My new CSE is also missing that little plug on the end of the camshaft. There was another thread awhile back where people insisted it shouldn't make that much difference, since some cars never had the extra external plug, but if it's noticeably leaking I'd pull one off a junkyard car. Shouldn't charge more than a couple bucks for it.

 

If the car was an automatic, there should be a vaccum booster in that spot. it's driven by the exhaust cam and helps braking performance. If the car is a manual then there should be a little block-off there

The oil is a mystery

 

Make sure there is a plug in the hole on the right side of the engine first of all. Also, does it have the PCV #6 update? My viggen was leaking oil from the same area on the engine and after the PCV update and new valve cover seal it leaks little to no oil now. I'm also looking at taking out the plug and cleaning under it. The oil on the power steering pump is probably form the valve cover gasket or leaking out of the power steering line. Those really aren't that bad and should be easy cheap fixes for you.

 

Looks typical, those cam covers on the top right go old and leak, new ones are cheap and go in easy.

The other bit looks like just some power steering leaky.

 

Looks typical, those cam covers on the top right go old and leak, new ones are cheap and go in easy.

Haha that made laugh, but yea my viggens does the same thing with a new valve cover gasket and there is a plug in the head you just can see it really unless you take the valve cover off. I do believe that the plug has a separete oring too and no one really replaces them. Hell i was just looking a eeuro one night and saw an oring for it so dont quote me on that.

 

There is no plug that gets bolted in like on the older cars. Instead, there is a tapered cap that is on the inside of the valve cover. They tend to never be replaced, just wipe the oil off.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

Is it also normal to have felt air coming out that hole at idle? Here's another shot of that hole. Is the aforementioned plug in there?


Saab by 4mul8, on Flickr

Also, just as a general Viggen question/comment -*when I took it for a test drive I can't say I was overwhelmed by power. And believe me, I'm not coming from powerful cars. But having said that I didn't really give it a hard gas, as the seller was in the car with me. And said seller is also a pretty big guy, so I don't know if his weight would make a difference. To feel the true oomph of the Viggen, does one need to really stomp on the gas?

Don't get me wrong, if felt composed and torquey. But not in a "wow" sort of way.

 

The cap looks like its in there, but Ive never felt air coming out of it either. When your "giving it gas" where is the boost gauge? Does it just peak into the red?

 

I didn't really get a chance to "give it gas", as mentioned. Nor did I really pay attention to the boost gauge.

I've never owned a turbo before, so don't really know what to expect. But based on things I've read about the Viggen I think I was expecting a more 'raw' experience. From my test drive it felt powerful but I'd say more sedate than anticipated.

In any case, I'm taking it for a PPI this week, and I'm sure the shop can tell me if I'm missing something in the power department.

 

From the looks of it I would say that was a replacement engine. It looks like the vac thingy Saunder's was talking about had been there probably on an automatic 9-5 and this viggen locked up its orig motor. I would wonder if this is even an R engine.

 

Yep...that's a pic of the cam-driven vacuum pump.

That bare spot surrounding the hole looks like something used to be there...

 

I totally agree that it looks like something used to be there.

A little disconcerting that this may not be the right engine. How else could I tell? (Given that I'm unfamiliar with Saabs.)

 

If the car's a manual, it doesn't need to be there. You can plumb it into the braking system for extra vaccum assist but it's not really necessary.

There should be a mark on the side of the head and on the block to tell you what's actually installed ...

 

Well, PPI's scheduled for Wednesday. I guess I'll find out then.

Thanks for all the info!

 

Anything in the history of where the work was done?

Somebody probably had to have known what they were doing. Hopefully it is not a 2.0 from an automatic 9-3.

Where are you and where is the car, also what is the VIN#?

 

The seller has records, but I haven't had a look at them. I'm in the Bay Area, CA. As is the car.

 

pretty sure its a replacement motor as well, good call on that...

Get the Ser# off the block, its OK if it is an R engine from an automatic 9-5 Aero, its the same thing...

Make sure it has teh Mitubishi turbo as well, coudl be a GT17 form an Auto 9-5 if its the 2.3 block or as has been stated a 2.0 motor as well

Regarding quickness, yes these things scream at WOT and 2200+ RPM, take it onto an interstate entance ramp and go see how it feels...

 

I'll have to see if I can get some more seat time and try a WOT onramp. I guess I was driving too conservatively to get a sense of the bat-shit craziness one reads about online.

I won't see the car again before the PPI on Wednesday, but I'll find out in short order there if the appropriate bits are present under the hood.

 

I'm curious what makes you guys think this is a replacement engine?

What's missing that I see:

1. The battery cover/blanket is missing. If it's an '01 or up it should be a plastic box plastic. If it's a '99 or '00 it should be insulated flexible shaped plastic blanket thing with snaps. That's missing.
2. The throttle body trim piece is missing.
3. The entire air filter box is missing and has been replaced with an open cone filter.

Your specific conerns? The plug with the slight oil weep is correct for a manual transmission car, and appears to be in place. Air that you felt must have been coming from somewhere else. Stick your finger in the hole and you will feel the plug. They all leak from there. Under the valve cover you will find two security torx bits that have been cemented in, assuming it's stock. If the plug wasn't there you'd see oil all over the place.

The other leak at the power steering pump appears to be small. I would bet a quarter turn on the hard pipe line at the top of the pump (can't see in your pic) would fix that.

 

Ok, just to clarify -- the top image with red markups is from the Interwebs. It's not the car in question.

I don't have a whole-engine-bay shot of the car in question, but here's what I do have. You can click through to see larger sizes on Flickr:

2000 Saab Viggen by 4mul8, on Flickr

Battery cover is present. Stock airbox is present. Heat shield is present.

 

So let me get this straight. You ask "What's missing from this Viggen motor?" and then you post pictures of a Viggen motor that you found on the internet, not from the specific car that you're (potentially) buying, and ask for comments?

 

Slightly misleading? Maybe. The first image I posted has something blocking the hole, does it not? I was trying to show/ask what's missing.

Second image shows a close-up of the actual car, with missing plug missing. In the second image one can also see the heat shield -- which is missing in the first photo.

Sorry for the ambiguity. I was just trying to illustrate visually what I didn't think I'd do a very good job describing with only words.

 

This photo looks like a part was formerly here and now removed.

I am going to see if Burns can confirm it with IRIS, which is why I asked for the vin.

 

I am going to see if Burns can confirm it with IRIS, which is why I asked for the vin.

Cheers. I PM'd you the VIN.

 

PPI came back clean (with the same explanation of: Yes, the plug is there and yes, it will leak a bit). I'll take ownership on Saturday!

 

FYI checked my engine and there is no air coming form that area at all. I did just replace the valve cover gasket so maybe start there and see if that helps. It really shouldn't be a hard fix though if anything is leaking slowly out of that area.

 

Oh, and if you want, i can post a real live genuine picture of an example that actually IS an automatic head installed in a manual transmission car (hint: it doesn't look like that pic). Funny shit

 

Assuming the first picture is the actual car, the air you were feeling could've been an exhaust leak from cyl 4