W-40, but AAP had a good deal on Pennzoil - 5 quarts and a free Purolator filter for $15

jeff

 

[axjohn]

I've ARX'd my Saab 900S. It essentially has your engine (2.3 liter) without the turbocharger and intercooler. It was my experience the first--and ONLY time--that 15w-40 was put in the engine, it was a dog! I lived in Boulder, CO at the time, so I believe the temperatures would match yours in Wisconsin.

I can't remember your sump size (5 quarts, or 5.5), but you might consider a blend of 3.5 parts of 10-40 to 1.5 parts of the 15-40, plus the ARX. That would flow relatively freely, plus add the extra adds from the HDEO.

Be sure to use the largest filter you can fit. What is you filter number, is it the PF-13 sized filter? Anyway, you just missed a golden opportunity to purchase Napa Golds for 2.99 each. Your Saab probably uses 3/4-16 filters, in which case, you can go oversize to the FL1A, FL400S, PL14670, PH8A-sized filters, IF they will fit. The problem might be in the length of the filters, which would interfere with your O2 sensors. Take note of how the car drives in the first 100 miles once you add the ARX; I found that my car "acted wierd" until I put on another new filter (you need to start with a new filter; I did).

I'd dump the Amsoil, for no other reason than you want to know what goes in the sump from this day forward. It's good oil, but with the deals out there now, I'd get it replaced. Besides, just because the salesman SAID Amsoil is in there doesn't mean it actually is! Could be in one of the mechanics cars!

BTW, I'm about to turn over 240,000 miles on my car this weekend! And you will be surprised by what comes out of the engine in the rinse, and how smooth your idle becomes.

 

[terminaldegree]

Thanks all for the replies-- particularly the folks who run these cars.

The place where I bought the car really does run Amsoil in all their Saabs-- the shop owner wrote many of the NINES articles detailing Saab oil sludge, oil pump wear, and treatment (not to mention a ton of other stuff).

I will dump the current oil early as I have a coupon for a free Amsoil oil change from them again as part of the purchase. I'll save that for the winter time and do the Arx cycle mid-summer into the fall I think. I have a couple of regular Purolators for the car (the Farm & fleet 2 for $5 deal), just need to wait for the "right" dino oil sale.

I think the car only takes 4 quarts per oil change-- need to check that again!

 

[axjohn]

I checked; your sump capacity is indeed 4 quarts, like mine. I, however, get about 4.5 quarts or a little more in the engine if I use the FL1A filter. That's one reason to go oversized; you get a little more oil in the sump; real important in the Saab, especially the turbos.

My suggestion still stands. Use an FL1a-sized filter, put in 4 quarts of oil, and the ARX. You'll be fine; that's not too much for the sump.

I think I know the author of the Nines articles you are talking about. I take it this isn't your first Saab? Remember eeuroparts.com!

 

[volvomix]

I think you are over thinking this.

Just get two 5 quart jugs of Mobil 5000 (what I used on my Volvo S70T5 2.3L turbo) for the cleaning and rinse cycle. Get the weight you are comfortable with. They have 5/30, 10/30 for sure, not sure about 40 weights. The Volvo engine and your engine probably see the same heat and pressures and are very similar in scope.

The 10/30 will be fine, your engine will not self destruct.

Also Saab parts at fcpgroton.com

It's only $11 for the jugs at Wally World.

 

[terminaldegree]

I picked up some regular QS 10-40 at the Menards sale, so I'm all set to go now. Thanks for the tips on parts sites. Seems like there are several decent ones, which is reassuring given the questionable future of the car/brand...

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: terminaldegree
I picked up some regular QS 10-40 at the Menards sale, so I'm all set to go now. Thanks for the tips on parts sites. Seems like there are several decent ones, which is reassuring given the questionable future of the car/brand...


