Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2002 01:45:30 GMT From: agrionianopsami.com Subject: 1990 Saab 900T manual trans. "lurching" Advice needed
Hi all, I own a 1990 900T w/ manual transmission. The car just hit 118k miles and I bought it a few months ago as a commuter/utility vehicle. This is the second 900T that I've owned in my life. I'm a big fan of the model! Anyway, the previous owner of this car apparently took pretty good care of it. It has a relatively new tranny/clutch, radiator, alternator, and other miscellaneous repairs. However, recently I've noticed that the car is starting to intermittently "lurch" when cruising at a steady low speed at a low RPM. My definition of lurching is that rapid "bucking" motion a car equipped with a manual transmission makes before it's about to stall. This lurching sensation is something that we've all experienced when we started to learn to drive a manual transmission. I've noticed this when cruising at say 25MPH in 4th gear (this is the point where my "UP SHIFT" light goes out.) It didn't do this a few weeks ago, and it doesn't do this consistently. Simultaneously I've noticed that the car is starting to become difficult to start. For example, the car seems to sputter a little on cold starts and during some warm starts it takes about 5-7 seconds of ignition before the engine finally starts. The car has never stalled for what it's worth. Also, there is a low frequency "grinding" noise that occurs in all gears when the engine is operating between 2.1k-2.8k RPM. This grinding has been occuring for months now and I suspect that it's caused by a belt pulley bearing (possibly alternator.) Anyway, I'm hoping that the ignition/lurching issues are related and something that I can service on my own. Can anyone please share some ideas on what I should check to resolve the lurching problem? I own the service manual, fwiw. After spending over USD$8k on maintenance on a Porsche 928S4 since 1999 I'd like to save some $ being a DIY mechanic on my Saab. Thank you!
