SAAB Service Stories II
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With that we will continue on with our annual service issue that was started last month. If you did
not get last month's issue, just call to receive it!! But before I begin part II I have to comment on
something. Since winter is finally here in full force the issue of snow tires comes up. I can't say
enough what a huge difference a full set of four snow tires makes!! To give an example I have an old
'76 Chevy 4x4 (Old Blue) that I've owned for about 17 years that has never had a traction problem
(4x4) but rather braking on ice & snow has always been an adventure. I have always kept a good
set of all season tires on "Old Blue". But this winter Old Blue has been retired to the farm, and since
highway trips are now gone from her future, I decided to put an aggressive set of Mud and Snow
tires on Old Blue for farm use. I drove Old Blue to town with icy road conditions and slipped and
slid all the way in. That night, with the new snow tires on Old Blue, I had to make several "Honey
Do" stops on the way home. I almost told my wife I could not make her "Honey do's" because I
was driving Old Blue and dreaded the thought of sliding around town. To my amazement, Old Blue
could now stop on ice without sliding!! You had to slam the brakes on now to get Old Blue to
lock-up and slide!! This is a different truck with snow tires! Man, what a difference! The same is
true on a SAAB! You are not really putting snow tires on your car to get better traction to take off
(although it does help that too.), but rather putting on four snow tires to help you stop and corner
with ice and snow!! Think about it. With a set of four snow tires you still only have one wheel
digging for traction to take off. But for braking you now have four snow tires scratching their way
to a stop!! And what a difference it makes!! On my wife's '93 9000 with a full set of snows, pulling
the hand brake on going around a corner produces NO spinning, cookie cutting thrills! But if I drive
an all-season-tired Saab, look out!! I can cut cookies with the best of them!! (just ask my kids!)
Remember most Saabs have wide low profile sport type tires that are almost worthless on bad roads. We just returned home from a weekend watching the Vikings waste away their Super Bowl
chances, road conditions were very nasty Sunday night. Slush, snow and ice packed roads made for treacherous traveling. There were lots of cars and 4x4's in the ditches but our snow shod 9000 kept clawing it's way back to Iowa without any slipping or sliding!! It felt great to know I was in what I believe to be the safest car ever made with a great set of FOUR snow tires on her to keep me from sliding into the ditches everyone seemed to want to be in!! Okay I'll quit rambling....
Transmissions - manuals:
Change fluid as often as you like, but we normally did it every couple of years or when the oil began
to lose its new appearance or 50,000 miles. We normally use a GL-5 rated oil in most SAAB's and
I've never used synthetic oils but again have now problem with them. I know of several people who
swear by synthetic for SAAB manuals. I recommend for any 5 speed transmission to only use fifth
gear on long highway trips with little load in vehicle, no heavy head wind and no steep hills. This
may mean you are in 4th gear most of time; but I feel this is one of the best kept secrets of long
transmission life.
If you feel you must use your SAAB to tow, tow only light trailers and be very slow on acceleration
and don't lug the engine.
Transmissions - Automatics:
Change fluid and clean or replace filter once a year in a SAAB or every 25,000 miles. The thing to
do here is to be sure to keep on eye on fluid color. If the fluid starts to change color from red to
brownish, change it right away. On a SAAB 9000 only for city driving I would only drive in third
gear but it is okay to use 4th gear or overdrive for country driving unless you feel it downshift on
hills. If it downshifts on hills then keep it in third gear until conditions change. Based on the number
of SAABs I've seen with trailer hitches at the rear and BAD automatic transmissions under the hood, I would avoid this combination.
If you own a 900 automatic remember your transmission and differential have separate and different
oils! You must check the differential fluid level separately!! This gets forgotten by many service people
so don't be afraid to remind them of this.
Other Fluids:
With the rest of the fluids, anti-freeze, power steering, differential (900 auto only), and brake fluids
we normally tried to change these every 50,000 miles or three years. This is probably the only areas
where we sometimes fell behind. We never replaced any parts, be it a belt or hose until it showed signs of stress, regardless of mileage. I can remember maybe only one or two radiator hose ever going bad on my SAABs but if they do you could end up with major repair bills if your eyes fail to monitor the temperature gauge so use your own judgment here.
Oil Leaks:
This one some people may disagree with me and have talked to many people who's SAAB do not
leak at all. But it seems many SAAB's tend to leak "minor" amounts of these three fluids; transmission, engine and power steering period. Guess how I knew I was in SAAB Heaven
(Sweden'97)) all the parking garages had huge oil spots at only the front of them, right were SAAB's
tend to leak!! A quick walk through my showroom confirms this again. Of over 30 cars most of the cars with drips under them are SAAB's. (at least when I had the large showroom!) I consider any
leak "minor" if it leaves small drops over night and DOES NOT require adding fluid to it between it's normal 2,500 miles engine oil and filter change. In my transmission business I discourage customers
from trying to have us fix minor transmission leaks (small 1-2 drop drips) because they are so hard
to get to be 100% dry and always seem costly. I've heard a lot of stories from people through the
years about all the hundreds of dollars they've spent on SAAB's or any vehicle trying to fix "minor"
leaks. In my opinion it just is not worth it just to have a super clean garage floor. Heck, that's what
old carpet and cardboard is for -- to put under your SAAB to catch the "minor" leaks. If you can fix a leak for around one hundred dollars or less or you have to add oil or fluid to the car than I would fix it. Whoever services your car can help you make a good decision too.
I tease people that SAAB's are like old Harley's and are required to have "minor" leaks to be a real
SAAB. I'm still trying to prove scientifically that SAAB's leak oil as a way of scenting their territory
in order to find their partners. (How many families do you know that have more than one SAAB?)
Note: Any signs of brake fluid leakage is extremely serious and the car should not be driven until it is
checked out by a qualified technician!.
Filters and Plugs:
Air & fuel filters I would replace yearly if the expense is not to great for you. If it is I have seen many cars that have 50,000 plus miles with out any filter changes.
Spark Plugs can be checked for wear but to me having them replaced every 50,000 miles or every couple years should do.
With that I will let you go with one last thought.......snow tire your SAAB!! You'll love her!!
Thanks for being a part of my SAAB story! and safe SAABIN!
--Tom Donney
P.S. We can sell you great snow tires!!! Check out our website at www.donneysaab.com for pricing! |
