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Re: Transmission Reliability
Posted by William H. Windley (more from William H. Windley) on Wed, 15 Aug 2001 00:20:49
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

I've found the man. trans. to be the 'weakest link' of the pre-GM SAAB 
900's.
My '84 900S with an auto. trans. ran 205K mi. with no trans. problems.
My '87 900 turbo SPG with a man. trans. developed 5th gear whine at approx. 
95K mi.  I bit the bullet, had it rebuilt and thought I'd be able to extend 
its life by changing the trans. fluid every other engine oil change (and 
used 10W30 motor oil - a valid alternative to gear oil per SAAB).  I ran it 
for about another 95K mi. when 3rd gear started making noise.  In addition, 
it ran from 60-200K mi. with a tweaked APC that would maintain a boost 
level of 12 PSI under full load.  This added boost didn't noticeably 
shorten, nor did the additional fluid changes noticeably extend its life 
(or maybe they balanced each other out?).
My '89 900S was converted from an auto. to a man. trans., probably has over 
75K mi. on the trans. and the engine and chassis have over 100K mi.; no 
trans. problems yet.
My '96 9000 Aero with a man. trans. and approx. 90K mi. has recently 
developed whine in 1st gear (uh-oh); otherwise, it is going strong.
I've heard that the 9000's trans. generally last longer than the 900's; 
however, friends who meticulously maintained their '91 9000 turbo with a 
man. trans. were distraught when its trans. had to be rebuilt at approx. 
90K mi. and that it cost about as much as rebuilding their Porsche's.
I've heard that there is a company that will rebuild 900 trans. with larger 
bearings, which may be the first point of failure.
I've heard that having your existing man. trans. rebuilt by an experienced 
SAAB tech. will feel better and last longer than buying (if they are still 
available) a rebuilt one from SAAB.
Other vehicle experience:
'73 Mercury Capri (German import, pre-Mustang clone) auto. trans. had no 
problems at 80K mi.
'79 Dodge Colt (FWD econo-box) twin-stick man. trans. had no problems at 
120K mi.
'81 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 auto. trans. was rebuilt with less than 10K mi. 
(Oh that great GM feeling).
'81 Volvo 240 DL 4-spd. man. w/electric overdrive has had no trans. 
problems and is still going with 360K mi.
'83 Dodge Caravan auto. trans. was rebuilt at 110K mi.
'84 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE (13B engine) man. trans. has no major (2nd synchro is 
worn) trans. problems at 130K mi.
'97(?) Mazda Millenia S (Miller-Cycle Supercharged) trans. rebuilt at 100K 
mi.

I've experienced two other frequent points of failure with pre-GM SAAB 
900's:  hydraulic motor mounts and pre-'88 900 front brake calipers (with 
incorporated emergency brakes).
I replaced the '87's front, center, hydraulic motor mount twice in 150K mi. 
 Both times, the threaded bolt pulled out of its rubber surround.  I 
successfully prevented a third occurrence by restricting its movement with 
a piece of rubber from a generic exhaust hanger.  I trimmed its thickness 
to fit tightly between the motor mount and its bracket and used two bolts 
through the pre-drilled, unused holes in the top of the bracket to secure 
it.
Approx. every 30K mi. (on the '84 and '87), both front calipers and usually 
rotors would have to be replaced (expensive).
The pre-'88's front-actuated hand brake was fairly effective as an 
emergency brake (another SAAB active safety feature), as opposed to the 
rear-actuated hand brakes that will lock up the rear wheels if the same 
force is applied; thus, the term parking brake is more applicable.
I have no motor mount problems to report with the '84, '89 or '96.
I have no front brake caliper problems to report with the '89 or '96.
In addition, I had no oil burning or turbo trouble in the '87's 200K mi. (I 
understand unheard-of reliability vs. 200 and 700 series Volvos, Mitsubishi 
Eclipses, etc.).  I used non-synthetic, but high grade, hard to find and 
expensive, Pennzoil PZL Turbo 10W30 which many years ago was top rated of 
non-synthetic oils by a leading consumer magazine for maintaining viscosity 
(makes me wonder if synthetic is really worth more than double the price).

What keeps me SAABing is the blend of active and passive safety, 
performance, utility and comfort that I haven't found in any other vehicle.

Posts in this Thread:
StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
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