Thanks to Lawson Lemons for contributing to this FAQ!
ok, we got the job done, it took about 3 hours with most of the time probably spent getting the exhaust pipe out of the way. i was completely shocked by how bad the oil pan looked when we got it off. there was sludge & grit all in the pan. the screen on the pickup tube was probably 80% blocked. i wish i had done this when it first started making noise because it looks like the bearings on the crank shaft got hot. the metal had changed color a little bit. The car had been making a noise like a power steering pump low on fluid for several months. i did not worry too much about it because the car seemed to run fine. One evening the oil light began coming on occasionally & i noticed a very light lifter noise.
After cleaning the oil pickup screen & getting all the gunk out of the oil pan the car sounds very smooth. my mechanic friend said it looked to him like water had gotten into the engine because the bottom of the crankshaft appeared to have rust on it. I'm not sure it wasnt just baked on oil sludge. The first picture is just after getting it up on the lift.
The second one is where the oxygen sensors had to be unplugged so we could pull the exhaust pipe away
3d is with the exhaust pipe out of the way
4th is the oil screen & oil pan
5th is another view of the filthy pan
6th is the bottom of the engine, you can see the baked on build up on the bottom of the connecting rods, this picture was taken after i had already sprayed brake cleaner all over it.
7th, scraping off more gunk
8th, ready to go back on
Thanks to Bill Wurtz for contributing to this FAQ!
Just performed the same service on a 2000 9-5 LPT 90k miles. Not much build up in the pan, part cleaner and tooth brush got it all off. What I did find was debris, carbon or other that looked like black coffee grounds when I tapped the pickup and removed. This debris had about 60%+ of the screen covered. Would be nice if this screen was accessible during oil changes.
NOTE: We are currently in the process of finishing oil pans that have a removable pan housing to allow you to change the oil and check the screen at the same time. They will be listed here and on site once available.
Thanks to Bill McManus for contributing to this FAQ!
I've just had a SAAB specialist service centre look at the oil pan, screen and pick up for my 2000 93 with 70K miles. Apparently it was spotless. The problem would appear only to affect B205 and later engines due to the inferior design of the engine ventilation system. This would seem to be the root cause of the engine sludge problem. If you have a B204 engine you shouldn't need to worry about having to do this job.
Just a quick note: We have seen issues with this in the B204 Engines. A good look wont hurt but KUDOS to Bill for the info!
