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Saab: follow-on to earlier question, blown head gasket, interference engine


Question
Greetings, Rick.  A while back I presented a problem with my 93 CSE low rpm vibration.  Hopefully, you have that archived but if not I will detail upon rqst.I had also suspected a htr core leak due to needing to add coolant every couple weeks/150-200 mi and because defrost blew hot and humid causing even greater fogging.  Today I topped off the exp tank with perhaps a liter and set of on a freeway drive.  After 40mi I noticed the "check radiator" warn light and the temp gauge right at the red.The short of it is a blown head gasket or more likely a cracked head judging from the 3-4 gallons of water added as I limped home.OK, so I was nuts to drive it but here's what was.Engine ran fine above 2500 rpm but at lower rpm/cyl press stumbled and VIBRATED due to affected cyl not firing. Yet I seemed just like an exaggerated version of my idle vibes which disappeared by raising the rpm just a bit. Addi-tionaly, the engine has been a dog at low rpm but passing 3k, you'd think boost kicked in. (it's not a Turbo) I'm starting to believe a gasket/ crack has been at the root of all and that today it busted big time.  Pure speculation, of course, but would you care to join in?  

Answer
Probably still a gasket! I blew mine last year, drove it home pretty well empty of coolant, running on 3 cylinders and leaving a trail of oil like a slug. No engine damage, just a blown gasket! Get it checked, you may be surprised. But be prepared, a headgasket job won't be cheap. Mostly labor, you COULD do it yourself, but ONLY if you have previous experience with OHC engines and camshaft aligning, ETC. The Saab engine is an interference engine, and if the valve timing is off then you will smack the valves with the pistons and the repair bill goes into the stratosphere.....