Head Gasket
Despite information on SaabCentral, to the contrary, I’m afraid that the head gasket is the source of BSOS woes. I found the following information on www.thesaabsite.com when searching the FAQs under Engine Smoke:
A problem that will cause your car to smoke or steam after sitting overnight could be a faulty head gasket. A faulty head gasket will allow the cooling system pressure to bleed coolant into the combustion chamber overnight causing the vehicle to blow white smoke and create a sweet smell from the exhaust until the exhaust has become hot enough to burn all of the antifreeze away. The gasket usually blows between Cylinders # 2 and # 3.
If the engine is only smoking during cold start and you have a sweet smell coming from the tailpipe check the headgasket to see if it is leaking down overnight. You can often check this by pulling the spark plugs and looking at the piston tops. If they are silver then they are likely getting steamed cleaned because coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber during the cooldown process.
The first paragraph very accurately describes what I’ve got. I’ve just called my repair shop and gotten a quote for replacing the HG: $1850 with rebuilt head, $1400 without. The necessary gaskets themselves purchased online are $72.50 plus shipping.
I’m afraid I don’t have the skills to replace the HG myself. It looks like my cherished, fun project car is dead unless I can find some friends or family members willing to help me undertake replacement of the HG.
Friends of BSOS 900, please comment or email me with your thoughts. Thanks.
