Good Day
I have a 97 960 (6304) with 80,000miles on it. Over the past week or so, I have had to use the shift release button to get it out of park. I am having to press the release button harder and harder as days go by.
Today, on the way to work, I got a check engine light and an ABS light come on while driving. The SR light also comes on for longer than normal, but eventually turns off.
Are these symptoms related? If so, what should I be looking at for solution? If not, what are the individual solutions?
The car is not driven very much and is usually parked for days or weeks between use.
I see that there is only an OBD port on this car. I am used to the self diagnotic flashing light OBD that was on my earlier 960, 740 and 240s. Is there a particular reader I will have to buy, or will any OBD II reader suffice? Any help of reading the codes that I might get with a reader?
TIA
JD

Hi!

I just bought a 1990 744 turbo, and I had a question regarding the throttle, and a possibly related one for the cruise control.

Coming from 26 years (and counting...) of Saab ownership, the throttle in my 740 turbo seems very stiff. Pressing on the gas is kind of like mashing on a football for the first bit of travel, then it seems to move with less pressure. I have no trouble maintaining pressure on the throttle on long stretches, so it's not a constant resistance.

I was wondering if this is typical of a 740 turbo, or if there may be something I should inspect/lube/change?

Oh - it's probably important to note that is is an Automatic trans. (and yes, I leave the OD on) COuld the kick-down linkage need an adjustment?

On a related note, the cruise control tends to surge rather dramatically from almost full throttle to no throttle to maintain speed, even on the slightest of grades. It appears that the same system is used on the 740 turbo as I've had on many a Saab 900. Same vacuum pump, same throttle servo.

Since the servo acts directly on the throttle "Spool" (or whatever the common name for the round thing that all the cables attach to the throttle is), I was thinking that the stiff throttle and the surging cruise were related. Is this possible?

Next question is regarding the heater blower. Is it possible to wire it backwards? It makes a lot of noise, but I get nothing out the vents. Before tearing the dash down to check the vacuum servos, I'd like to get some advice on this one.

Rear Window Defogger: Just a quick question: Does the 740 sedan use a very, very fine wire defogger in the glass? I'm used to the larger, red-brown colored stuff that's on the glass... It appears to be the factory window, and there is a switch for it, but it doesn't seem to be heating up. I'll have to check all the wires.

Oil leaks: Seems I have an oil leak (picture attacked/linked). It appears to be from the front, lower side of the valve (cam) cover gasket area. The top of the water pump has oil on it. Any place else to look? Will probably do the gasket & seal with 518 next month.

I think that's about it for now!

Sounds like you got your oil leak straightened out. That's good.
My '86 745T has the red colored grid on the rear window.

I don't think my accelerator pedal is hard to push. But I am usually driving a 140 that has a very stiff pedal.

I hate the cruise control. In the 22 years I've owned this 745, I bet I've used the cruise less than 20 times. It drives me nuts the way it surges.
I think it's the nature of the beast. At 70 mph or so, the turbo is in the "sweet spot" (mine is a M46 gearbox). It accellerates real quick to make up speed and then backs off just as quick. Very annoying, that's why I don't use the cruise.
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Lubricate your distributer!

The blower motor is screwed in from underneath the dash, I believe. I had to replace mine, not because of the motor, but because the plastic fan blades were all broken.

You'll want to look into this oil leak quickly. From what I remember it might be a dangerous one - affecting your timing belt.

Anyhow, My 740ti has a very stiff throttle pedal. I think it's so that the spring is strong enough to close the throttle, and that it needs more force due to the fact that it's cutting off boosted intake air.
You can lubricate the throttle cable though, I believe there are instructions in the FAQ. I've never tried it with mine.

My cruise control is VERY aggressive. If I'm going 40 and it was set to 75, it will kickdown (sometimes into second) to get up to 70. Mine also does get on it to maintain speed (like on a hill) or against wind. It could be an indication of poor mixture or an intake leak, but it could be normal.

I'm not sure if the blower motor can be wired backwards. I know there is a resistor pack for it, but it may or may not have diodes in the resistor pack.

The vent servos could be the issue, but I suggest that it might be a vacuum reserve tank or one-way valve that's not working right. The turbo cars seem to have issues with this.
Is your blown air coming out of the defroster perhaps? If you hold a hand up to the vents, does the flow drop when you move from vacuum to boost?

And yes, the rear defroster uses very fine wire through the glass.

Good luck and post back,
Will
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1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond

So the minor leak shifted to being a major leak. Nearly blew the motor because it lost most of the oil.

Initial inspection appears to show the oil leaking from the front crankshaft seal. The timing belt is dragging oil up from below, so that's the initial diagnosis. I'll be tearing into it later today.

Fortunately, it appears that the job can be handled with the tools I have available, and the parts are inexpensive.

As for the cruise, I kind of expect it to be aggressive when overcoming a 30 mph differential, but I'm noticing this on very slight speed changes. In the other turbo cars I've owned, you can see the boost change as the cruise works, but rarely feel it working as it does in the 740.

Thanks for the tips!

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineSealsBeltsVent.htm#CamSealReplacement


How did it go? thought that might help :)
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1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond

Haven't gotten to it just yet. Got all the parts in yesterday. Plus some spares from my buddy from Maine.

I bought extra seals just in case I mess one up on install. Also bought the gasket for the crank and layshaft seal plate, as that seems to be the recommended method to install those.

I'm hoping the rain stays away so I can get the job done Saturday.

I can't believe I actually got it done...

The belt & seals turned out to be the easy part...

But putting the fan belts back on - particularly the alternator, not so much.

