Saab 9-3 - Steering and Suspension issues.

Tony Soprano.

I've noticed over the last few days my car acting strange. Whilst driving at low speeds I feel the steering pulling to the right, quite heavily. Not as noticeable on the motorway. Also, when driving over small bumps on the road I can feel the under-body of the car slightly scraping the road. I also noticed it on speed bumps in a town I regularly frequent, as it never happened there before.

Obviously I will have to go to mechanic when I can find the time, but wondered does anyone have any ideas?

The car is 2005 Saab 9-3, 1.9tid. 156k kms. Thanks.

Jimdagym

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

I've noticed over the last few days my car acting strange. Whilst driving at low speeds I feel the steering pulling to the right, quite heavily. Not as noticeable on the motorway. Also, when driving over small bumps on the road I can feel the under-body of the car slightly scraping the road. I also noticed it on speed bumps in a town I regularly frequent, as it never happened there before.

Obviously I will have to go to mechanic when I can find the time, but wondered does anyone have any ideas?

The car is 2005 Saab 9-3, 1.9tid. 156k kms. Thanks.

If your car is scraping over small bumps, I'd be making time fairly sharpish. Have you had a look to see if there is anything hanging down? The sump gaurd could be loose / wrecked. Dunno about your tracking/allignment though.

ljpg

possible broken spring if its starting to rub on speed bumps that it crossed previously,as previous poster said check underneath for the engine cover hanging down,either way get to a mechanic for the pulling issue

keithclancy

Those Saabs had issues with the bulkhead cracking near the steering rack.

Turn the steering wheel left to right while stationary and see if you can see any movement from the brake pedal.

Tony Soprano.

Thanks for the replies.

I find it strange that both issues (steering and suspension) appeared at the same time. The car was tracked and balanced only 6 weeks ago with new tyres. I feel the steering issue is more than tracking, just feels very erratic and unpredictable.

I know these cars have serious issues with broken springs (found out during pre-purchase research). Must look at the bulkhead too.

colm_mcm

keithclancy wrote: »

Those Saabs had issues with the bulkhead cracking near the steering rack.

Turn the steering wheel left to right while stationary and see if you can see any movement from the brake pedal.

Wasn't that the pre 03 models?

keithclancy

colm_mcm wrote: »

Wasn't that the pre 03 models?

Think you're right there !

anthony4335

Bulk head issues were with the older model due to the vibration from the stearing rack . How is the car sitting ,what is the gap like between the wheels and wheel arches? I would not leave it too long before looking at this . Jack up the car and have a look in around the suspension, it should be fairly obvious what is wrong if the car is bottoming out.

Tony Soprano.

Cheers Antony. Only so your post now when I went to reply.

It is indeed the front springs. Also the rear bushes needs replacing. Pity that Saab no longer exist as a company, as they were replacing the springs free of charge (in most cases) due to the huge amount of failures due to corrosion.

My mechanic will price the parts tomorrow. Is it possible to buy Saab parts in the motor factors, or is it only possible to buy online, with the likes of Neo Brothers in the UK?

PADRAIC.M

You can still buy Saab parts from Saab dealers! (Lucky for us)I have replaced so many front springs, they come in pairs and you need to get the colour code off them before ordering, the bushes in the back are the same from opel

Tony Soprano.

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

You can still buy Saab parts from Saab dealers! (Lucky for us)I have replaced so many front springs, they come in pairs and you need to get the colour code off them before ordering, the bushes in the back are the same from opel

Cheers PADRAIC.

I hope when you say "I have replaced so many front springs" that you work in the trade, and you haven't replaced so many on your own car. You'd hope a newer set of springs would have had the corrosion problem fixed?

Good to hear about the bushes - I reckon a lot of the Saab 9-3 parts would be the same as Opel (and diesel engine and gearbox Fiat).

Tony Soprano.

I was just pricing front coil springs for my Saab 9-3 1.9tid. I had a look on ebay UK and a KYB front spring was £20 inc. postage. I then had a look on Mick's Garage and the same spring was €64. Like that's just insane!

Every time I check out Irish prices and they can be x3 times the price. How can you support Irish at this carry-on?

