| Author | Message | ||
     Desert_bird |
My '08 Uly motor took a dump with about 50K miles. I was out in the mountains enjoying a fine fall day when it started running like crap. First clackety clackety sound and it felt like it was running on one cylinder, lumpy like an overweight thumper. I pulled the plugs and they looked OK. One was slightly fouled so I cleaned it off and put it back in. Everything else seemed kosher. I was out of cell range and deep in the backcountry so I had to keep riding to get closer to civilization. It was sketchy; one cylinder nearly coughing to a stop on steep dirt roads, revving way up near redline and feathering the clutch to make it up then backfiring down the other side. I got to pavement and tried to ride her home. I figured a plug fouled so riding at speed would clean that out. Nope. Clackety got worse. At 50 MPH I heard a sudden and catastrophic cocophony of shattering metal between my legs and coasted to a halt amidst the smell of burning Amsoil. That was it. Seized up a second later. Happy the rear wheel didn't freeze at speed. I found a tow rig a few hours later to haul me the hour or so back home. Terrible fate for a motor that took me all the way from New Mexico to Buenos Aires and up and down the West Coast several times. I thought crank problems were solved in the '08 on up and was settling in for another 50K of bliss. I took damn good care of that motor too. No redlining or racing. Rode it like an old tractor with frequent oil changes. In the end, I may have misdiagnosed a fueling issue for something else and just aggravated it to death by trying to ride home. It was so sudden. Anyway, not to bore you all, but I'm eying a replacement second hand-motor, perhaps something off a salvage bike. Love the Uly as I do, I'm not currently comfortable shelling out $2-$4k on a rebuild for a platform that I can hardly find parts for anymore. And I need the daily reliability and utility that I got used to. No showpieces. (With three old Saabs I already spend enough time scouring junkyards for out of production second hand gear to keep moody vehicles on the road!) And I just do not have the time or expertise to rebuilt the motor myself. So second hand it is. Question is compatibility of a newer era motor with my 2008 harness, et. al. I know '10 started up with the dual O2 sensors but that is downstream from the exhaust. I would like to just throw a new motor in mine and keep my race ECM, single sensor exhaust and other stock hardware. Am I correct in assuming that any XB12 motor from '08 on up to '10 would be compatible? Thanks, DB (Message edited by Desert_bird on September 05, 2016) | ||
| Froggy |
Sorry to hear that, but you would be 100% correct in being able to swap in any 08+ XB12 motor. The 08+ motors have a beefier crankshaft, but there is no such thing as an indestructible one. | ||
| Desert_bird |
Appreciate it Froggy. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Sorry to hear that. I hope you find a replacement engine for your Uly. Just gave mine a hug when I walked past it in the garage. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Bummer. What Saab's do you have? | ||
| Desert_bird |
Hug'em while they last  Lucky duck! Sure would be nice to put a Rotax motor in a Uly platform. Best of both worlds. Saabs? 1990 SPG 1995 9K Aero 2004 9-5 ARC | ||
| Phelan |
Where are you located? I may be able to help. I have an 09 motor and a few options. The only differences besides color on the 08-10 had nothing to do with the motor itself. Harness, fuel pump, and header are different on the 10. I don't recall any difference except maybe software on the 09. All the plugs and whatnot will be fine with any 08-10, just use your existing harness, ECM, and header. | ||
| Reepicheep |
1990 SPG <-- Drool! I have a 2007 Aero, with fresh burns on my forearms from replacing spark plugs. Remove the ECM in order to replace a spark plug? Seriously? | ||
| Desert_bird |
Phelan, I'll PM you. Seems that an '09 would be pretty straightforward swap. I thought that a '10 would be also if I used my '08 header (the difference in the newer harness attributed only to two 02 sensors rather than one). I had no idea '10 used a different fuel pump. Is that just a routine part update? Saab stories ... Some models have a timeless form factor, and great engineering and handling characteristics. The 900s are a tinkerer's paradise. That SPG is a real driver's car. Basically a go-cart with leather seats and stealth 6 foot bed. But you are so right; how Swedish engineers got their ham-hands into some of those crevices never ceases to amaze. Your aero is great road car. Just have a trusted shop handle the maintenance! | ||
| Reepicheep |
The only shop I can afford is a ham handed hack, but I try and do my best for myself anyway, and at least I know who to blame when I do it wrong  Replacing the valve body in the 6 speed (Japanese) transmission was an interesting exercise in laparoscopic surgery. I miss my old 2001 9-3 SE. That was a Saab that Saab kept GM from ruining. My 07 9-3 is a GM that Saab un-ruined as much as possible. Truth be told, the net effect isn't *that* much different between the two approaches. Someday I hope I'll have an old 900 just for fun. | ||
| Phelan |
In 2010 Buell switched to a PWM controlled fuel pump regulator instead of voltage controlled. That is the only reason I don't plan to do a '10 spec conversion, because I plan on doing a 90" build on the newer motor, and the only high pressure regulator that is readily available is voltage controlled. | ||
| Froggy |
Like Phelan said the 2010 fuel pumps are PWM and the ECM has more control over it than the older style where the ECM just says "fuel pump: on!", so the ECM has some tweaks regarding that (and the second O2 sensor). A 2010 motor will still drop right in as mechanically it is the same as your 08, the differences are add-ons like the header, throttle body, fuel pump and such like that you would be reusing from your 08 anyway. |
