1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
First the backstory:
The PO of my daughter's '00 9-3SE had put poly bushes in the control arms; both the inner bush that mounts to the unibody and the big bushing that connects to the stanchion arm. This was done 2.6 years ago at 179K miles. The bushes came from Genuine Saab. All was fine when I bought the car in Georgia 15 months ago.
Fast forward to now:
Now at 217K, the wheels were rubbing on the bottom of the big bolts connecting the stanchion arm to the control arm when the steering was at full lock. My indy said the two-part poly bushes may have degraded, and also noted that both ball joints had play (probably originals, judging by repair records).
The problem was that the threaded insert that the stock stanchion arm bolts would normally connect had been replaced by 15/16" nuts and the replacement bolts went a 1/4" past the nuts, so their ends were an inch or so below the bottom of the stanchion arm--at which point they would rub on the inside edge of the front wheels at full lock. This didn't happen until the car had lived on the bumpy roads of NH for a year, so deteriorated bushings seems reasonable.
With the threaded inserts missing I had to replace stanchion and control arms on both sides. This was not too bad a job and it all went back together just fine. I pulled the entire assembly--still connected at the bushing for the stanchion arm-- as a single unit. Easy to pull apart but it took awhile figuring out the best way to get it all back together as I was installing two arms, connecting them and getting the ball joint in place. Did the left side first and it took too long, but the right side only took about an hour and half from start to finish. Then I had it aligned. The car is much smoother, there are fewer vibrations, steering is tighter, etc. Also seems to have eliminated the power-off shimmy I was getting sometimes.
But the point here is that if you use poly for the stanchion arm bushing in the lower control arm, be sure to see if you can use the stock bolt and the standard threaded insert. If not, find a way to avoid having a nut and bolt protrude below the bottom of the stanchion arm.
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.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
