Ok I know that rattles and noises add to the overall experience to a car but I need some help here. My hatch on a 86 900 T16 is driving me crazy with rattles. I have looked at the rubber and it looks fine and in tact so does anyone here know how to get it to stop rattling? The only thing I have noticed is that my lift shocks are going out and dont always support the hatch but I don't think that is it. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!!
stevehayes01
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Rattles and Squeaks!!!
The hatch feels quite snug when you put it down and I dont have the hatch cover inside to rattle. I just ordered a new set of rubber seals and stops for it so I hope that will help out quite a bit. I also have the same problem with my doors rattling but I believe the guy who owned the car before me had the doors redone and I think the forgot to put back all the clips that hold the panels on. Other than a few minor things I have to say overall that for my first SAAB experience I love it!!!!!! It is a fun little car that has alot of power to it.
Fred Lane did a great write-up for adjusting doors, it's in the tech help section.... http://www.saabcentral.com/techhelp/c900/fred_doors.php
You werent kidding when you said he did a good write up. Thanks to everyone here for all of your help with my (probably stupdi) questions. It is really nice to have a place to go where people share your pasion about something. So thanks again everyone for the help!
Over the months that I've owned my t16 I've put quite a bit of time into shutting it up. This entry is a kind of summary (loudest first) of the noises I've tracked down, their sources and cures.
When I first had had the car I would hit a bump at anything over 20mph and I got "BA-BONK CLATTER SKWEEEEK-SKWEEK DONK creak rattle squeak crunch tick tick". Not sequentially as shown above, but all at the same time.
After some bloody-mindedness on my part it now goes "creak" sometimes. The various sound effects yielded to:
Ba-Bonk - the parcel shelf and the boot floor moving up and down
(hammered on brackets and rubber sleeving on aperture edges)
Clatter - rear seat back rattling on latch
(replaced conical rubber buffer which sits behind seat catch)
Skweeek-Skweek - dashboard top rubbing against window seal
(wd40 in joint - try not to get it on glass)
Donk- large hand drill moving around in spare tyre compartment
(removed)
creak - lhs door trim rubbing against side of dashboard
(vaseline)
crunch - cause by a large amount of pebbles and sundry lumps of dirt in the spare tyre compartment and under the rear seat
(vacuumed it out)
In addition to the bump-related noises above; at speed (dont ask) it went "SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK ROAR roar rumble" continuously.
SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK - made by the dashboard top rubbing against window seal in sympathy with the bonnet oscillating up and down.
(adjusted the bonnet fittings front and rear - purely aerodynamic problem)
ROAR - dirty and misfitted door seals
(cleaned and fitted properly)
roar - a towbar had been removed leaving the attachment holes in the floor open
(filled the holes with nuts and bolts)
On start-up The Howling Cow
EEEEEEEEOOOOOOWWW-MOOOOOO - caused by the cabin air fan rubbing against its surround
(wriggled my hand up the fresh air intake and gave it a shove - with the fan off)
Some minor noises
whistle - intermittant above 50mph
(adjusted door lock to close door firmly
creak - lhs door trim moving against door lock
(more WD40)
rattle - caused by the glove box lid rattling about
(adjusted rubber bump stops + greased lock)
creak - various other parts of dash rubbing
(WD40'd everything in sight)
sqweek - rear bonnet
(rear fitting adjusted again)
tinkle - cassette tray in radio
(get rid of radio)
creak - drivers seat when I move
(mount needs welding - no comments please)
paaarrrrp - infamous hooter valve
(to be replaced asap)
donk - when hitting large pothole
(fitted roller catches to parcel shelf)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now all I have is tyre noise and this amazing hum/whistle from the exhaust/turbo.
Tracking it all down was not easy but has been well worth it. Its a never-ending task, of course but these cars were ever for the enthusiast.
