900S shimmy

My 1995 900S has had a noticeable (but not quite objectionable) shimmy starting around 55 mph or so. It tends to be worse at certain speeds; by cruising slower or faster it almost disappears. It is also worse when climbing hills or accelerating. Changing tires and balancing wheels have had no effect. Suggestions?

Mike Yankee

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Reply to
MikeYankee
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If you are absolutely sure the tires and rims are good, you have to start looking at the drive train. The half shafts are a starting point. If it was the engine mounts, the skaking should be present when accelerating from a dead stop. I currently have two Saabs, the GM Saab shakes, but I have not checked the wheels and rims yet because I plan on replacing them. The Classic Saab is absolutely smooth, no skakes :-)

Reply to
ma_twain

lol.....your games begin, after 3 years of horrible service, my Saab dealer stopped performing repairs under warranty to correct this problem. The statement from the dealer ( and subsequently ) GM is that this normal and that all of them do it to a varying degree.This is total BS, mine started very slightly, just as you described and continued to get worse over time....if you hit a hill with the cruise on the steering wheel just dances in your hand the whole car shakes, cut the cruise or let off the gas and the thing just smoothes right out. I've had 3 sets of wheels and tires on my car, don't waist your time, before admitting that they had lots of cars doing this, my dealer was trying to get me to have the wheels road force balanced @ about $100.00. The temperature seems to have a bearing on the degree of vibration and sometimes, mind you rarely you hardly get any vibration at all. Lots of complaints over at

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about this issue, I have come to the conclusion that the inner c/v drivers must be worn, the dealer always said no and declined to replace them under warranty. As of late the steering just seems to have a real junky feeling to it, clunky and loose. As the car is in fairly good shape and other that not starting when it is cold out, I think I am going to pay to have it repaired.
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list remain axles and everything to completely overhaul the frt.end on your Saab for around $750.00USD. After 22 years of driving Saab, unfortunately I can't seem myself ever buying another....the car and the dealership have driven my wife to tears on several occasions, and with GM your just a number not a customer. Sad, because I still feel that the Classic 900 was one of the best cars ever made, I owned 7, but see a new S50 or C240 in our future.....good luck and I'll post results if I decide to spend the money to try and fix my car.

"MikeYankee" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m10.aol.com...

Reply to
wynford45

Mine does it every 2 years , just like clockwork. Each time it is the rotors. The shimmy starts about 2 months before the rotors get bad enough to feel the runout pulsing back through the brake pedal. New rotors and she is smooth as silk. The first time it happened, I wasted a lot of money on new tires, balancing, wheel alignments. The mechanics were stumped. I discovered the solution by accident when my brakes were due and I decided to do them myself. The shimmy disappeared. I am now on my 3rd set of brakes and the shimmy comes back every time , just before the rotors need to be turned. I have never had any other car that was so sensitive. " Is that a compliment to Saab"??

Reply to
Chipmunk Charlie

(snip)

It might be an indication that your lug bolts are being tightened inconsistantly. Are you doing it or is someone else? Is whoever is putting your bolts in using a torque wrench, or just a "good enough" lean?

Dave Hinz

Reply to
Dave Hinz

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