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Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 00:39:36 -0400
From: Four Weis <mweinopsamcom>
Subject: Re: Gearbox whine - please interpret what it means.


I guess I am lucky that I do not have a turbo in my Saab, based on your information. I believe my engine is straining to put out anything past 100 hp, so the manual tranmission in my 86 should last. Gregory Bower wrote: > A 900 gearbox is a very touch beast. Needless to say no oil on the stick is > not too good a thing. > > To start, the classic 900 gearbox was never the strongest component in the > car. I went to a gearbox rebuilding seminar at Saab about 1 year ago. As > the head US Saab trainer put it the transmission was originally designed for > the 99 when it had about 80 HP. During the model's life they added a 5th > gear by tightening up the spacing and tolerances. In addition, the engine > guys were always about 10-15 HP ahead of where the transmission guys were. > So you end up with a fragile gearbox that is not keeping up with the power > of the engine. Saab fixed the problem in the 89 (I think) model year with a > new transmission case and larger bearing in the transmission. Which brings > us to your transmission. > > Although they have been known to go much longer, it is not unusual for the > bearings in a pre-1990 transmission to start to go at your mileage. They > did in my 87. You have three choices: > Rebuilt from Saab - very expensive, but will last. > Replace bearings - OK if the rest of the transmission is OK, but w/o any oil > in it I would be concerned > Used Tranny - often the best option if you can find a good one. > > I would go to The Saab Network website and look at the archives > http://www.saabnet.com/tsn . They have entire sections of archives devoted > to this problem and if you review the postings, you will read about every > sound ever heard from a 900 transmission. Also, if you post to that list, > you will get some of the best Saab advice in the country. > > Best of luck. > > GFB > > 97 900 SE 40k > 90 SPG 140k > 88 SPG 160k > 87 900 T 140k > 84 900 T 180k RIP > > Andy Evans <arts.psychologynopsamm.net> wrote in message > news:H4jv3.6202$Yu4.224053nopsam2-hme0.mcmail.com... > > I have just bought a 1985 900 Turbo. Quite a bit of work needed doing new > > turbo, clutch, brakes etc..(but gearbox untouched so far) - alleged 132k > > miles. Now seems to go OK. The thing that bothers me is the noise of the > > gearbox, particularly since when I bought it the gearbox had no oil at all > > apparent on the dipstick. Changes are occasionally notchy - 1st in > > particular, and reverse noticeable. What I want to know from this group is > > how to interpret the noise of a gearbox, i.e. the noise that rises and > falls > > with revs and stops when the clutch is depressed. This is my first Saab so > I > > have no baseline to compare. The sound I hear from the gearbox as one > > accelerates and decelerates is a kind of 'chord' that goes up and down, > not > > one single 'note'. I'm becoming more aware of it in ordinary town driving, > > since the noise goes up and down as one changes up and down. So, can > anyone > > tell me the 'sound character' of gearboxes - what is healthy, what is > > reasonable, what is on its way out and what is heading for trouble? > > Incidentally, I used to be a professional jazz musician and I'm very tuned > > in to sounds in general as you might expect. Feel free to use whatever > > adjectives you like to describe the 'sounds' cars make. Thanks, Andy > > > > -- > > Andy Evans, email: arts.psychologynopsamm.net > > Our Website: www.artspsychology.mcmail.com > > > >

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