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2004 9-5 Arc sedan. 80k miles. New car for us (only owned it for 6 months, 4k miles). No history. Still working out bugs from the PO (though it checked out good with our indy).
Just got back from a long road trip (3k+ miles over 4 weeks). Car was loaded with family + stuff + bikes on a hitch rack, etc. Halfway through our trip, I noted some cupping on all 4 tires. I hadn't noticed this previously. I am aware of the suspension issues of these cars, especially loaded, and posted here re ride height (see link). Did another 50k the other day after getting back + noticed passenger front tire was soft. Pulled it off + it's toast. See photo! All 4 tires are close to that now! yikes we were lucky that didn't happen en route!
So, my understanding of this is: if it was just a sagging rear ride height issue, cupping would be limited to the rear wheels. right? so that suggests shocks, or an alignment issue, or ??
Car drives straight (so alignment is probably ok?) but the shocks look original + though the bounce test seems ok, the ride is not quite as tight as my parents' identical 9-5. Therefore, I'm guessing I need 4 new shocks... oh yeah, and a new set of tires!
This is probably also time to correct the rear ride height. During the trip, it was very saggy even when less loaded (see numbers in linked post). Now that we are back + the car is completely empty, the sag is visibly less but not perfect. Many use spacers to correct this. My question is, given the great change in sag with load, would it be beneficial to put stiffer or stronger springs on the rear (eg wagon springs)? I guess progressive/cargo springs are not possible due to the design... I know many say just get spacers for the old springs, but I do need to be able to load this car frequently for trips, so would spacers be good enough? wouldn't there still be sag under load (=eating tires)?
fwiw, I have 2 c900s, and all shocks are original except the rears on the 1993 (which has hauled massive amounts of building supplies including large loads of tile). No particularly unusual tire wear on either car even though both sag in the rear from age (cargo springs are on the "to do" list)... oh and the pair of rear shocks I did buy cost just a hair over $100 for Bilstein (tourings) shipped to my door! I'm starting to realize just how cheap those cars can be to own ;-)... the 9-5 is a much better touring car though + we love it...
James...
posted by 216.59.225...
, Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:01:12
, Mon, 5 Sep 2011 15:15:17, Mon, 5 Sep 2011 18:52:25, Tue, 6 Sep 2011 07:22:03
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