oil issues/engine ticking
 

i have an 2001 9-3-my oil light came on and the engine started making the dreaded "ticking" sounds and my oil light came on- my mechanic dropped the oil pan and found pieces of the #1 piston in the bottom of the pan and noticed that the piston is missing the bottom half of it's skirt...he mentioned replacing the oil pump. my car is not getting any oil pressure either and there is some sludge on the dip stick and on the inside of the oil cap. help, not sure what i should do?

Was the oil pickup clogged? No matter what you're in for either a rebuild or a new engine.

http://www.saabservices.com/qaoilsludge.pdf read this, see if you might still be covered at the nearest dealer. If you're not than you will need to at the minimum replace the damaged piston and flush out all the sludge. No reason not to do rod bearings at the same time as they're cheap and probably have been affected. Timing components should also be replaced if they weren't replaced before.

I agree. If pieces of the piston are missing, its fatal.

If you think the engine may still be covered, make sure you get ALL maintenance documentation to take to the dealer. They'll want to see that you've been religious about changing the oil.

Also, check with the dealer and ask if PCV #6 was installed - it was a recall item that should have been done by a Saab shop as early as April 2006. If it hasn't been done and you've seen a dealership since 2006, you should probably wail on them for not conducting the recall. Am I off-base anywhere, fellas?

Nah, you're about right. That #6 kit should have alleviated some of the sludging problems.

do you think replacing the piston and oil pump would be enough? the mechanic said it would be a 50/50 shot that replacing the oil pump would solve the problem. he doesn't know if the broken piston caused the oil pump to fail or if it failed b4 the piston lost it's bottom half of its skirt.
thanks for your feedback

Its a gamble. More than likely, sludge in the engine has either restricted the oil pick-up tube starving the oil pump, or sludge is causing a drainback issue, again, starving the pump.
The damaged piston is probably a result of low oil pressure. Replacing the pump and piston (and any other damaged parts) may be an acceptable repair, but you will want to clean out as much sludge as possible and replace the pump, to help prevent future failures.

However, the downside is, usually when pistons fail, they damage the engine block and then you would be looking at engine replacement. the cylinder bore needs to be inspected for deep scratches and measured for unusual or excessive wear.

regardless of what you decide to do the engine block needs to be stripped and taken to a machine shop for inspection/honing. In the latter case you will need 4 new pistons. Try to pursue the warranty route first and if that fails a junkyard engine is probably in order. Just make sure to clean the oil pan of sludge.

Pcv #6
 

I don't believe that it was a recall, just a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin).

did the pan look anything like this?
http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0063_large.jpg

i never saw the oil pan...i am in the process of having another motor put in the car...it's in pretty bad shape ;-(

So I ended up getting a motor for my 2001 93...Not a new motor but one that was taken out of another Saab. I'm wondering how long it takes to change out the motors? The mechanic seems to be taking forever and I was just wondering how difficult a job this is. I just spoke to him and he kept saying that he "didn't anticipate this and that" referring to the gaskets and maybe the Manafold? I think he mentioned Manafold, he seemed so overwhelmed I just wanted to get off the phone.
Any input on what it takes to change out motors would be greatly appreciated.

Competent mechanic - under a day.

He seems to be "competent" I'm just a bit concerned due to the fact he was saying that he didn't anticipate this and that etc...re the gaskets(would one change them since you're in there or no-if they're in good shape)

Thanks
Nic

While the engine is out it is wise to replace anything that needs replacement and check the timing components as well. I would say that there's always unanticipated things that come up when swapping the engine...like rotten heater core hoses.