[Brucee]

Gidday Chaps, and Chapesses,

I am looking at a 2002 Arc, it has 110,000 km's, and I have a few questions for you:

1. There is a noticable shudder in the vehicle when I reverse, apparently it has had new engine mounts fitted recently? Would that have anything to do with the shudder, or would I also need new Transmission mounts?

2. The car was involved in an accident a while ago, and the front passenger door was repaired. It takes a little bit of extra effort to close the door, can this be fixed easily?

3. It feels a bit soft in the rear shocks, is this common in Saab's can anyone here recommend a set with prices?

4. It has walnut interior trim, and the piece around the lock/unlock switch is a bit damaged, and needs replacing, can just this part of trim be purchased, or do I need an entire new trim set from the dealer? Are there any aftermarket sellers of this part?

5. Is there a way to check the condition / health of the turbo?

6. Should I check out anything else, are there any common failures in Saab 95 that can cost me big $$ that I should have properly inspected?

 

[SIlverAero]

I'll try to answer some of the questions;


The trim you probably won't be able to just buy one portion unless you find it on ebay

The shocks you can look at partsforsaabs.com,

Common and often unexpected failures are the DI cassettes, which basically have no warning before they fail, and are not cheap to replace

The turbo, i'm not too sure except ask what type of oil has been used previously (hopefully full synthetic), and to drive the car. Drive it moderately hard, don't break it, but try it at full boost to see if it responds well.


I'm not by any means a certified car mechanic, so everything is just my opinion

 

[Kermit]

1. There is a noticable shudder in the vehicle when I reverse, apparently it has had new engine mounts fitted recently? Would that have anything to do with the shudder, or would I also need new Transmission mounts?

2. The car was involved in an accident a while ago, and the front passenger door was repaired. It takes a little bit of extra effort to close the door, can this be fixed easily?

3. It feels a bit soft in the rear shocks, is this common in Saab's can anyone here recommend a set with prices?

5. Is there a way to check the condition / health of the turbo?

.........................................................................................................
You don't mention whether the cars manual or auto, a shudder in a manual might be a damaged clutch plate, in an auto its a serious problem.

If the passenger door was repaired why is it so difficult to close, i'd suggest the chassis may be bent from the accident.

Rear shocks are a known weakness, most of us eventually go for a complete, Eibach, Koni or Bilstein setup, its better and cheaper than OE Saab stuff.

Get somebody to start the car and check for blue/grey/black smoke, any of these could suggest turbo problems, or even future engine problems.

RE: THIS CAR THOUGH, I'D WALK AWAY AND WAIT FOR ANOTHER BETTER EXAMPLE TO COME ALONG, THE ACCIDENT DAMAGE SOUNDS TOO RISKY TO INVEST YOUR MONEY IN. :nono;

 

[Brucee]

New car purchase

Thanks for the advice. Car is an auto. Am having a pre purchase inspection done on Sat morn. Have spoken to dealer and he has had a quick look and advises he thinks the judder is just a couple of bushes somewhere in the engine bay and relatively inexpensive to fix.Certainly doesn't feel like anything to do with the transmission. Any rubber parts get hell here in Dubai with the heat. As for the door the same dealer did the repair so they should fix foc. I see what you mean about bent chassis but it looks straight. It tracks nice and straight with hands free and when braking hreavily. Otherwise she is pretty tidy. Unfortunately does not have those perforated seats though.
You boys in the cold probably run the heater thru them but what we need here is ice .45deg C today.

Cheers Brucee