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Re: Re: Cars and Repairs
Posted by David Prantl (more from David Prantl) on Thu, 9 Dec 1999 11:43:35
In Reply to: Cars and Repairs, R. Scott V. Paterson, Mon, 6 Dec 1999 10:54:53
WAIT A MINUTE !
Before you rush to the repair shop, prepared to lose at least three
hard-earned Ben-Franklins, consider the following questions:
1. Are you comfortable changing a tie-rod end yourself ?
2. Are you comfortable changing a balljoint yourself ?
3. Are you comfortable changing a brake rotor yourself ?
4. Do you feel like you can undo the axle nut ?
If the answer to all the above is 'YES', then the wheel bearing could be
your next Saturday-DIY project !
A new bearing costs about $30 (common part with an Audi 5000 I believe) at a
regular auto-parts store.
The axle nut should be removed first, with the car on all fours,
parking-brake pulled. 1.25' socket (pref. 6-point) and a breaker bar are
necessary.
An easy way to pop the tie-rod end from the steering knuckle is to remove
the nut, and press out the bolt with a 2-jaw puller. Or, do the 2-hammer
simultaneous whack thing (never tried it).
The ball joints don't have to come off the steering knuckle. Only the 4
bolts attaching both joints to their respective a-arms need removing. I
only own ONE SAAB special tool - the 900 upper-a-arm spacer. It is
DEFINITELY worth the $20-or-so I spent on it, whenever any
balljoint/driveshaft/wheel-bearing work needs to be done.
After the brake pads are removed, two 19mm bolts must be removed to get the
brake caliper off, which is then suspended from the coil spring by a piece
of wire (to not stress out the flexible brake line).
The brake rotor is held on by a single screw. Remove it, and the rotor will
come right off (with the caliper out of the way).
Now you can take the complete steering knuckle with bad bearing inside to a
shop with a press, and be out of there in 10 minutes with the bearing
swapped. Maybe $10 poorer too.
This is also a great opportunity to clean/repack your inner and outer CV
joints, and fit new boots. A pair of good-quality external-snap-ring pliers
makes a world of difference when you're pulling the driveshaft out of the
outer CV joint.
Buying the bearing, 2-jaw puller, SAAB spacer tool, 1.25' socket and
appropriate (1/2'-drive?) 2-foot flex-handle, and paying for a few minutes
of press time should result in less than a hundred dollar investment. I
assume a metric socket wrench set is already in your posession. If it's a
3/8' set, use the spark-plug tube from your car's toolkit as a
ratchet-extender.
Finally, don't forget the value of 3 hours of SAAB-fixing fun that you could
have !
Best of luck.
David Prantl
david_prantlno39sdcx6spamx782hotmail.com
'84 900S, 210kMi, RIP
'86 9000T, 172kMi
'88 9000S, 136kMi
'89 900, 115kMi
'68 97 Sonett V4, 76kMi, #000467
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Posts in this Thread:
- Cars and Repairs, R. Scott V. Paterson, Mon, 6 Dec 1999 10:54:53
- Re: Re: Cars and Repairs, David Prantl, Thu, 9 Dec 1999 11:43:35
- Re: Re: Cars and Repairs, Thor Carlson, Thu, 9 Dec 1999 11:42:46
- Re: Cars and Repairs, Larry West, Tue, 7 Dec 1999 12:29:37
- Re: Cars and Repairs, Thor Carlson, Mon, 6 Dec 1999 11:23:51
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