Oils which can handle turbocharger heat is part of why I began reading here. dkryan is right.
So many Saabs my friends looked at had goosey flashing oil pressure lights due to globs of crud on the pick-up screen.
See if Saabnet is still around. It is a good source of info.
I used Mobil1 0W-40 European Formula. It's an ACEA A3, B3 oil. There are improved (better) specs out there today but the M1 0W-40 is available easily and cheaply at Walmart.
I used Maxlife in all the 5 and 4 speeds successfully. My TS (Total Stash) was over 15 gallons through the years....7 Saabs, 3 Volvos
One good thing to MAKE SURE OF is coolant. Dex-Cool was FF in that car. It's a red color. It's good stuff but mustn't contain any other coolants and it can only be used in an air-tight system. Odd gelling can happen with mixing.
FYI: Misuse (installation into non-airtight systems and contamination) and the bad aftermaths got the stupids to nickname it "Death-Cool".
Don't get involved with their foolishness. Dex is good stuff.
If your granddaughter's car has funky looking coolant I urge you to flush it out.
Our '02 Saab 9-5 Linear and '05 9-5 Aero had mixed coolants.
Also, the coolant bypass valve (heater control gizmo on the heater hoses) will, at some point, leak. It'll leak on the exhaust and if you're driving you'll think the car is on fire due to the smell. Locate one online and keep the order form handy.
Get a cable style hose clamp squeezer. It'll speed you up.
Saab or Wahler thermostats only. I have a coolant temp sender I could mail you.
See if the CAF has been changed. It gets overlooked. If it's factory you need to break away the plastic frame to get the filter AND huge, carbon pillow out of the airflow. It's not a difficult.
One of the Saabs was "dealership maintained" and it still had the original CAF. Lazy, dishonest slobs, that's all.
There's a "button press" diagnostic for the ACC system. It'll alert you to busted air door motors etc. Good stuff.
The cup holder is cool to look at but anyone who puts a drink against and above all those electronics is asking for trouble.
Those Saabs ran so well. Everyone who's owned one looks back and glows with warm, fast reminiscences.
I replaced all the long, underhood vacuum lines with blue silicone ones as it looks great.
CAREFUL when working the old stuff off as some nipples can break off. The turbo bypass vacuum control valve is a prime example. I fixed mine with PC-7 putty applied externally.
Your '02 might not have "PCV #6" update. It's a $100 collection of parts which reroute crankcase fumes. It includes a new drip box, hoses and filler neck. It's easy to do. I bought my kit from a guy who bought it and destroyed his car before installation so I got it cheap.
FYI: There's a small "L" shaped hose (5' X 6") back there (between engine and firewall) which just pops off occasionally. It'll stink your granddaughter out. You just shove it back on. You can do it by feel easily the first time.
Superior parking brake hardware....BIG AND WIDE.
This is the car which was my exposure to ADBVs which work. The ADBV would hold oil it the engine's upper regions. You'd have to unscrew the filter slowly to let the oil drip out in controlled manner.
SO MANY filters let the oil drain back into the pan it wasn't funny. It really showed me how bogus product claims can be. What else is new?
ACDelco filters ALWAYS held the oil back. Others did too but I failed to note them....sorry.
Ha, the oil pressure sender switch (FOR THE IDIOT LIGHT) is on the engine's backside. The starter blocks it. Undoing the turbo cooling lines (EZ fittings etc.) is necessary and an 18mm stubby ratcheting box is what you want for the starter's bolts. The switch is inexpensive (of course).
I put heavy duty Bilsteins (B6 or H6, I forget which name) on the Aero and it was the BEST. One day the car's shocks/struts just began making BIG grunting noises. Highly recommended.
I'm new to pictures. One is a water pump (you can reuse the chamber half).
The other is of the turbocharger's cooling lines.
I'm sure there's more in the dusty, desiccated corners of my brain but it's Jeopardy time.
