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Re: Rear suspension (long)  1 Saabers Like This Post!
Posted by Bill B [Email]  (#1884) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Bill B) on Fri, 22 Sep 2017 19:06:57
In Reply to: Re: Front Suspension refresh - pleas advise, K. Daehnke, Sat, 16 Sep 2017 05:27:21 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Even though I was occupied for the last few days, I cannot resist such an invitation. Be warned, however, that I am not so expert. Depending on your age, you may remember that rear engine VW beetles, Porsche 356's, infamous Corvairs, and even large Mercedes cars had "swing axles." They were rear drive axles with independent suspension. There was a universal joint on each side of the transmission in a rear engine car or at the differential in my '59 Mercedes 220S. At the wheel there was no U-joint; the wheel was perpendicular to the axle. In a turn, when the body leaned to the outside of the turn, the outer wheel would swing up into the fender keeping the full width of the tire tread in contact with the road, on the side where contact is needed the most. Saab designed the 9-5 rear suspension with unequal length upper and lower suspension arms to get the same effect - full tire contact between the outboard wheel and the road on turns. That's how it is s'posed to work.
Imagine if the springs are weak on the swing axle car. The wheels swing up so that only the inner edges of the tire contact the ground firmly. The situation is called negative camber. Apparently 9-5 springs are not heavy enough, or stiff enough, so that over time, the car develops negative camber at the rear. That is the primary rear suspension problem.
There are two fixes. One is to stiffen the springs by installing spacers on the little shelf of the shock absorber on which the bottom of the spring rests. That stiffens the spring by compressing it by the height of the spacer. I bought my spacers at GenuineSaab.com, a SaabNet sponser and that seems to have fixed the problem for me. After 8K on my new tires, there is no differential in wear between the outside and the inside of the tire tread. More miles are needed to be sure.
The other fix is to put a camber shim behind the brake backing plate to push the top of the wheel out a little. I have a set of shims (from the same source) in my parts bin, ready to install if the springs get weaker.
Other rear suspensions mainly have to do with bushings wearing or getting old and I have no experience with that (yet).
, Thu, 14 Sep 2017 13:56:22, Thu, 14 Sep 2017 15:52:20, Sun, 17 Sep 2017 01:40:59, Fri, 22 Sep 2017 17:39:18, Fri, 22 Sep 2017 19:06:57 <-- Viewing This Message
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, Thu, 28 Sep 2017 08:40:51
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