When I first had had the car I would hit a bump at anything over 20mph and I got "BA-BONK CLATTER SKWEEEEK-SKWEEK DONK creak rattle squeak crunch tick tick". Not sequentially as shown above, but all at the same time.
After some bloody-mindedness on my part it now goes "creak" sometimes. The various sound effects yielded to:
Ba-Bonk - the parcel shelf and the boot floor moving up and down
(hammered on brackets and rubber sleeving on aperture edges)
Clatter - rear seat back rattling on latch
(replaced conical rubber buffer which sits behind seat catch)
Skweeek-Skweek - dashboard top rubbing against window seal
(wd40 in joint - try not to get it on glass)
Donk- large hand drill moving around in spare tyre compartment
(removed)
creak - lhs door trim rubbing against side of dashboard
(vaseline)
crunch - cause by a large amount of pebbles and sundry lumps of dirt in the spare tyre compartment and under the rear seat
(vacuumed it out)
In addition to the bump-related noises above; at speed (dont ask) it went "SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK ROAR roar rumble" continuously.
SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK-SKWIK - made by the dashboard top rubbing against window seal in sympathy with the bonnet oscillating up and down.
(adjusted the bonnet fittings front and rear - purely aerodynamic problem)
ROAR - dirty and misfitted door seals
(cleaned and fitted properly)
roar - a towbar had been removed leaving the attachment holes in the floor open
(filled the holes with nuts and bolts)
On start-up The Howling Cow
EEEEEEEEOOOOOOWWW-MOOOOOO - caused by the cabin air fan rubbing against its surround
(wriggled my hand up the fresh air intake and gave it a shove - with the fan off)
Some minor noises
whistle - intermittant above 50mph
(adjusted door lock to close door firmly
creak - lhs door trim moving against door lock
(more WD40)
rattle - caused by the glove box lid rattling about
(adjusted rubber bump stops + greased lock)
creak - various other parts of dash rubbing
(WD40'd everything in sight)
sqweek - rear bonnet
(rear fitting adjusted again)
tinkle - cassette tray in radio
(get rid of radio)
creak - drivers seat when I move
(mount needs welding - no comments please)
paaarrrrp - infamous hooter valve
(to be replaced asap)
donk - when hitting large pothole
(fitted roller catches to parcel shelf)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now all I have is tyre noise and this amazing hum/whistle from the exhaust/turbo.
Tracking it all down was not easy but has been well worth it. Its a never-ending task, of course but these cars were ever for the enthusiast.
I think you covered every noise I have (and then some)! I will take you lead and oil and grease everything in sight and do the adjustments on the Hood, hatch and door locks. My drivers side door sounds fine but my passenger side makes a rattle/creak/boombooombooom noise when I hit bumps. So hopefully it will fix it to adjust the locks since it is a loose sound. Also I just found out after careful inspection that the young man that owned my car when I bought it went the ghetto method to lower the car. He "CUT" the stock coils instead of buying a proper set of springs for it! I have since located a set of used springs from an 88 SPG T16 that I am buying until I can afford the coil over system I want. Thanks for all your help!
Gerry
Thanks for making me laugh at lunch with your informative and funny write-up!
I really liked the skweeek, skwik skwiks and the howling cow! My 900 has also benefitted from similar experiments and now is almost silent. (this must be a bloke thing, my wife says she never heard it!)
Thanks for making me laugh at lunch with your informative and funny write-up!
I really liked the skweeek, skwik skwiks and the howling cow! My 900 has also benefitted from similar experiments and now is almost silent. (this must be a bloke thing, my wife says she never heard it!)
Excellent summary, mine has many of the same noises, turning stereo up also helps. Maybe they were a design feature to prevent falling asleep at the wheel on those endless stretches of empty Swedish roads. Those pesky Swedes think of everything you know :lol:
Main problem in mine is the driver side parcel shelf support has broken away from the body and I have a length of wood holding it up, which has helped a bit. Local specialist says this is a common fault, but doesn't want to weld it up for me as he says it will damage the paint on the outside due to the heat. Does anyone have any experience with this ??
