Saab 9-3 Turbo oil/coolant Leak?

Asked by sirius93 Jul 14, 2009 at 05:33 PM about the 1999 Saab 9-3 4 Dr SE HO Turbo Hatchback

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hi,

I recently purchased a 1999 9-3 SE Turbo, with 5speed.  The car runs great, but shortly after purchasing it, I noticed a slight oil leak which seemed (according to a local mechanic not familiar with Saabs) to be coming from the oil-cooler turbo unit down on the passenger's side.  Since it wasn't that bad, I've waited till now....when recently the coolant also seems to have developed a similar slow leak -and as far as I can see, from about the same place.  The car still runs great -no smoke/etc... My '91 900 turbo with 180,xxx miles has never had either of these problems. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

2 Answers
1,655

Jan answered 14 years ago

In worst case the top-gasket is starting to worn out, if its only a small leak it wont be noticabal on a daily run. If it developes to a worse stage you will notice it much more clearly. Or it can be the gasket at the turbo (oil) , that needs a changeing. Anyway I recommend you to deliver your car in to a SAAB garage :)

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10

freeaw answered 13 years ago

my 9-5 developed the same issue and the repair was made to correct this, what I found out shortly after was that it was in idicator of amuch larger issue with the turbo unit shaft and a faulty bearing assembly. You should have this checked out by the dealer ASAP as I was told that this is a known issue and can result in a turbo unti failure. this is an expensive repair.

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