[Saab_c900] To CV or not to CV - mk 2!

Well after getting a lot of things set up so I could swap driveshafts between the donor car and my 900S, I couldn't get the bolts holding the brake caliper on the 900S to come free, and since I needed to get up to the SCCA meeting last night I aborted the whole process and put my car back together enough so it could transport me to Chatswood.

The outer CV survived but it's getting more and more noisey so next week I'm going to take it to RoadHolder Suspension at Kirrawee (Sydney, .au) to get fixed. They're a suspension/steering specialist which was recommended to me and they quoted me a price several hundred $$ cheaper than Saab Serve to fix the outer CV joint.

So a lot of effort didn't produce the result I'd wanted, but I did learn how to take apart the caliper assembly to remove (and replace) the brake pads, and I did make some home-brewed suspension spacer tools (which I showed to SCCA members at last night's meeting). So it wasn't all bad, but the CV issue still it's dealt with. 8-)

The CV saga page will be updated later today:

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Regards,

Craig.

Reply to
Craig's C900 Site
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Looking at your page ... a couple of tips:

a. support the suspension anyway you like but also clamp the coil spring with spring compressors. I used to put two clamps on it and had two spare just in case things went wrong.

b. the bolts you could not undo have a tab over then (else the correct size socket would not fit). You must undo it first. Also when fitted you are supposed to use a drop of thread locking liquid ... which means when they are to come undone they come off with a bit of a "crunch". Too late now, when working on them best to use hexagonal (impact type) sockets as opposed to the more common bi-hex.

Too late ... hope it helps next time. Regards Charles

PS. I was for ever chaning boots on my two c900s.

Reply to
Charles C.

Ok that's a very useful idea - thanks!

I know about the locking plate since if you look the pic of the caliper bolts from underneath you'll see that I hacked the tab of the plate away from the bolt head so I could get a 1/2" drive socket over the bolt. I also tried a 12" long ring spanner but to no avail. I don't have an air-powered tool otherwise I could use it with the right size of 1/2" drive socket and that would probably get the job done.

I wasn't aware that thread-locking compound was used with the caliper bolts

- is that an industry-standard thing or just something Saab did?

I guess they're designed to be 'sacrificial'. They're cheap enough. Just not easy to find on Oz so it's better to get them from the UK or the US in a quantity and keep some around. So I'm told by other Oz Saab owners who have been enjoying C900's much longer than me...

Regards,

Craig.

Reply to
GWS

Apologies for everyone who doesn't realise that I posted that followup from a different email account to this one. 8-) I was logged into my Ebay trading account at the time...

Craig.

Reply to
Craig's C900 Site

I used my impact driver socket on a 2 foot breaker bar to shift the caliper bolts (yes they were that tight). Once that was done, it was easy.

Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

I didn't have any way to lift the car that far off the ground, so I put it back together and had it fixed professionally late last week. Cost me A$375 in total which was about $150 cheaper than Saab Serve quoted.

I've put details on the "

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" page foranyone else in the Sydney area who needs undercar work done on their SaabC900.

Regards,

Craig.

Reply to
Craig's C900 Site

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