[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Last week my mechanic and I found out that my 900 needs new shocks for the front and rear. I bought four KYD's five days ago and I'm taking it upon myself to install them. Problem is I haven't done this before, and I don't want to go in completely blind. Do any of you have any advice or tips you can tell me.

 

[jvanabra]

Do you live in a rusty part of the country?

 

[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Do you live in a rusty part of the country?

What do you mean by that?

 

[Cornbinder89]

If you live where things rust badly. It will determine how much trouble the job will be.
If everything is clean and dry, not rusted, it is simple to unbolt and replace, if not cutting the old ones out might be needed.

 

[jvanabra]

Shocks in California = 60 minutes work
Shocks in Ohio = horrifying all-day ordeal involving angle grinders and torches

 

[Jim Mesthene]

With torches (to cut off rear upper nut) and a 1/2" impact gun (front uppers in front) it doesn't take long at all.
Start keeping the lower nuts wet (penetrating, then regula oil) now. A week isn't too long to soak.

 

[jvanabra]

Guessing that "haven't done this before" probably means no torch and no impact, hence my question.

 

[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Shocks in California = 60 minutes work
Shocks in Ohio = horrifying all-day ordeal involving angle grinders and torches

ooooh,ok. Sorry for the late response, yesterday was really tiring. I live in Mississippi and the area I'm in isn't really rusty. The 900 on the other hand has a lot of rust everywhere because of the previous owner.(picture of shock area below)

 

[Cornbinder89]

Looks to me like the brake pad have ground to nothing and are in the rotors. May be it is the angle of the picture, but that is how it looks.

 

[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Looks to me like the brake pad have ground to nothing and are in the rotors. May be it is the angle of the picture, but that is how it looks.

You are correct, i'm getting replacements for the pads soon. First, i'm going replace the shocks then replace the pads.

 

[Germaniac]

Take a stiff brush and clean all the bolts and nuts good before soaking them in WD-40...it doesn't do harm and might even save you from using a torch. I would also recommend to have a nut splitter at hand - it's not the universal tool but comparatively cheap and at least me doesn't feel that well with using open flames in tight areas. If you have to use a torch keep some wet rags and a fire extingusher in reach.

 

[jvanabra]

Not WD40 though...

STRONGLY advise ordering some Kroil from Amazon or Grainger. If that's not an option, get some PB Blaster or Seafoam from an auto parts store. Soak every bolt you're going to touch days before you do, and do it several times.

If the shocks didn't come with them, definitely order new bushings.

 

[Germaniac]

Not WD40 though...

I use this as a generic term - keep in mind that English is not my native language.

 

[Cornbinder89]

You are correct, i'm getting replacements for the pads soon. First, i'm going replace the shocks then replace the pads.

Replace the pads first, you are doing damage to the rotors. Do not drive until the brakes are fixed.

 

[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Replace the pads first, you are doing damage to the rotors. Do not drive until the brakes are fixed.

I already have the shocks ordered, the pads are going to have to wait. i found out about the pads last week right after i moved into my new place. i dont drive the car much, but it has to be driven. Hopefully it can survive for 1 more week, then I'll order pads. Any recommendations for pads? Im going to be getting them from AAP.

 

[Cornbinder89]

Your going to tear up the rotors, so order a set of those. Now instead of a pad change, the caliper will have to come off to replace the rotors.
I don't get too fussed about pads, I put on what I can get. I don't race or even drive hard, so as long as they work, good enough for me.

 

[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Your going to tear up the rotors, so order a set of those. Now instead of a pad change, the caliper will have to come off to replace the rotors.
I don't get too fussed about pads, I put on what I can get. I don't race or even drive hard, so as long as they work, good enough for me.

I see, you bring a good point to the serverity of the situation. I'll go out today and look for some pads at AAP. Hopefully they have them in stock so i won't have to order them. I'll update when the pads get here.

 

[Jam the Golden Tamarin]

Your going to tear up the rotors, so order a set of those. Now instead of a pad change, the caliper will have to come off to replace the rotors.
I don't get too fussed about pads, I put on what I can get. I don't race or even drive hard, so as long as they work, good enough for me.

Update: Installed the front brake pads yesterday. The rotor that was grinding isn't badly damaged, I stopped driving it the day of my last post. During this time, I found another Saab owner in my town that told me about a shop that works on foreign cars. This restoration may not take as long as I expect with that shop as a resource.

 

[TTT]

Hello! We are on the same journey at the same time it seems. Just finished the rear brake pads (paper thin left) and rotors, and the front brake pads (1/3 left) and rotors. With 85k miles on the 1992 900S, the rotors felt etched and lipped on the outer edge, so replacing was the right thing to do! Only took a few more minutes time to do - very simple.

I am also doing the shocks rear and front. Never done it before either. Technically not very complicated. Nut at bottom and nut(s) on top. Biggest thing as mentioned is the bottom bolt not coming out easily especially in the rear. I am saving those for last since getting at the back of that bolt is up inside the support arm. For the front, the bottom nuts come off easy, and sliding the bottom off may take a little work, but should come off fairly easy. I am finding the TOP nut(s) more of the "fun" since the shaft on the shock wants to spin too. I decided to just pull out the Sawzall on the passenger side last night and cut thru the rubber bushing in the wheel well area - careful to align exact and to not let the blade hit the body. 1 minute later the top and bottom separated and the shock now removed. Tonight is working on tightening the top nut. I tried that last night - and the shaft spins then too!! So I will use different tools to hold the top of the shaft steady and then the wrench to turn the nut. Fingers crossed that it will be "easy". The driver's side front seems a LOT harder since the top of the shock is under all the brake lines, etc. One step at a time . . . TTT

 

[TTT]

by the way, your picture of the front suspension is a spitting image of mine, including the dirt and/or rust level. Tie rod end, and upper/lower ball joints are on my list too. TTT