1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Well - finally pulled the trigger and ordered the Saab sport suspension for my 2000 9-5 from Taliaferro. Did the install this past weekend (did not use the swaybars if anyone is interested in purchasing as I had already purchased the 2002+ bars) with the help of my father - would not be an easy 1 many job, although it would be doable with the right tools.
A couple of pointers for those thinking of taking on this task:
Pre-soak all nuts and bolts with a penetrant and allow the nuts and bolts to soak in the penetrant for as long as possible.
The only significant challenge on the rear is the top shock nut securing the shock to the shock/spring housing. One of the shocks required severe heating and ultimately was cut with a cold chisel (not fun by the way). The other (perhaps because it was able to soak in penetrant longer) was a painless job - maybe 30 minutes to remove, swap parts, and reinstall.
I found it very helpful to have an offset box end wrench to loosen the rear top shock nut while holding the shock piston with a (7mm?) socket. There will no doubt be a significant amount of rust which can/will cause problems (see preceeding paragraph), so ensuring a solid fit with all tools is absolutely necessary (one slip and a rusted piston grind down to a nice, round mess).
The only real challenge on the front end was the strut retaining nut found at the top of the strut (21mm?). We ended up using a 13/16 spark plug socket as it allowed an allen key to be inserted down through the top of the socket and the socket was able to be rotated via a 13/16 box end wrench. We ended up using the handle from a hydraulic jack to gain some leverage on the allen key as the bolt required serious persausion in order to get loose.
One problem we did run into on the front was the top strut mount. This was one area I did not lubricate/use penetrant on and as a result we ended up shearing off a bolt head. Fortunately we were able to remove the stud with vice grips and used a m8 bolt in place of the factory version.
Overall - a 6-7 hour job for 2 decent shade tree mechanics.
The suspension was worth the price of admission - much more comploiant over the 100k mile lpt suspension, not nearly as much jump in the suspension when traveling over bumps, and a much firmer/"connectied" feel.
posted by 66.94....
, Mon, 2 Oct 2006 17:17:50, Mon, 2 Oct 2006 22:37:28
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
