Got a SAAB 9-3 that wanders?

[Tony]

If your 9-3 wanders left/ right then you need to check this.

 

This is not easy to see so I'll guide you in.

 

The image below is to the left hand side of the engine bay, to the left of the image is part of the electrics, to the right is the servo and in the middle (low down) there's two green pipes. (image posted twice to re size)

 

 

Zooming in a little the image below shows the green pipes..... These lay next to the bulkhead

 

If you watch where the pipes go behind the servo whilst someone rocks the steering side-to-side you may see the bulkhead is cracked.

 

SAAB are aware of this manufacturing defect and have made a correctly shaped repair plate but installation is not covered under warranty.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Yes, that's quite well known in the SAAB community, it affects all 900s and 9-3s from 94 to 2002 or whenever the new 9-3ss was released.

 

There are fixes available as said, Abbott, Elkparts, PartsForSaabs etc. do them.

 

Good old GM

[Tony]

Yes, that's quite well known in the SAAB community, it affects all 900s and 9-3s from 94 to 2002 or whenever the new 9-3ss was released.

 

There are fixes available as said, Abbott, Elkparts, PartsForSaabs etc. do them.

 

Good old GM

 

Rather concerning the problem was reproduced in later models don't you think?

[NiceCupOfTea]

Yes, that's quite well known in the SAAB community, it affects all 900s and 9-3s from 94 to 2002 or whenever the new 9-3ss was released.

 

There are fixes available as said, Abbott, Elkparts, PartsForSaabs etc. do them.

 

Good old GM

 

Rather concerning the problem was reproduced in later models don't you think?

 

I agree - the ng900 was the first car built after GM took majority control of SAAB and unfortunately it was a long way short of the standard required thanks to the GM beancounters. There were a lot of improvements from 94-98, the later cars are the best. In 98 it had a lot of changes made and became the 9-3 which was the car the ng900 always should have been. They didn't address the bulkhead weakness though...

 

http://www.elkparts.com/product_info.php/products_id/3228

 

£140 well spent IMHO, goes a long way to sorting the vague handling too.

 

Of course you'd be better off getting a proper SAAB

[Tony]

Wouldn't it be wise to repair the fractured bulkhead with the SAAB kit rather then stiffen the steering to remove the vagueness?

[NiceCupOfTea]

Wouldn't it be wise to repair the fractured bulkhead with the SAAB kit rather then stiffen the steering to remove the vagueness?

 

Yes - I understand that fitting the steering brace removes a lot of the stress from the bulkhead so if it hasn't cracked then it should be all you need.

[Tony]

Wouldn't it be wise to repair the fractured bulkhead with the SAAB kit rather then stiffen the steering to remove the vagueness?

 

Yes - I understand that fitting the steering brace removes a lot of the stress from the bulkhead so if it hasn't cracked then it should be all you need.

 

Agreed

[CIH]

Would this cause general steering slop and a tendancy to follow ruts in the road etc ?

Reason I ask is we had a 2003-ish 93 with margional geo readings but drove terrible despite a good look over. I had read this thread prior but only had a vague recollection and was probably lookin in the wrong area of the firewall.

[Tony]

Would this cause general steering slop and a tendancy to follow ruts in the road etc ?

Reason I ask is we had a 2003-ish 93 with margional geo readings but drove terrible despite a good look over. I had read this thread prior but only had a vague recollection and was probably lookin in the wrong area of the firewall.

 

Yep, that's the exact complaint.... I had two in last week and the cars didn't even make it on the ramp.

 

The problem is so prolific SAAB has made a shaped plate to weld over the crack.