Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 21:34:17 -0800 From: Justin VanAbrahams <jvanabranopsam.com> Subject: Re: 9000 Turbo Auto Transmission
Ken Washington wrote: > > Norman, > > The important thing is to try and keep up the preventative maintenance. > Make sure the ATF and filter are changed every 24,000 miles. I have an > 87 9000S 5spd. The owner's manual specifies a 24,000 mile change > interval on the ATF and filter. Aside from that, all you can do is drive > the car and hope your trans holds up as long as possible. Based on posts > I have seen, I get the impression that a lot of Saab auto trans problems > may result from less than diligent preventative maintenance. By the time > a lot of people decide it is time to change their fluid, it is too late. From the three automatic 9000s I've owned, and the research I've done on them (reading and talking to mechanics), no amount of preventative maintenance will save a ZF 4HP18 transmission. This transmission was flawed from Day 1, and aside from poor design also suffers from a complete inability to handle the output of a turbocharged engine. Don't know where you get your info, but there is not a single Saab technician I know that has anything pleasant to say about them, in terms of performance or durability. When I asked Ywan Mason of Townsend Imports how long they last, he told me 150k to 180k and no longer. Ever. When I told him my '88 9kt has 190k on it, he told me it was living on borrowed time. Two weeks later I replaced the valve body - would have cost me $800 from the dealer if I hadn't had one around. These trannies plain suck, and there is no amount of fluid renewal that will change it. It's just the way it is. -Justin
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