New to me 85 300TD, engine swap questions...
 

Hello all -

So the other day I acquired an 85 300TD wagon, no rust, and I must say, despite being a die-hard Saab nut for years, the thing looks cool. Unfortunately, it's been sitting for awhile with blown engine (threw a rod - awesome hole in the side of the block!) - so I'm starting my search for an engine, and ideally, a manual transmission (have been reading the archives a bit)... So what I'm wondering is if I need another 5 cyl turbo wagon, or can I use the motor from any 300D 5cyl turbo sedan (which seem to be more or less a dime a dozen)? I know the wagon has the hydraulic suspension, but can this pump be swapped onto a motor w/out the pump? I haven't actually gotten a chance to look closely at it, seems like it's been raining for weeks here... And since I'll have the motor out anyway, what's worth replacing while I have the chance?

Thanks!

you need the head
 

from the wagon. it has a boss for mounting the hyd pump. sorry, it is a lot of work to change it.

tom w

so in other words ->
 

i need to swap the head from the wagon onto whatever 617 block + bottom end that i come up with? seems odd that there would actually be 2 different castings for cars w/ and w/out the hydraulic suspension - is this true?

i dont know
 

if there is actually a different casting but there are definately two different heads. a buddy and i once bought a complete parts 300td for the head. we used other parts too but we paid 600 for a wagon with other problems just so we could get a good head for his wagon project that had a cracked one.

tom w

Just remove the self leveling system & install SEDAN springs & shocks!

yeah
 

removing the leveling system is possible. several on the forum have done that. mixed reviews on it. signifiacnt amount of work to do it. perhaps less than fixing yours. and the wagon with a correct functioning system is a dream to drive with excellent ride, handling and load carring capability.

i have considered it and would consider it if i were in your shoes. with the correct springs a non leveling equipped wagon would be perfectly servicable, especially around town for a errand car and such.

tom w

i'm leaning towards keeping ->
 

the leveling system, it seems pretty slick, plus i tend to pile in huge amounts of stuff on occasion. if the motor's coming out anyway, i'll just swap the heads.

any thoughts on what to replace while the motor's out?

Get a turbo block if you're keeping the turbo.

Sixto
87 300SDL