Zoinks! 3 year (former) 2001 9-5 owner checking in. I know it doesn't matter now but I would NOT run that car on dino for any length of time. The SEVERE sludge problems were fixed by 05 but that engine setup has always walked a fine line. I ran a couple of short dino changes in mine but I would really stick to Rotella T Synth or something similar even for arx-ing in that car. These are not Volvo engines that people randomly run on dino for 20 years without issue. If you abuse oil changes in these cars for too long, you will almost certainly have engine failure. The fine mesh oil pickup strainer is still there, so any deposits you DO get are going to be a problem. Also, 30 weights have been shown not to hold spec oil pressure on these cars. I would hesitate to run anything thinner than say Maxlife or GC. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, the SAAB b205/235 engines ARE fairly fragile compared to the previous b204/234s.

My own recommendation would be to run your Amsoil for the clean phase. Frank has said for YEARS now that this is perfectly fine. Then go with your QS or return it for a 15W40 HDEO and do a rinse. If the car has no major deposits in it or you have documented proof that it got good oil and 5k or less change intervals, I would then just go to maintenance doses. I bought my 2001 with 59 k miles and lightly sludged. I arx'd it and when I traded it in 100k miles later, it was cleaner than when I bought it.

Just my experience.

I'd also add, do a search for ABC Sales on saabnet or saabcentral. A SAAB owner named Bob Bright has come up with some novel parts to reduce/eliminate sludge worries in the 9-5. He's got a heat shield, easy access oil pan, and another part or two that are good investments. Not for everyone, but if you're obsessive, they are not too pricey.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: terminaldegree
Thanks all for the replies-- particularly the folks who run these cars.

The place where I bought the car really does run Amsoil in all their Saabs-- the shop owner wrote many of the NINES articles detailing Saab oil sludge, oil pump wear, and treatment (not to mention a ton of other stuff).

I will dump the current oil early as I have a coupon for a free Amsoil oil change from them again as part of the purchase. I'll save that for the winter time and do the Arx cycle mid-summer into the fall I think. I have a couple of regular Purolators for the car (the Farm & fleet 2 for $5 deal), just need to wait for the "right" dino oil sale.

I think the car only takes 4 quarts per oil change-- need to check that again!



Missed this post. I guess you got your car from Andrews of Princeton? Chuck Andrews is really the guy who rang the alarm bell on the sludge issue. The parts I was speaking of are the ones he's highlighted in some of his Nines articles. THose articles are all online, BTW, at saabpros.com

 

[terminaldegree]

Indeed, I bought it from Andrews. I've already started the arx regimen. The car will see a pretty good deal of highway driving for both phases, unlike how the car will be driven in the fall. I'm not going to worry about doing the short ocis on dino for the arx cycles, and will go with 5,000 mile ocis with A3 rated synthetic 0 or 5w-40 thereafter.

I liked meeting both Chuck and Don Andrews and took a while to pick Don's brain about 9-5 ownership and maintenance. This car was obviously well-kept by the original owner, and Andrews took care of any needed or incomplete service/maintenance.

Thanks for the info.

 

[BrianWC]

So you're going to run regular OCIs with dino???

 

[terminaldegree]

Just 2500 miles for the "clean" phase, which will only take me 9 weeks to accumulate, and 3000 for the "rinse" phase which should last 10-11 weeks. Then back to synthetic forever, evey 5,000 miles. If the engine grenades, or seems better, or worse, I'll post here with pictures if relevant or possible...

All the arx people seem to say the process works best with dino oil, so I'm going to follow their directions. This can't be worse for the car than the old 2001 Saab "free maintenance" which had semi synthetic changes done every 10,000 miles... [back then I insisted my parents change it every 5,000 even though it was a lease on their '01 9-5 SE]

Thanks again for the vendor info...I'll file it away for future reference. Out of curiosity, did your car suffer from sludge issues? Did you ever drop the pan?

 

[BrianWC]

I'd just point out that you can view my 9-5 pics here or on the auto-rx website on the main page. And those were mere maintenance dose pics with Mobil 1.

Yes, my car did suffer sludge issues. I wrote it up fairly extensively on here, to the point where some accused me of being in some sort of arx conspiracy. But I tried lots of stuff to clean it up, harsh and gentle. Arx was the only thing that cleaned it up.

 

[sprintman]

I'd extend the clean phase.