9-5 Slow Gas Fill Problem                                                                           

Tools required to inspect:

What it is:
More than one 9-5 owner has reported having trouble getting the car to take gasoline.  In such cases it takes 15 to 20 minutes to fill the gas tank.  My car was this way when I bought it - I was told about it up front.  The problem is caused by a check valve.  It's right at the entrance to the tank, just at the inner end of the molded tube on the tank that the fill pipe connects to.  It's a very lightly spring-loaded ball valve that closes when the gas pump shuts off when fueling the car.  The valve should allow gas to enter the tank but should prevent gas from coming out of the tank and into the filler neck.  The Saab manual says it's intended to prevent fuel from spitting back out of the tank when the gas pump shuts off.  For whatever reason, it appears to be not uncommon for the valve to stick closed.  When it sticks you can still trickle fuel into the tank, but it's very tricky because the maximum flow rate is right around the cutoff flow rate for most gas pumps.  And it takes a REALLY LONG TIME to fill the tank.  It's tedious, to say the least.  

Now, not once does the manual say anything about this being a safety device, but it's obvious to me that it is.  There are other valves in the vapor purge system that close to keep gas from spilling through the purge system if the car rolls over.  Assuming that the inlet check valve wasn't there, gas won't escape the tank in an accident as long as the filler neck is intact and the gas cap is tight.  BUT ... if the filler neck gets broken and the car rolls over, then fuel will run out of the tank if that check valve isn't there.  The filler neck is about four feet long and is made of a tough plastic (as is the tank).  I'm not sure what the likelihood of breakage is but I would guess that it's certainly not out of the question.  What I'm getting at is that the check valve can be defeated - forced open all the time - and that solves the slow fueling problem.  However, it would appear to increase the risk of fuel spill in accidents, particularly in accidents involving a rollover.  Considering that cars never had leak-proof gas tanks in the past, one wonders how much of a risk it is.  Also, I know for a fact that a loose gas cap will trigger a Check Engine light (or a general check light) in other cars, which suggests to me that in other modern cars there is an open path to the filler cap.

ANYWAY ... here's the deal: You can jam the valve open easily and fix the slow fill problem.  It's bound to increase the risk of fuel spillage in an accident.  You can fix the problem correctly by paying $1000 for a new tank (comes complete with pump and stupid check valve) and then pay another God-knows-how-much to have it installed.  Or you can drop the exhaust system and the tank and replace it yourself - no small job.  Being incredibly careful, of course, because gasoline is, literally, dangerous as hell.  As for myself, I weighed the cost and work involved versus the zero-cost 5 minute jam-the-valve-open option and it was an easy choice.  If you choose to fix yours by jamming the valve open, that's entirely your decision - I make no claims as to safety issues and accept no responsibility for your decision.  All I can do is tell you what I think I know.  Again, as far as I can tell, Saab does not appear to claim that the valve is a safety device, but it appears to me to serve that function.  They call it an anti spit-back valve, but mine has never spit back at me while filling the tank since I jammed mine open, although that may be because I know the valve is open and I slow down toward the end of the fill.

Where it is:
The gas tank is in front of the rear suspension, close to the center of the car.  The filler pipe is about four feet long - it kind of snakes its way down to the tank - and it's coupled to the tank by a short length of rubber hose, similar to a four inch long piece of radiator hose. The coupler is above the rear subframe cross member, in the center.  It's kind of tight working quarters but if your hands and wrists aren't too big you should be able to get to it.  The coupler hose is secured by standard worm-drive hose clamps.  The manual says to replace the coupler every time either of the hose clamps is loosened and retightened because the coupler hose might crack, but I personally think that's ridiculous overkill.  It's a standard rubber radiator hose sort of material and I had no problems with it.  You can easily loosen the clamp on the tank side, pull the coupler back, reach into the entrance tube on the tank and push the valve open with your finger (again, you might have trouble getting to it of you're a large person).  You can then reassemble, drive to the gas station and it might take gas normally or it might be stuck closed again by the time you get there - I've had it go both ways.  Obviously, this is not the way to solve the problem!

Another solution is to insert something into the tube and jam it between the valve and its housing, forcing the valve open all the time.  I used a short length of 1/4" diameter hardwood dowel, maybe 6" to 8" long.  I tapered one end - whittled the last 3/4" or so at an angle.  Then I pushed it into the inlet tube and the valve and it wedged the valve open.  I snipped the dowel off so it wouldn't interfere with the coupler, then reinstalled the coupler hose and that was the end of the gas fill problem.  Again, let's be very clear on this point: I'm not telling you to fix yours this way, I'm just telling you how I fixed mine.  I've had no problems or ill effects of any kind.

When working on the fuel system: No smoking (obviously), no sparks, no ignition sources, and just be careful and use that brain.  We're all familiar with gasoline and we tend to take it for granted, but it's really dangerous stuff.