the Saab 9-7. aka the "Trollblazer"

A week ago I mentioned the 9-7 as a possible SUV for somebody.. but it occurred to me, what is the Hive's mind on the Trollblazer?

I find one of the engines odd, I didn't know GM made an I6

The Atlas 4.2L I6 was also available in the Trailblazer, Envoy, Bravada, Ranier, and Ascender. It was only used in that platform but they made a lot of them. It was a good engine - it sounded really good too.

Apparently, it has Jaguar roots.

I love ours, but its down with knocking engine. Its a 5.3 v8, and apparently the active fuel management has led to quite a few issues. Going to drop in a non AFM block and keep driving. The 4.2 is nice, i liked the one i test drove but the v8 wins in the torque department with very little mpg sacrifice. To be fair it's winning at nothing right now sitting there waiting for a new engine

My sister had one and still misses it. Hers had the 6, and given how much gas it drank I have trouble imagining the V8 would have been worse. At that time, the transmissions were all 4-speeds; "your mileage will vary" accordingly. NICE inside. For some reason it seemed to be very sensitive to tire pressure: get one tire a couple of pounds low and it was NOT a happy car to drive. I drove it for a couple of months and enjoyed it, but the key got stuck in the console on me a couple of times (Saab, remember) and, believe me, there is nothing more infuriating than getting where you're going and not being able to leave the damn car. The HIDs somehow seemed to stop sending light right where my eyes wanted to look, but I expect the aftermarket could have looked after that. All in all, a nice truck with a few special parts, but the price you pay should reflect the fact that more sophisticated alternatives are out there now. (But if you find one with the Corvette engine, who needs sophistication?)

There is one local to me with the 6.0l motor. They are asking 11,500. Seems pricy when the ones with the 5.3l are half that.

the I6 is a decent motor... until you need to fix something on them... head gaskets go out- which in and of itself isn't too unusual- but then you break off some of the head bolts when you go to fix it... there is a fixture setup out there to drill the broken bolts out.. they also thought it would be fun to stick the front differential right on the side of the engine oil pan, with one axle passing right thru it..

Aren't gauge clusters a pretty common failure on this chassis?

I'm a GM tech and everyone in the shop hates the Traiblazer/Envoys (We never see any of the other variants because they didn't sell well). The I-6 likes to burn up coil packs and the exhaust manifolds crack with surprising frequency. And then when you go to change exhaust manifolds, the studs usually break off and you have to try and get them out of the head. They are also a pain to change the oil on because GM crammed the filter way up in nowhere (The front of these vehicles is the proverbial 110lbs of E36M3, with the aforementioned axle through the oil pan).

Other issues we see are: front pinion seals are usually puking fluid by 30K miles, to change one of the power steering fluid lines GM wants you to jack the body up off the frame due to it's circuitous routing, the driver's door switches had a tendency to melt/catch fire (There was a recall for that even), fuel pumps rust out frequently and/or the level sensor dies, the shifter knob comes off the shift lever in your hands.

Plus, I know from a good friend of mine, the I6 Trailblazer got worse fuel mileage than the V8 GMC Sierra he traded up to.

dean1484 wrote: There is one local to me with the 6.0l motor. They are asking 11,500. Seems pricy when the ones with the 5.3l are half that.

Well, the only way to get a 6.0L was in a Trailblazer SS. So that might explain the pricing.

9-7x AERO is on my bucket list :)

Appleseed wrote: Apparently, it has Jaguar roots.

I think that is an urban legend. I thought so too until I tried to vet it and now I find nothing linking them, other than both are a DOHC inline six.

Storz wrote: 9-7x AERO is on my bucket list :)

me too, if i can find a clean one. i was hoping my wife would want to say forget it and get a new car for herself so i could build an ls2 for the 07 and make my own aero, but unless finding an engine was impossibly expensive i don't think she will buy that plan.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5314579714.html

aero 6.0 for $8500.

spitfirebill wrote:

Appleseed wrote: Apparently, it has Jaguar roots.

I think that is an urban legend. I thought so too until I tried to vet it and now I find nothing linking them, other than both are a DOHC inline six.

There was a giant thread here detailing how GM scooped it up from Jaguar right before Ford bought them.

Would explane the weird engineering and the abismal fuel mileage.

i recall the engine being an Isuzu thing.. but i might be wrong about that..

novaderrik wrote: i recall the engine being an Isuzu thing.. but i might be wrong about that..

GM diesels are made by Isuzu, but I don't think their gasoline motors are. I have been wrong, once, before tho.

Appleseed wrote:

spitfirebill wrote:

Appleseed wrote: Apparently, it has Jaguar roots.

I think that is an urban legend. I thought so too until I tried to vet it and now I find nothing linking them, other than both are a DOHC inline six.

There was a giant thread here detailing how GM scooped it up from Jaguar right before Ford bought them. Would explane the weird engineering and the abismal fuel mileage.

For that to trace back, it would have to be some really slow development. Ford bought Jag in 1990, and the first LL8 engine came out over a decade later. So GM had to have sat on that design for an long time before doing anything.

It's not as if GM had no I6 experience.... They had one in production at about the same time the company that eventually became Jaguar formed.

it's horsecrap. ever seen that engine on a stand? what the heck was Jag going to put that into, it's huge.

It's a straight up GM design.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Atlas_engine

I've been pretty impressed with the I5 in my Colorado and I would love a 4200 in a late 60s Chevelle.

Storz wrote:

novaderrik wrote: i recall the engine being an Isuzu thing.. but i might be wrong about that..

GM diesels are made by Isuzu, but I don't think their gasoline motors are. I have been wrong, once, before tho.

The Duramax was originally a joint design venture with Isuzu, however they're all built in Ohio.