Main problem in mine is the driver side parcel shelf support has broken away from the body and I have a length of wood holding it up, which has helped a bit. Local specialist says this is a common fault, but doesn't want to weld it up for me as he says it will damage the paint on the outside due to the heat. Does anyone have any experience with this ??
Great summary of sounds! I've elliminated almost every sound that was irritating (some are fine).
One that I find har to locate is this one:
it comes from behind the dash, on the right side of the radio, near the air vent (I have a 1993 900S conv).
It sounds like PRRRII PRRRRIII (sounds very much like a loading cd in the player, but it's not
and it occurs at around 2200 RPM (also when not driving and just stepping on the gas).
It's not the radio (removed) or the handglove comp., I think its something inside the ventilation shaft.
Has anyone an idea how to get rid of this sound, What is the best way to "clean" that ventilation shaft?
thanks a lot!
One that I find har to locate is this one:
it comes from behind the dash, on the right side of the radio, near the air vent (I have a 1993 900S conv).
It sounds like PRRRII PRRRRIII (sounds very much like a loading cd in the player, but it's not
and it occurs at around 2200 RPM (also when not driving and just stepping on the gas).It's not the radio (removed) or the handglove comp., I think its something inside the ventilation shaft.
Has anyone an idea how to get rid of this sound, What is the best way to "clean" that ventilation shaft?
thanks a lot!
Ha! Just came across this thread when eyeballing the updated FAQ...
I can already tell I'll be using some WD-40. I have 5 other sounds that I have located as far as where they're coming from, but as-yet cured:
1) The red clip parts of the front seatbelt receivers - they rattle and squeak a bit. When I hold the red clip part in place, it stops.
2) Squeak coming from front left dash vent/speaker grille. Likely loose from when I had new speakers installed - I shall tighten and if that doesn't do it, try to cut some thin strips of foam to cushion.
3) Squeak from lower dash console area - just to the right of the ashtray - when I hold it while driving, it goes away. Maybe can shim it with something, to tighten the fit.
4) Stumper: a swinging thunk coming from the right (US passenger side) front corner - as though there is something suspended inside the fender that swings about and when I corner/turn, it thunks against the inside of the fender. What I suspect, is: I replaced my front turn/cornering lights with clear ones; the replacements did not have the receptable for the front reverse lights, so I left the socket dangling. The driver's side doesn't do the same but I know the configuration is slightly different.
5) Stumper: the sound of something rolling to and fro right behind me - like it's under the back seat window. I hear it "bump" when I accelerate, and bump back again when I brake. It is quiet, not loud. As though I had something rolling around under the trunk floor, but it's much closer - like just behind me and to the left.
I'll enlist someone to ride with me and try to place an ear / hand to find the exact source of some of these - it's tough to pin-point and drive at the same time!
Oh - and for new owners, that sloshing sound? Drove me nuts until someone pointed out the drains along the lower edge of the sidebody - they had all become clogged with twig bits etc - a thin screwdriver shoved in and twisted a little clears them out.
I can already tell I'll be using some WD-40. I have 5 other sounds that I have located as far as where they're coming from, but as-yet cured:
1) The red clip parts of the front seatbelt receivers - they rattle and squeak a bit. When I hold the red clip part in place, it stops.
2) Squeak coming from front left dash vent/speaker grille. Likely loose from when I had new speakers installed - I shall tighten and if that doesn't do it, try to cut some thin strips of foam to cushion.
3) Squeak from lower dash console area - just to the right of the ashtray - when I hold it while driving, it goes away. Maybe can shim it with something, to tighten the fit.