Anyway my mechanic says there circa €100 a pair in the motor factors and he has already ordered them. I bet there the same KYB ones for half that on ebay. I wouldn't mind if they were a superior make.

ljpg

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

I was just pricing front coil springs for my Saab 9-3 1.9tid. I had a look on ebay UK and a KYB front spring was £20 inc. postage. I then had a look on Mick's Garage and the same spring was €64. Like that's just insane!

Every time I check out Irish prices and they can be x3 times the price. How can you support Irish at this carry-on?

Anyway my mechanic says there circa €100 a pair in the motor factors and he has already ordered them. I bet there the same KYB ones for half that on ebay. I wouldn't mind if they were a superior make.

in my opinion €100 is a fair and normal price for front springs of any car,i sooner pay it to a local motor factor and have some comeback if anything went wrong with them down the line,most of the cheap parts available on ebay are cheap for a reason,reason being there ****e.

Tony Soprano.

ljpg wrote: »

in my opinion €100 is a fair and normal price for front springs of any car,i sooner pay it to a local motor factor and have some comeback if anything went wrong with them down the line,most of the cheap parts available on ebay are cheap for a reason,reason being there ****e.

That's what I was hoping to believe.

But the ebay spring was the same brand as Mick's Garage were selling, yet three times the price. I'd imagine Mick's Garage and Irish motor factors would be using the same suppliers for most parts?

ljpg

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

That's what I was hoping to believe.

But the ebay spring was the same brand as Mick's Garage were selling, yet three times the price. I'd imagine Mick's Garage and Irish motor factors would be using the same suppliers for most parts?

no idea lad, i myself personally steer clear of both ebay and micks garage,i deal with either the main dealer (north of the border) or my local motor factor when i need anything for me car and van,i've had issues with parts before and both of the above were more than helpful in resolving those issues.at the end of the day its your money so if you feel its worth the risk fire away!!

PADRAIC.M

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Cheers PADRAIC.

I hope when you say "I have replaced so many front springs" that you work in the trade, and you haven't replaced so many on your own car. You'd hope a newer set of springs would have had the corrosion problem fixed?

Good to hear about the bushes - I reckon a lot of the Saab 9-3 parts would be the same as Opel (and diesel engine and gearbox Fiat).

Ha yeah sorry in the trade, we "were" a Saab main dealer.

Tony Soprano.

Anyone any idea of the labour/time to do two front springs and rear suspension bushes?

It's just I haven't used this mechanic before and my car wasn't ready today, but maybe he started it late. It's nice to have a rough idea in case I get ripped off.

navara man

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Anyone any idea of the labour/time to do two front springs and rear suspension bushes?

It's just I haven't used this mechanic before and my car wasn't ready today, but maybe he started it late. It's nice to have a rough idea in case I get ripped off.

.

Tony Soprano.

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Anyone any idea of the labour/time to do two front springs and rear suspension bushes?

It's just I haven't used this mechanic before and my car wasn't ready today, but maybe he started it late. It's nice to have a rough idea in case I get ripped off.

Anyone? Cheers.

ljpg

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Anyone any idea of the labour/time to do two front springs and rear suspension bushes?

It's just I haven't used this mechanic before and my car wasn't ready today, but maybe he started it late. It's nice to have a rough idea in case I get ripped off.

perhaps you should have asked him for a quote or his hourly rate at least before he started the job especially if you haven't used him before,in any case its a few hours work going well, half a day to a day if he hits trouble,(wrings bolts etc)its impossible to answer....

Outlaw Pete

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Is it possible to buy Saab parts in the motor factors, or is it only possible to buy online, with the likes of Neo Brothers in the UK?

Try the following, have had great experiences with them.

http://www.partsgateway.co.uk/presults/plstarter.php?Manufacturer=Saab&VehicleType=Modern

Tony Soprano.

I heard that site is very good, but parts now fitted. Cheers.

---

2 x Front Coil Springs

Anti-Roll bar link (front right).

2 x rear bushes.

€353 inc. parts and labour.

