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2002 Saab 9-3SE ~190K miles.
This winter, I finally got tired of the hatch door dropping on my head when its really cold out. (It started ~2 winters ago in Michigan/Ontario weather below -15C.)
I did some price checks (eeuroparts, ebay, amazon) and decided on the Strong Arm unit because it was by far the cheapest. I ordered the 6337 model because thats what amazon recommended for my car. Unfortunately, this was the wrong length. The noted length was 22.34" according to Amazon. However, it was actually ~20.6". I tracked down the Strong Arm website and found that they also recommended this model for my Saab, even though they listed the correct shorter length of 20.6" fully extended. The shocks fit, but my hatch would open 2 inches less (so I would hit my head even with the hatch fully open!). Luckily, Amazon has a pretty good pre-paid return policy.
I did some more research and found the longer model wit 22.34" was #4879. (You can actually find this by searching "Strong Arm 4879").
Removal of the old shocks was easy - flat head screw driver on the clip and the shocks pull straight out. Installation was similar. I did run into 2 problems:
1. With both shocks replaced, I found that when the hatch is opening, upon reached the top, it made an unpleasant thunk sound. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it except to put one of my old shocks back on. Perhaps the replacement shock was just long enough (can't be more than a centimeter or 2...) for the hatch door to hit the limit of the hinge? Or the replacement shock was cheap....
2. The replacement shock is very slow, especially at the mid-way point. This is frustrating. With the old shocks, I had to help it up almost all the way, but it was smooth and quiet. With 1 new shock and 1 old, I only had to lift ~40% of the way, and it'll go up the rest of the way. However, it pauses at the mid-way point, and I end up manually nudging it the rest of the way. Also, it studders a bit on the last half of the journey up.
I am now seriously thinking of returning this as well and getting the 1 of the (much) more expensive OEMs from eeuroparts...
Any similar experiences or opinions?
posted by 76.230.141...
, Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:22:06
, Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:16:17
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