As part of this engine overhaul section, I thought I'd add a few reports detailing the performance of the engine after its rebuild. 

In the eight months since the rebuild, I've driven the car more than 15,000 miles and the engine has performed extremely well.  Power is up over the pre-rebuilt engine and fuel economy has held at 28 mpg city and 34 mpg highway which is better than the SAAB had advertised new. 

I haven't had any problems with fluid leaks other than a slow seep at the transmission shifter seal.  I used Elring gaskets during the rebuild and have been very happy with their quality and longevity!

I've continued to change the engine oil every 3,000 miles and use Mobil1 0W-40 and Mobil1 102 filters.  The oil level doesn't' drop between changes and the oil has yet to smell of fuel, which makes me think the rings have seated well.  Additionally, I only find a small amount of wear particles on the oil drain plug magnet, which keeps me happy. 

I have noticed a short clacking of the lifters on the first startup in the morning; this has me wondering if I ought to replace the oil pump and lifters as both were reused and have nearly 200k miles on them.  This prospect will set me back nearly $500 in parts so I'm still toying with the idea of tearing down the top end for lifter replacement.

All-in-all, the engine overhaul was well worth the $1800 or so that it cost me to do and the car has provided another year of faithful service.  I expect many more out of it and hope to make it to 350k miles before I do this again! 

Copyright 2007:  All content on this site, including text and images, may not be reproduced without the written consent of the author.