Site News - 7/11: No New News Today | 5/10: Members: Log In to See Fewer Ads!
[General | Members | C900 | 9000 | NG900 & OG93 | 93 | 95 | NG95 | 99 | Sonett | Vintage Models | Clubs | Other Cars | FAQs | Gifts | Member Photo Galleries | Member Directory | Classifieds | Manuals | *Buddy Registry | *Mileage Registry | Polls | What's New | Raffle | Photo of the Month | Sponsors]

95 Bulletin Board
1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest]
(Search Author's Posts: e.g. Keyword:username)*Members Only

[Main 95 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ | Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Year one with 2001 9-5 se
Like This Post: - Subscribe to Daily Digest for this Bulletin Board
Posted by Trippp [Email] (#138) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Trippp) on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:30:39 Share Post by Email
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup

So it has been one year since I purchased my 2001 Saab 9-5 SE and I need a place to vent. All in all I love the car. It's pretty much in tangible form what I have always wanted since I started wanting cars. Just the right pick up, just the right plush, creature comfort, capacity, economy. It is truly a wonderful car. So far in I've had to do some things to the vehicle which is completely expected with an eight year old car. I am just getting to the second timing belt interval and that above all is probably why I said vent in the beginning of this post. Kind of pricey when you never skimp on mission critical things and I consider the timing system to be in that category. Once you factor in the tensioner assembly, idler guide pulley, and the belt itself and a water pump it just seems over the top. If you were thinking of advising to skip one thing or the other, thanks for the thought but I won't budge.

Now I have had a myriad of nits. I had to regrease the subframe bushings as they were creaking and groaning. Not the easiest job (like plugs on this thing) but definitely not the hardest. Shortly after that job the driver side strut mount started gently clicking when coming to a complete stop and with the mileage (120k for the interested) considered its perfectly normal but it is annoying after spending 3 hours to remove, clean entirely and regrease those subframe sway bar bushings.

I had to replace the lower transmission mount on the auto trans because it looked like crap. Admittedly after replacement *almost all harshness of shifting and apply power disappeared but now the lower bushing is again practically destroyed after 20k. The top mount still appears quite fine (I removed it when servicing the lower mount to check it thoroughly and found it to be a-ok). I am mystified as to what exactly could be going on with the trans that would cause its transitioning harshness from third to fourth gear but I am pretty confident that I just need to have the auto trans rebuilt and that is a couple of grand I could have used else where. Worse over, every dealer and indie shop I have talked to tells me flat out that the auto trans in the 9-5 is bullet proof and could not possibly be in need of overhaul this early in life. I have the original owner's service records and she never missed a beat. I had the trans fluid flushed at 98k when I bought the car and the indie confirmed what I saw on the dipstick, that the fluid was clean as clean could possible be with nary a stench.

Sooner or later I need to get to replacing the turbo. It has had a slight leak since the day I bought the car and typically I loose a half quart over 5,000 miles (my service interval, thank you) if I don't get on it like I am out to prove "something" or idle excessively (has to idle for at least 10 minutes for smoke to appear out of the tail).

All in all everythign H ave done myself has been straightforward to access and service. Having owned a couple of GM trucks, a saturn sc series, a pontiac sunfire before hand I have learned a thing or two about piss poor consideration of assembly design for the home mechanic. In that sense I'd say this Saab 9-5 is leaps and bounds the best designed car on the planet. They say Japanese cars are a pain to work on. They have their quirks, no doubt but try servicing a Sunfire/cavalier engine belt drive accessory for the most part and you will soon understand hell. Like I said, the 9-5 is such a well thought out vehicle it should make the other GM divi's ashamed. THe other cars I have serviced and seen multiple aspects of (ie: girlfriends and broke good friends cars) include 1992 Honda accord 4cyl, 1988 Nissan Maxima, 2002 Nissan Maxima, 1997 Toyota Tercel, 1984 Dodge caravan (awesome that it drove 300 miles + on battery power at highway speed when it destroyed the alt belt), etc etc, etc I again reiterate this Saab is a home mechanic's dream by and large for ease of actually doing the jobs.

Thanks for reading my wandering diatribe. I now hope to have the members of the forum impart some knowledge on this v-6 sobbie I have. Should I just cut my losses before actually having the transmission rebuilt? Is the v-6 plagued by some sort of magically destructive mechanical flaw after 200k miles? Could I be at the end of the road for having to service this icy beeotch seeming every 10k miles? Really, any thoughts would be appreciated.
Posts in this Thread:
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Post a Followup

No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.

Name: Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
E-Mail: (Optional)
Re-Enter E-Mail: (Confidential & Secure - Not revealed to other users!)
Note: Please check your spam folder for BB responses.

Subject:

Posting rules are simple - No for sale/wanted ads may be posted here - use the site classifieds.
You may not cross-post your message to multiple BBs.
Not permitted: political/religious topics and being disrespectful (personal attacks, insults, etc...).
 Site Members do not see any red text, inline ad links, bottom of page anchor ads, box ads, or anti-spam check.

Message: (please no for sale/wanted classifieds - post those in the Saabnet.com Classifieds)
Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).

Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post above, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).
Optional Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/)
Link Title: (Optional)
Optional Photo/Image Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/img.jpg)
Photo/Image to Upload: (Please be patient while file uploads)



StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2025 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)
This is a moderated bulletin board - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. Saabnet.com has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the Saabnet.com Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous. Site Contact | Site Donations | Other Sites by SP - Poverty2Prosperity.org | Run Club Menlo Park | ScreenBot


Site Members do not see red text instructions, bottom of the page anchor ads, or box ads.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!