1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
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Ok, your thinking, warpped rotor you IDIOT! I agree, did that check, and did didn't find anything wrong but replaced the two front rotors anyway. No change. Along the way I found a leaking front caliber, changed that too. Now, no leaks, still have vibs.
Symptons:
When I apply the brakes, I get vibrations. When I apply only the rear brakes (via park brake lever), no Vibes. When I travel over bumps (no brakes), I sense a very mild vibration that seems to be the same, but of much lower amplitude, as when I apply brakes. Also, if I apply brakes VERY hard, not much vibration. Leads me to suspect this is a suspension issue, not a brake issue.
Another detail, when I apply modest/hard throttle in first gear, I hear a clunk that usually appears to come from the passenger front, but sometines from the passenger rear (weird, eh?). If I go over speed bumps at a mild clip, I can hear the same clunk (faintly) with no throtle applied.
History:
93 CSE 221,5xx miles. Runs strong, AC nice and cold. I changed the clutch slave about 6 months ago, so while at it, I dropped right and left control arms and replaced rear bushings, which were in HORRIBLE shape. I also replaced all sway bar bushings, and caps for front control arm bushings. I would have done front control arm bushings, but that appears to be a major challenge, and they did not indicate any wear problems. I made everything nice a tight, and expected a silky smooth ride, having done the same work to my 92 9KT (which wife drives). BTW, the 92 IS silky smooth, no Vibes anywhere.
The struts are good, as are the CVs (I think), the tripods (I know, they're new), differential cups show no wear, the ball joints and tie rod ends are in great shape. Wheel bearings make no noise. When I lift the car, the front wheels spin without catching anywhere. I haven't tried this on the rear, but the rotors all around are very smooth. The fronts are new, but didn't fix the problem. The rear rotors were replaced before Vibes started. Vibes appear to come from front not rear, so I doubt rear rotors. All four brake calibers are re-builds with less than about 20,000 miles on the oldest (recently replaced one front and one rear due to deparate issues, this did not change vibration profile. hmmmmm.
About the same time I did the work on the 93, I replaced its 15" wheels with 16" Borbets that I got via eBay. The wheels came with 215/50/R-16 Firestone Firehawks. I needed to use spacers on front (~3/8") and rear (~1/4") that came with the wheels to get clearance to put the tire/wheel combination on the car. I also needed to convert from Saab wheel bolts to a stud & nut combo that came with the Borbet wheels. I found that aligning the spacers (disks) with the hub is critical for balance and smooth highway cruising, which I have accomplished. I doubt i have a wheel/tire problem, but...
I saved my old Saab wheels, tires, and lug bolts, and may try putting them on car to test implication of the Borbets. Haven't done so yet.
I did a pry-bar test at the rear bushings of the front conrol arms. There is motion (ah-HA! I thought). But as a conrol experiment, I did same test on the silky smooth 92 and found same movement. Darn! Guess its not just a set of bad bushings.
Any of you guys have a clue for me?????????????
TIA
Ed N
ps. I declare my TCS/CTRL & LHM problems as history. Car has been problem free (for TCS) for about 5000 miles!!! Did I mention that the AC is nice and COLD!
posted by 69.251.16...
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