4) Stumper: a swinging thunk coming from the right (US passenger side) front corner - as though there is something suspended inside the fender that swings about and when I corner/turn, it thunks against the inside of the fender. What I suspect, is: I replaced my front turn/cornering lights with clear ones; the replacements did not have the receptable for the front reverse lights, so I left the socket dangling. The driver's side doesn't do the same but I know the configuration is slightly different.
5) Stumper: the sound of something rolling to and fro right behind me - like it's under the back seat window. I hear it "bump" when I accelerate, and bump back again when I brake. It is quiet, not loud. As though I had something rolling around under the trunk floor, but it's much closer - like just behind me and to the left.
I'll enlist someone to ride with me and try to place an ear / hand to find the exact source of some of these - it's tough to pin-point and drive at the same time!
Oh - and for new owners, that sloshing sound? Drove me nuts until someone pointed out the drains along the lower edge of the sidebody - they had all become clogged with twig bits etc - a thin screwdriver shoved in and twisted a little clears them out.
Ok, while you are on the subject of noises...who knows the cause of a loud
CLONK-CLONK-CLONK-CLONK
from the left hand rear (suspension?) when taking a fast left hand bend? Nothing if its a right-hander...
CLONK-CLONK-CLONK-CLONK
from the left hand rear (suspension?) when taking a fast left hand bend? Nothing if its a right-hander...
probably one of the rear suspension bushes dude... my old 8v had these knackered on all 4 corners, and she sounded like a bag of spanners, inside a larger bag of spanners, being smacked by a very large bag of spanners:lol:
Thanks drg...I will add that to the list for the next mechanic check up. Noisewise he already has the vibrating gear lever to do too
Never heard of this one so I will add ...
Passenger (right) side door hinge pins were seized and there was a lot of play in door when lifted. That was the cause of thump thump sounds when going over small bumps and thump when coming from a stop or braking at low speed. This door, which I do not use normally, had very nice fit and no play about year (or two :roll ago when I last checked, so I never suspected it. Another strange thing, I was religious in lubricating the hinges...
However, few hours of job one hinge pin and lower hinge from parts car made my day, no more irritating door noise.
Passenger (right) side door hinge pins were seized and there was a lot of play in door when lifted. That was the cause of thump thump sounds when going over small bumps and thump when coming from a stop or braking at low speed. This door, which I do not use normally, had very nice fit and no play about year (or two :roll
ago when I last checked, so I never suspected it. Another strange thing, I was religious in lubricating the hinges... However, few hours of job one hinge pin and lower hinge from parts car made my day, no more irritating door noise.
Clunk and rattle
I thought I had some issue in the front suspension at first, but was clunking at a rhythmic pace at idle and once I got up to speed it stopped. At closer glance underneath, a rubber muffler hanger had finally given way. The exhaust was clunking against something. The muffler hanger was a b**** to get back on, which explains the stretching of the previous hanger. Initial clunking at first after replacement, but it straightened itself out.
I thought I had some issue in the front suspension at first, but was clunking at a rhythmic pace at idle and once I got up to speed it stopped. At closer glance underneath, a rubber muffler hanger had finally given way. The exhaust was clunking against something. The muffler hanger was a b**** to get back on, which explains the stretching of the previous hanger. Initial clunking at first after replacement, but it straightened itself out.
Great thread. In addition Gerry‘s comprehensive list, I have another (final) squeak I’m trying to track down. Sounds like it’s coming from the top of the B pillar.. but only when going on and off highway exits (when the car is somewhat twisting). The whole car creeeeaks from those two locations. This sound familiar to anyone else? 1990 900 SPG.
I’ve already re-riveted the rear pop out windows as those were creaking too.
I’ve already re-riveted the rear pop out windows as those were creaking too.
Culprit was the seat mounts. The part that is welded to the floor where the rear base of the driver’s seat “keys” into. Removed the seats, wrapped all contact points in electrical tape and also lubed the seat height adjustment bar (which I don’t know existed!). Riddle solved. Passenger seat was also missing a rear mounting nut altogether and was all wobbly.
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