More broken cars

[Mikesx13]

I seem to be collecting broken cars at the moment

With good intentions of fixing them and driving them/giving them to someone/selling them but then they just end up sitting on my drive being, well, broken

The latest instalment of pain comes courtesy of a 2007 Saab 9-5 2.3 turbo estate Vector Sport bla bla bla etc.

Considering it's got MOT, everything works (apart from the engine ) and it's quite fancy looking inside and out I'm quite surprised to have got it for a grand!

Now onto the problem - it goes clackety clack rather than purrrrrrrrr.

I suspected low oil pressure so have just dropped the sump and cleaned a god awful amount of shite from the oil pick-up strainer and inside the sump itself and stuck it back on with blu tack (instant gasket).

Started it and guess what........Clackety clack clack

Didn't really expect it to fix the problem - sounds like it's a bit more buggered than that - have a listen and see what you think

[ANDY black s13]

drop sump back off and pull big end caps,as sounds big endy ish
to be honest at certain revs it sounded like a tractor

[Mikesx13]

Yeah, I've had moments of serious flashback to s13 ownership when it hits that 'sweet' note.

I originally thought it was the hydraulic lifters but it kind of sounds more meaty than that

So, opinions, should I just drop another engine in to save diagnosis time (not to mention money) or fix what I've got

[Mikesx13]

Actually to me it sounds like a mixture of hydraulic lifters, blowing manifold gasket and big ends! Will whip the cam cover off tomorrow and have a looksie

[ANDY black s13]

Actually to me it sounds like a mixture of hydraulic lifters, blowing manifold gasket and big ends! Will whip the cam cover off tomorrow and have a looksie

agreed it could be a combo of things,hearing it in person is always best lets be honest
straight away the semi blocked oil pick up is not a fantastic thing to find (alarm bells ringing),
I would go on its been possibly semi oil starved till it got noisy and was sold,
finding another engine that you can hear running would be a better idea imo than rebuilding
an engine that has been running on low oil pressure (potentially from the crud you found on the strainer)
fair chance the top end will have suffered and all that metal fragments has been pumped around
wrecking the cam bearings/caps and lifters (as we already suspect )
if it has nikasil (Hello Bmw) or some fancy bore/liner coating that will have suffered the low oil running
you could be chasing one noise of fault for ages on that engine and spend a heap of cash doing so
depends on what you find if worth fixing or not

seen that engine swapped into astra's and vectra's going cheap like less than the saab was cheap
you will probs get another car for less than a breaker will sell you an engine (with 'good' painted on it's rocker cover)

keep us updated with your findings

[Mikesx13]

Thanks for the advice, been onto those online breaker sites this morning and quotes are sitting at around £800 whereas a quick eBay search is bringing some up for around £400, at that price I think I'll definitely opt for engine swap

[ANDY black s13]

£400 is pretty good if you get the whole thing with turbo etc ready to drop in and delivered to you?
I'm a tight wad so I would still search for a bargain,maybe gumtree in your area as well as the 'bay,if you can find a car nearby being broken by a private seller would ideal
just time it my take for the right car or just a good engine to turn up,
They are not a bad car imo (I like them) just not worth much to a car dealer so hunt round/ring up local little car traders/car fronts
they may have a tatty one they took in a P/ex?, a long shot but you never know
If your up for traveling to my neck of the woods? a mate has recently took over a large breakers/salvage yard
and he could well find what you need through the trade,I have bought cars from him and he is sound to deal with
not saying super cheap deals, but as an option if nothing turns up near you
the £400 quid deal ain't bad if it is drop in/low miles/(some sort of warranty?) and delivered thinking about it

[Mikesx13]

Well just bought one with 80,000ish miles with warranty sold as fully working from an eBay breaker with excellent feedback for £310 delivered - super happy with that deal