I have just purchased a 2004 9-5 2.0T Vector after loving a 9000CS for the last 7 years. Car is great except for a very slight knock through the steering wheel at very slow speeds when applying and releasing the brakes. Thought this may be a lower ball joint except the mileage is only 48000 miles and the car has had a recent MOT. Anybody had a similar symptom? Thanks in anticipation.
Clve Cheshire UK
Do the brakes. You may be able to turn the rotors or they may need replacement.
Does it appear without using the brakes, for instance when just accelerating? I have had this on my own 9^5 and felt it on several 9^5s that was provided by my dealer when my own car was on repair. It seems to appear at cars from 50000 km and upwards. The solution seems to be to fill more grease in the steering gear box.
Thanks to both for your replies. The vehicle has recently had new front pads and I do remember having pads moving in the caliper on an early
900 causing a knock but this could not be felt through the steering wheel and this car brakes fine with no shudder so presume discs are ok. Thinking aboutit I can feel the knock at other times but it is hardly noticeable at speed. Can I ask if yours was cured completely with the grease addition? I thought the steering racks were sealed for life but I am not certain. Thanks again Cheers Clive
Some funny thing here today: My car (non-saab) had a slight "shake" in the steering wheel at speeds between 100 and 120 km/h. It was on my list to be "examined".
Today I pumped the tires, and noticed they needed quite some air. Now... tadaa! Most of the shake is gone. You can only feel it when you really pay attention.
Not saying that this is the cause of your problem. Just saying its worth to check the basic things first. I never imagined it would make such a difference.
Richard.
Richard submitted this idea :
Richard, yes, checked all round but this is more like a random knock unassociated with any wheel speed or rotational sequence. Thanks all the same Cheers Clive
Saabs are very sensitive to wheel balance and out of round tires. Perhaps when you are braking, the tendency of the brakes to pull the wheels to a straight plane is fighting a slight wobble in the tires.
If they have Hunter GSP9700's over there, you might try having all four wheels balanced and see if it helps. I've personally seen it cure some things I was sure were mechanical.
On the cars I've driven the knock was only noticeable when accelerating from almost zero speed, more noticeable when turning at the same time. On my car the knock disappeared after the grease injection. How this is done I don't know, it was done by the dealer.
What you are describing is a knock from the steering intermediate shaft, the unit is removed and greased, or replaced. The shaft is the link between the steering gear(rack) and column. You may also get light knocking at times when just turning the wheel slightly right/ left. You also want to make sure your service personnel has check your suspension and subframe bolts for adequate torque, it is part of the service that you paid for. If your feeling it in the wheel though, I would lean toward the intermediate shaft. The rack and pinion is only serviced by replacement. Gerald
squid expressed precisely :
Think that's pretty close although I may lean to subframe bolts etc as I notice I can worsen the problem by going on and off the throttle or brakes. Wouldn't have thought the short shaft would have been altered by this. Having a look at weekend and will post my fidings if any. Cheers Clive
on 10/01/2008, Clive Turnbull supposed :
Ended up consulting main dealer who confirmed he had lots of 9-5's with this problem which is the short shaft problem. He said the grease repack job would only be a short term solution and as mine was only very slight it would be wiser to live with it. Thanks all for your input. Really appreciated. Cheers Clive
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