1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I lived in the Ottawa area for decades before retiring a little south to Brockville so I know that the fellow that suggested that they put a 50/50 mixture of sand and salt on the snowy/icy roads in the Ottawa area is mistaken. On the main highways only salt appears to be used, however, in some rural areas indeed a mixture (sand/salt) may be used but nothing like 50/50.
Now, onto the delyed braking vs shields vs corrosion vs ??
In the wet, after driving my 1996 900S and now my 1999 9-3 a long time without applying the brakes, yes there is a momentary delay in the 'grabbing' of the rotor - just long enough for the sphincter to tighten, but not nearly a second let alone 2 seconds. However, on my 1987 T900 convertible I have 'brake dust shields' (installed by the previous owner) and 2 years ago while driving from Ottawa to Carlisle for the Kit and Import Car Show (shameless plug) we spent the better part of 2 hours on the interstate in very heavy rain without applying the brakes, when I applied the brakes on the deceleration lane of the off ramp there was no brake grab delay! Subsequently I have noticed that the convertible doen't offer the same "Oh my god my brakes have failed" moment of terror that my other cars do. I can only presume that the shield do indeed help reduce that film of crud that must accumulate on the rotors. As an aside, the longer you drive your car, wet weather or dry, the further away the pads will be from the rotors as very little wobble/vibration will affect the piston's position relative to the rotor, this also may have something to do with the problem.
Now, on to corrosion, since I have retired to Brockville and my Saab sits for days without being used (my wife still commutes to Ottawa in 'her' car a 1992 Maxima). After being parked a day or so after driving on winter roads I have noted that the rotors have a disturbing amount of of 'rust' on the braking surfaces. Perhaps my 1996 900S did this as well but I couldn't see as clearly through those wheels with many more spokes than the 5 on the 9-3. Remember, rotors aren't the only area of corrosion to be concerned about. The Saab's brakes (at least on the 900S) were of a floating caliper design which means there are pins for the caliper to slide on. As a general rule every spring I would pull the calipers and silocone grease the slide pins and check that the dust boots were not cracked. Perhaps this is your problem and the caliper is not 'floating' away from the rotor and the fixed pad is scraping. Have your Saab mechanic show you that the calipers move easily - have him/her show you don't just take their word!
Good luck and let us all know when the noise goes away and what the solution was.
Happy New Year
Bottom line,
posted by 209.226.11...
, Wed, 8 Jan 2003 05:50:04
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