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Oil Cooler Hose
Removal and Replacement
1988 Saab 9000 Turbo
Tools needed in addition to usual assortment of metric wrenches, sockets and torx head
screwdrivers: 24mm (15/16 in) wrench and stubby 22mm (7/8 in) wrench. (Not much
room between firewall and oil filter adapter. A crowfoot head might work.) Shouldn’t
need a flare nut wrench, but it is the safest way to go. Have some means handy to mark
bolts as they come out, as many are of different lengths.
1. Clean underside of engine compartment, frame and suspension. (If you already burst
a hose, guess where all the oil went.)
2. Remove small screw securing top of oil cooler to bracket. This allows moving the
oil cooler slightly making it easier to loosen top cooler pipe. Note: each pipe fitting
uses a small O-ring so they should not be overly tight. Do not overtighten upon
reassembly.
3. Remove lower splash pans (between bumper facia and front crossmember) and front
half of passenger side inner fender well.
4. Remove passenger side headlight bucket. This allows room to loosen the lower
cooler pipe. Plug oil cooler fittings to prevent introduction of foreign material.
5. Remove AC and serpentine belts. Remove belt tensioner pulley. Remove two clips
holding oil cooler pipes to front of engine.
6. Remove alternator. (A small crowbar is useful.) Be extremely careful of small wire.
It runs from ignition switch and provides field excitation voltage to “start” alternator
output. (Take alternator to shop to have is cleaned if it took an oil bath like mine did.
Time to change the voltage regulator/brush pack?)
7. Remove oil filler/dipstick tube bracket at top of tube. Move tube as far toward center
of engine compartment as possible. (Would be great if tube could be removed
entirely but bottom of tube is held in place by a clamp secured by a blind torx screw,
the head of which is partially covered by the rear engine mount bracket!)
8. At this point you MIGHT be able to get wrenches on oil cooler line fittings on top of
oil filter adapter. I loosened power steering pump bracket, which permitted much
easier access from through the wheel well. Plug holes in adapter to keep
dirt/moisture out.
New lines from Saab are about $265. I could not locate aftermarket lines. Replacement
lines from a junker may be close to failure themselves. Some folks carefully cut hose off
metal fittings and use AT hose and clamps. I took mine to a hydraulic shop. They cut
off flex hose, soldered new fittings onto pipes and crimped on new hose. (Note: high
pressure hydraulic hose is VERY stiff. Even though the new pipe fittings allowed plenty
of swivel, I would recommend having the shop use a more flexible hose, making it easier
to bend the hose when fitting everything back together.) Put new O-rings on ends and
good to go for $55.