SAAB

[suburbanreuben]

My local petrol station will soon cease to supply LPG gas, and the next nearest is 15 miles away, so my trusty Subaru Forester, after 6 years and 150,000 miles, needs to be replaced.
I quite fancy a big SAAB 9-5 diesel. They seem to be going quite cheap. The 4pot 2.2 is supposed to be rough as a badgers arse, but to just keep on going. Is this true?
Does anyone here run one? What are they like to live with?
Ta, Nick

 

[legrandefromage]

These are supposedly just tarted up Vectra platforms but when you read into it, not much is carried over. But, they are cheap for a reason, many suffer electrical niggles and the GM diesels are just not as good as other company's.

150,000 Subaru is barely run in...

Looking at your mileage -

The 3rd Generation Mondeo uses timing chains, can do massive mileages but suffers from dual mass flywheel failures, fuel pumps and other stuff. 4th generation Mondeos went back to belts and the faults so far are just frightening.

VAG need cambelts plus other ancillaries quite often and suffer from annoying electrical problems.

Korean may be reliable but parts can be 3 times as expensive due to the simple fact that they are less common.

Japanese diesels have come along quickly but it always seems to be more expensive to fix brakes and belts than others and I have no idea why.

Have a look at what the local taxi firms use - high mileages and robust!

*edit: I'll add that everybody has a different experience of their cars so it will be just a minefield. However, the most reliable cars that we have owned in the last 4 years have been two Fiats. Both had to cover around 40,000 miles a year fully loaded and often towing a box trailer and both were almost faultless (clutch cylinder and EGR valve).

My friends two SAABS (his & hers) were both just awful and were sold within a few months of purchase as they were just always going wrong with some niggly annoying fault. But I bet others have had nothing but praise for them.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

I used to wield spanners for a living. It's a bit over simplistic to say they're based on a GM platform - more accurate to say the starting point for the design was the GM platform. I'd be more worried about depreciation now they're defucnt - if you can get one cheap and you're going to hang onto it long term then go for it. Otherwise, i wouldn't invest significant money or even finance on one.

Mondeos have never been full chain on the diesels - 3rd gen 2.2 used Fords own take on the PSA family 2.2 (the DW12ATED4) and this was also a cambelt unit, albeit with a chain to drive the 2nd cam from the 1st. All the other 4 cylinder mills they've employed have been full belt. My wife still runs a Peugeot 4007 with this motor, and she likes it. It's a bit unrefined, but very punchy and gives North of 40 MPG in daily motoring, which isn't bad on a 1.8 tonne car.

No one makes a diesel over 90BHP now without a particulate filter, and unelss you do significant mileage the periodic cost of cleaning, refilling the fluid (on the wet systems), and even replacement is liable to more than wipe out any saving made on fuel economy over the cars life. DMF's are trouble on everything from Alfas's to VW's - it's just a fact of life.

In summary, if its a reasonable price and doesn't require too much of a financial investment, then go for it. If you're spending real money I'd be inclined to look at something else.

As for me, I just hate cars, don't even run one of my own at the moment. Can't be arrissed.

 

[suburbanreuben]

Thanks , both of ye!
I don't like the sound of that particulate filter; does a regular damn good thrashing keep it sweet?

 

[highlandsflyer]

15 miles is peanuts for the savings you are making! I would stick with it unless you are desperate to change motors.

Diesels suck.

 

[Grannygrinder]

.

You learn something new everyday.
I could have sworn my 52 plate TDCI Mondeo was all chaindriven? :shock:
Is this not the case?

 

[legrandefromage]

Released in 2000, to coincide with the launch of the Mk3 Ford Mondeo, the Duratorq ZSD-420 was initially available as a 2.0L (1998 cc) direct injection turbodiesel. Producing 115 PS (113 hp/85 kW) and 280 Nm (207 lb·ft) it was a vast improvement over the 1.8 Endura-D powering the Mk2 Mondeo. It featured a 16-valve cylinder head with twin chain driven camshafts and utilised a variable geometry turbocharger with overboost function.

In 2005, Ford introduced the Duratorq ZSD-422, a 2.2 L (2184 cc) turbodiesel for top-of-the-range versions of the Mondeo and Jaguar X-Type which produced 155 PS (153 hp/114 kW). This is unrelated to the PSA DW12 2.2 unit used in Peugeot and Citroën applications.

 

[Grannygrinder]

.

Phew
So further to that point, why won't my mondeo pull skin of custard and low rpm in 1st?

 

[legrandefromage]

Re: .

Phew
So further to that point, why won't my mondeo pull skin of custard and low rpm in 1st?

Check turbo pipes, egr, mass air flow sensors? Mine had a hole in its turbo pipes which made it as flat as a fart. The current one has an iffy MAF and sometimes starts in 'limp mode' - flat as a fart...

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

"unrelated"! It's the same basic block!!! Same head casting. Mazda used a third version of the unit, and they really muffed it up quite badly. Silk purse into a sows ear.

Racking my brains back I could have erred in my earlier post. The earlier Mundano 2.2 may have been chain? I'll check my ICME if any ones interested.

Chain drive for the caltrain isn't anything to get moist over. Less likely to go wrong, but they do go wrong, and the cost is usually stratospheric.

All these big bore 4 pot diseasels are gutless coming off idle. There's no ignition advance and the flame front has a relatively long way to travel. Once they're up to 1500 RPM or so they tend to be a bit meatier.