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possible driveshaft or CV problem with my 1982/83 900S

Hi everyone,

My 1982/83 C900 seems to have developed a problem with the left side driveshaft/CV assembly and I'm trying to work out what it is...

I've tried the usual way of testing for a defective CV joint but that hasn't given anything conclusive. When driving normally there is a noticable metallic clunk with every revolution of the wheels, and this become more audible under heavy braking and if turning.

It definitely seems like a CV issue and short of taking the car to my preferred Saab dealer I'm not willing to drive it now without working out what is wrong. Don't want things to go from bad to worse out on the road without some idea on what is happening. 8-)

I'm going to lift the front of the car tomorrow and pull off both front wheels to get a better look at what's going on behind the brake gear, but the left-side outer CV boot is definitely cactus, so the outer CV might be bad especially if because of the boot being broken the CV has become contaminated with dirt or small rocks

The right-side outer CV boot is ok.

I'll need to look at the inner CV's too, but the left-side CD boot being broken, along with the boots on the steering rack, might mean that I've driven over something that's damaged them without realising it. The skid plate is in place under the transmission and there isn't anything else under the car from what I can see already that indicates scraping damage from an object.

The area around here is fairly non-urban though so it's possible that I might have driven over a piece of dead tree at some time in the last few months. 8-)

In the interests of completeness I have been pricing up sources of CV joints and complete driveshaft assemblies just in case, but hopefully it's just a CV and not something more serious.

Regards,

Craig.

Reply to
Craig's C900 Site
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Hi Craig. Happy new year.

Problem sounds self evident. If it's stuffed enough to be beyond clicking i'd be wery cautious. Front wheel bearings ok? Although you usually have to hammer a kerb or a 4wd at 50km/h to break them!

See if there's a listing in the Syd phonebook for "Bob Driveshaft". Used to be near me in Granville but moved to I think somewhere still round there. If they can help, prices for parts &/or r&r used to be excellent. Cheers

Reply to
hippo

It _could_ be a rotor, I've heard of (but never owned) a car where the rotor can flex and behave as you're describing while turning. It was explained to me at the time but I don't remember enough about the details to pass much on. This was in the context of a V4 Saab 95/96/97, which has much thinner rotors than the c900.

Well, do you have another c900 you can use as a donor? Swapping out the driveshaft isn't a bad job at all, an afternoon of work at most. Gets both likely suspects out of the way. Keep the balljoints on the wheel end, leave the tie rod end on the steering rack end.

Yes, that's bad, and an invitation to being stranded on the side of the road going exactly nowhere. Been there, done that. (well, not the "driving with a split boot" thing, but the dead CV joint = not moving thing). Start with that CV, likely you'll need a replacement. That may fix the noise as well, it's at least reasonably likely. I wouldn't drive too many more days with a CV that may be making noise and does have a split boot, unless you have towing insurance and warm clothes in the car.

What kind of prices are you getting? I haven't bought a CV in 10 years...

Reply to
Dave Hinz

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