The knocking noise from the rear is now gone as a result of replacing the bushes. But the front 'scraping noise' when going over speed ramps, and small bumps on the road remains. I was full sure new coil springs would have sorted this (very common on this model). Handling doesn't feel quite right either, especially on poor B roads. Feels wayward.

Anyone any ideas? I think the price I was charged was very fair, just a little surprised it hasn't fixed the problem. Might have to take car back again, but a process of elimination can be quite expensive. I was thinking maybe the shocks, but they seem ok on a bounce test. Is this test always adequate?

PADRAIC.M

Could be a shock, would explain the waywardness

Tony Soprano.

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

Could be a shock, would explain the waywardness

I did the bounce test thing, but all four corners seemed ok. Could it still be a shock, do you think?

PADRAIC.M

It's very hard to get the full travel of the shock by just bouncing it with your body, also you would want someone in the car while bouncing it to listen, I've never changed anything else in front suspension other than shocks/springs/links

Tony Soprano.

Cheers Padraic. I'll probably have to change the two front shocks by the looks of it.

ljpg

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

I heard that site is very good, but parts now fitted. Cheers.

---

2 x Front Coil Springs

Anti-Roll bar link (front right).

2 x rear bushes.

€353 inc. parts and labour.

The knocking noise from the rear is now gone as a result of replacing the bushes. But the front 'scraping noise' when going over speed ramps, and small bumps on the road remains. I was full sure new coil springs would have sorted this (very common on this model). Handling doesn't feel quite right either, especially on poor B roads. Feels wayward.

Anyone any ideas? I think the price I was charged was very fair, just a little surprised it hasn't fixed the problem. Might have to take car back again, but a process of elimination can be quite expensive. I was thinking maybe the shocks, but they seem ok on a bounce test. Is this test always adequate?

for all that work that sounds a very reasonable price,you need to figure out whats scraping,does it sound like the wheels fouling the arch or something else under the car rubbing the road????,i'd get under it with a torch and have a good look,check if an arch liner has come loose,engine cover etc,you should see scrap marks somewhere,if the car still feel wayward i'd check your tyres first,even swap your back ones with the front ones and see if it makes a difference,you might have a twisted tyre,if all else fails i'd then look at wheel alignment and shocks

Tony Soprano.

ljpg wrote: »

for all that work that sounds a very reasonable price,you need to figure out whats scraping,does it sound like the wheels fouling the arch or something else under the car rubbing the road????,i'd get under it with a torch and have a good look,check if an arch liner has come loose,engine cover etc,you should see scrap marks somewhere,if the car still feel wayward i'd check your tyres first,even swap your back ones with the front ones and see if it makes a difference,you might have a twisted tyre,if all else fails i'd then look at wheel alignment and shocks

Thanks again ljpg. For the work carried out I'm very happy with the price.

The scraping is hard to explain. I don't think it's the wheel hitting the arch, but I could be wrong. You could be driving away for 15 miles and you wouldn't hear a thing. Then you could turn a bend and hit an unexpected bump and there would be a noticeable noise from the driver's front, as if it dipped too low. It's strange, as this noise and the wayward handing issues appeared at the same time. The front tyres and tracking was done only 2k km ago.

My mechanic also mentioned the sump cover, so I will remove this and see. I will also check my tyres, and swap if necessary.

As you say, all else I can do then is get two new shocks and wheel alignment.

Thanks again for the advice. I update the thread during the process of elimination.

Tony Soprano.

Checked tyre pressure and all ok. Removed sump cover and still the same.

The car is after becoming more bouncy too. Not so much noticeable on the main roads, but can be very bouncy on b roads. I'm now convinced it's the shocks.

I got two quotes for two new front shocks. Advance Pitstop - €280 inc. labour, and €40 for tracking. Another fastfit place was €300 inc. labour, and €30 for tracking. The reason I'm going to a fastfit place is I need it done on Saturday, and my mechanic is very hard to book then.

Now I'm wondering if I would be better getting front and rear shocks, but €600 is a lot of cash after already spending €350 for bushes, springs and anti-roll bar. Although I think the rear shocks are slightly cheaper. Cars would break you!

Tony Soprano.

Got the front shocks fitted today. €300 with free tracking.

Car is driving perfect now. Thanks for all the help.