Sure enough, the front main seal was perished. The cam seal practically fell out when I removed the rear part of the belt cover. The layshaft seal was also at the end of its life.

It was obvious that someone had been there before (I should hope so, on a motor with a 50k belt with 195k on the clock...), there were clear markings on the cam sprocket and the layshaft sprocket. And the seals had been done, as they were marked "SCANTECH". Got the OEM Elring Sillycone seals from IPD. I pulled the seal plate to change the main seal and the layshaft seal. Somehow, the layshaft bore got scored. I didn't think I got that close with the seal puller, but maybe I did, or it was from an earlier change. Lots of petroleum jelly, and the new seals went in fine. The old gasket came off in one piece.

BTW - what is that wire that gets in the way of taking the plate off? THAT was annoying...

Coated the new seal plate gasket with Permatex 518 & the oil pan gasket, too. I want to be sure the oil stays IN the engine...

Plate went on just fine over the shafts.

The cam seal also changed out just fine.

The tensioner threw me for a bit. Lots of stuff online on how to adjust it, lock it, and remove it, but one has to really dig to find out how to actually change it without putting your eye out, or losing the spring... I finally got it apart, and even managed to get the new one on together. Re-installed it, and made sure it was well seated in the head.

Got it all lined up (again...), installed the belt (only had to do that two or three times), and proceeded with the close-up. Besides the belt and seals, I also replaced the front upper timing belt cover, as the original had holes from the water pump pulley rubbing.

I ran it briefly before hooking the belts up, and everything sounded just fine. Idles normally, no missing or anything. Oh - and no more leaks!

The belts, though... The alternator adjuster was a PITA. First, it wouldn't loosen enough to let me put the belt on. Next, the lower bushing just fell out (What is it with the Swedes and bushings on the alternator?), so working in a very confined space, I finally managed to put it all together.

Then I realized the belt fell onto the wrong sheave on the main pulley...

And THEN I realized the water pump/power steering belt has to go on FIRST!

I was not happy, but that's what you get for taking it apart a week before you put it back together...

But luckily, for some reason, this time, the alternator would adjust enough to let me remove & install the belt again... Did I mention that someone must have lost the original adjuster bolt? They replaced it with one that had a #3 PHILLIPS head! Can't use my 10mm ratcheting box wrench on that one! Grrrr.... So I modified one of my rusty 3/8 drive hex drivers (Rusty due to being left in a leaky toolbox in a leaky trunk...) to take my IKEA #3 Phillips bit, so at least I could use my ratchet handle...

Finally got all that sorted. The fan was even pretty easy to install, once I realized that there wasn't any room for me to remove my ratcheting box wrench once the nuts were tightened...

Overall, a successful day. I really think I should give it an oil change before running it a long distance. We were fairly liberal with the degreaser, and I'm concerned some got into the oil...

But my back and my hamstrings are killing me! I thought Saabs were low to the ground!

Maybe next weekend, I'll tackle changing the oil separator box...

Great work. My legs always kill me when I work on the 740t. But I have to say it's a joy to work on the engine with all that room. I did a seal job on my toyota pickup 6 cly and had to remove half the engine and front differential to get to the front main. You should now replace or clean out your oil separator and hoses. It gets clogged easily on these turbo engines and from what I hear can over-amp your oil pressure. Might as well take it easy on those new seals.

I have the replacement (IPD) oil separator & o-ring. I just need time to figure it out & get in there. I'm hoping to not need to yank the inlet manifold, though overall, that may be the easier/faster way in.

I may get to it next weekend, as it's raining all week here...

Ahhh, that sounds lovely.

I ran into both the problems with which belt goes on first, which groove to put them in, and that you have to use an open end wrench on the fan nuts. THAT was a fun few weekends.
As for bushings, I guess they help keep things running smoothly and reduce wear on metal parts. Metal dents, rubber springs back....?

If you're going to do the breather box, it's not too bad.
No real need to remove the intake manifold.
I did it in 45 minutes, including having to deal with EGR nuts and whatnot.

So, take off your intake hose from the intercooler up to the throttle body. Disconnect the Idle control valve (IAC or ICV) and move the bracket down (be careful not to short the alternator contacts to your ratchet on this part).
If you have EGR (I hope you don't, but things come apart just fine):
The bracket that holds the EGR assembly to the block shares bolts with the breather box. You'll need to disconnect the EGR intake and exhaust tubes (I think with 21 or 22 mm wrenches. They're huge, I just used a vise grips) They're dry, you just need to break the rust free.... heh. "Just". I had the whole car rocking with how much I was whaling on them.
Also disconnect the EGR tube that goes into the top of the intake manifold.

Assuming that you have the EGR valve and egr-intake tube removed, now you might be able to reach a ratchet into the space you have to remove the bolts from the block.
I found a good use for a twist-handle ratchet I'd bought a while ago, you might want one. You can rotate the grip instead of moving the ratchet handle.

Two bolts, lots of cursing and twisting (and not breaking anything, or it will drop into the oil pan...) DO NOT remove the tube where the breather box fits. You'll break your oil pump. Remember how the heater hoses and wire bundles are arranged, or you'll have to move them around and there's very little room.

Good Luck.
Even with all that to consider ^^^ I got it done in 45 minutes.

Happy bricking,
Will

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1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond

Will,

Thanks for the tips on getting the breather box out. I don't think I have EGR, at least, I don't recall seeing any extra pipes on that side of the block. I'll have to be careful around the alternator, but it doesn't sound much harder than swapping a starter on a Saab 900 16v without pulling the inlet manifold, and I've done a few of those!

I'm thinking I should buy the other hoses that lead off of the breather box, too, just so I have them ready.

Larry