lacking power with an oil light tat flickers

1597 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Uniballer, Aug 21, 2010

Uniballer

Discussion Starter · Aug 15, 2010 (Edited)

Just replaced my turbo yesterday and the car is running. Stock t25 that whines quite loudly, but I haven't driven it in 6 weeks and it seems to have lost power. The turbo I had in it last was a t28 hybrid so I know it won't have the same power but it seems to lag on getting up to speed without hitting the gas much anyways.

So far, this what's going on:
Loud used t25 with what seems like quite a bit of lag, less power even without much gas, A weird throatiness I don't remember from the motor that's a little worriesome, it doesn't seem to want to go past 3500 very easily (that's where the sound really becomes noticeable and I'm a little gun shy to floor it), oil light very quickly flickers at idle but goes away when I put gas to it, a slight electric arcing sound that is not steady but always happening.

What I've done:
New NGK plugs gapped to 1.1 with dielectric on 'em
New pcv check with new vac lines everywhere
t25 with 13k on it
new battery
replaced auto tranny fluid

Oil level is great, No leaks from turbo or connections, no smoke. I would like someone to confirm my bcv vac lines to make sure they're on right, pretty sure they are though. boost hasn't gone above mid level yet.
I'm just nervous something is wrong with the bottom end or something from last turbo that was on it because of that growl. I did unplug the batt when I put the new turbo in to reset ecu.
Any help you guys can give would be awesome. There's no actual Saab techs closer than an hour away so it's super hard to find people that know what they're doing around here and most laugh or say no when I mention it's a saab.
I'm going to check the compression tomorrow just to be sure that's still good.
Thx Guys, Mike

Update: Checked compression this morning,
1: 149
2: 145
3: 139
4: 149

oil light only flickers when motor is hot enough for fan and at idle, it's only very faint....

Please help.

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Uniballer

Discussion Starter · #2 · Aug 15, 2010 (Edited)

just found this on the forum.

http://www.saablink.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40783&highlight=flickering+oil+light

I just put 5-30 in it so the oil flickering might be solved...
What do you guys suggest I use in the 90+ heat of florida? Should I completely change the oil again or can I mix in a heavy oil or an additive to save the hassle of changing it after less than 50 miles on the oil change? Would you drive it like this?
I'm thinking lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer will do the trick... Let me know what you think.
Thx

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ohlins8990

· #3 · Aug 15, 2010

the top bpc line should go to the compressor housing, the middle attaches to the wastegate actuator, and the bottom attaches to the intake pipe before the turbo.

I run 10w-30 all the time in my Aero, whether I'm in Houston for the summer, or Indiana for the winter.

Your compression numbers seem okay without knowing exactly how you tested them(i've always noticed 3 to be lower in every saab I've tested).

My question would be, what sort of tune was on the ECU when it had the T28, since I imagine it wasn't a stock tune. The other thing, try checking the wastegate actuar to make sure the pin hasnt rusted away.

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Uniballer

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 15, 2010

ohlins8990 said:
the top bpc line should go to the compressor housing, the middle attaches to the wastegate actuator, and the bottom attaches to the intake pipe before the turbo.

I run 10w-30 all the time in my Aero, whether I'm in Houston for the summer, or Indiana for the winter.

Your compression numbers seem okay without knowing exactly how you tested them(i've always noticed 3 to be lower in every saab I've tested).

My question would be, what sort of tune was on the ECU when it had the T28, since I imagine it wasn't a stock tune. The other thing, try checking the wastegate actuar to make sure the pin hasnt rusted away.

Ecu was stock cause that was Going to come after a dp. Turbo didn't last long enough to get it all done.
I'll check bcv when I get home to make sure.
Wastegate is good to go with a new pin so that's good.
What do you think about the Lucas oil treatment?

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seriks1

· #5 · Aug 15, 2010

Oil lights scare me. I'd be pulling that pan off. Sucks to waste new oil, but with the drain plug out I've fished around under the sump with a heavy gauge piece of wire to get an idea what's in there. Strip the insulation off the last half inch of the wire and bend it over, fish away.

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Uniballer

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 17, 2010 (Edited)

Update: I'm ready to shoot it!
Didn't get a chance to change that oil over but put in lucas treatment. 1/2 qt is all it could take. Now that light only flickers if it sits for a few at a stoplight with the air on...
I drove about 12 miles on the interstate at 80, running fine. 28 mpg steady, all of a sudden I start getting 22, 19, 16, 14 mpg. Pulled of and a really fast ticking/knocking noise is coming from the motor. Almost no power, noise mostly goes away at idle or at least slows down. What the hell did I do? I didn't mess with the timing or valves at all. no CES light, the oil light didn't even come on.
Please help... Could I have really blown my motor by using 5/30? Let me know where to check first, What the issue might be or anything you can think of. I appreciate all the help guys, thx.

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dan-the-kid

· #7 · Aug 17, 2010

Uniballer said:
Please help... Could I have really blown my motor by using 5/30?

You probably blew your motor by still running it after you had a flickering oil light.

Do like seriks1 said. See how much of the bearings you shredded.

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Uniballer

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 21, 2010

Update: Crank is rough on 1 and 2 rod journals. Looking for a new motor now....

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