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1999 9-3SE shimmy

I purchased a 1999 9-3SE with 38k miles on it. Lovely car, my third SAAB. Everything was excellent with the car except (1) I noticed the front right tire had unusual wear in the inside and (2) the car had a noticeable shimmy at freeway (50-70mph) speeds. The dealer replaced all four tires, however the shimmy remained. You can feel the shimmy through the steering wheel and through the "seat of the pants". It is intermittent; most noticeable when accelerating though frequently when cruising. You can let off the gas at "some" freeway speeds and the shake is completely gone and the car is smooth. It is rarely felt when decelerating. I complained about the continued shimmy and the dealer replaced the tires with an "upgraded" brand... though NOT the Pirellis. That did little good. They then checked and replaced three of the rims. Nothing. They then replaced one of the half-shafts. Marginal improvement if any. Now when I approach the dealer they look the other way. I believe they are running out of ideas... and perhaps desire to troubleshoot this problem. Has anyone experienced something like this and/or have any ideas?

Reply to
HSB
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I believe there was something about engine subframe movement on that one, anyone have details or a correction?

Dave Hinz

Reply to
Dave Hinz

Might just be a bad front strut. With no dampener on the front any small bump or wheel imbalance can allow an oscillation to develop in the suspension (usually at around 60mph) which you will feel as shimmy. I had this happen in a 2000 9-3 with 60k miles. When I yanked out the dampeners one was completely limp. After replacement, shimmy is completely gone.

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

That's the "retorque all the subframe bolts" fix. Usually done for cars with vibration under acceleration.

Reply to
-Bob-

I've not heard of this. Is this a common fix for a common malady? Because "vibrating under acceleration" is what I'd say this car is doing and I'd sure like it to stop!

HSB

Reply to
HSB

Looks like "retorque all the subframe bolts" is what should be enough to get them on the right track.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

Some dealers seem to be familiar with it, some don't. I've heard of a few folks having good results from having it done. I believe that the usual procedure is to loosen anything that can be loosened on the subframe, then tighten it all back down. Probably needs to be done on a lift where the wheels are loaded.

Reply to
-Bob-

Unless we are talking about different "fixes", the re-torque of front suspension bolts (with a different torque spec, BTW) is a fix for clunking front suspension when driven over bumps, not vibration. The bolts that get retorqued are the bolt that goes through the rear most bushing of the stancion arm into the subframe, and the torque head bolt that goes through the other end of the stanchion arm and connects it to the bushing in the middle of the control arm.

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

I confess I never went so far as to examine which bolts could or should be re-torqued. However, I do seem to recall a specific case I discussed with a fellow Saaber where he had had a dealer do extensive investigation of vibration under acceleration problems and the subframe retorque finally fixed it.

Reply to
-Bob-

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