Ball Joints? Front End stuff?

[jianelli]

Hi,
Anyone know if the ball joints are a DIY job? I did the rear shocks last fall, not too much swearing... What else should I be replacing?
MY 00 9-5 LPT 2.3 180K on the clock
Thanks for any help... John

[sgould]

Looks as if the bottom swivel is a two bolt job - once the wheel is off.  See the attachment.

Do you have a rattle?  It's more common for the drop links to wear out.  Also a two bolt job.

[jianelli]

I do have a little rattle over washboard and gravel roads. do you have any pictures of that?
Thanks very much, John

[sgould]

These:

They may look OK, but they are likely candidates and they seem to be the first to go.

[jianelli]

This is the picture I got from a parts store. It seems like I should get parts #12 & 28?
Thanks for your help! John

[jianelli]

I uploaded the wrong picture, sorry... I'll try again John

[sgould]

Number 28 is the drop link (Saab call them pendulums).

But 28 is the anti-roll bar bush.  The drop link does not connect to this.  It connects to the hole in the end of the bar and is fixed by nut 13 at each end.  You may need the nuts.  Some drop links come with new nuts, but not all.  And you may have to saw off the old ones.  The rubber bushes on the ends of the drop links are bonded to them.

The drop links look very thin!!  I believe that some places do heavy duty ones.  But oI've not bent one yet, just worn out the bushes.

I have a couple of photos attached.  They are of each end of the ARB and drop links, but from different cars.

[stevetreacy]

Hi,

Just replaced Droplinks on my 01 Griffin. Took me 5 hours as did it on drive with axle stands. Bolts were a bugger to get off. Had no gas or cutting gear just spanners. you need a 17mm open end and an 18mm ring spanner. its easier if you undo the bottom bolt first otherwise it all tends to move about a bit. Uprated part from PFS has improved my handling too.

steve

steve

[jianelli]

Now, I am more confused... Which parts are the likely rattling noise? Don't ball joints wear out at 180k?
the drop links look like part #12, with the bushings #28 and the ball joint assembly #17 (the circled stuff...). It seems like I should just get all this stuff and plan on spending some time in the driveway... Thanks for all your help & info... John

[mikeloadsasaabs]

Don't ball joints wear out at 180k?

I had one replaced at c.150k but the other is still fine at 191k. I replaced the drop links last year, but only because I thought it was about time, they weren't rattling but it sharpened up the front a little. Wishbone bushes? Not replaced mine, the old girl seems to bowl along very smoothly and rattle-free 

[sgould]

Part 28 is the pair of rubber bushes that go around the main part of the anti-roll bar and are clamped to the body by bracket 29.  They are not the fixings on the end of the drop links.

When the dealer replaced the bushes on the arb (part 28) the bolts (part 30) seized and had to be drilled and re-tapped.  It's not worth trying to replace these on an older car.  They almost always seize and snap.  And fixing is not easy DIY.

[jianelli]

So I think I will just go for the drop links (part #12) and see if that fixes the rattle... It looks like I should not require an alignment after replacing them, is that a safe assumption?
Great information, many thanks to all...
John

[JB]

You won't need to align anything at all after changing the drop links. Simply swap them old for new.

[fka]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but didn't want to start another on the same topic.
I've had a slight knock coming from the front end (felt through the steering wheel and not really heard) for while, only evident when you hit a sharp ridge, speed bump etc. It's not bothered me too much but I really noticed it whist on a particularly bad B road/track on holiday and it's steadily been getting worse anyway. Had the car on stands at the weekend and there is obvious vertical movement between the ball joint/control arm and the hub steering knuckle, so I'm intending to replace the ball joints. Drop links are in good order and symptoms don't relate to a warn drop link, control arm bushes are good and I had poly subframe bushes fit only a few months back.

There's such a vast range of prices listed for OEM. One Saab parts vendor is listing Meyle as OEM and at a much lower price. Does anybody know if Meyle were the OEM for the ball joints (helpfully listed as 'End Pieces' in EPC!)?
Quick look on Meyle's online catalogue and their part number is listed as 816 010 0002, relating to Saab part number 5237516. Also stated in the Meyle catalogue as "MEYLE-ORIGINAL Quality" is that them stating it's OEM?
An Ebay seller has Meyle part number 816 010 0002 listed for £17.36 each and free postage, making it a lot cheaper than the well known Saab parts vendor's £18 + postage.

I remember the HD-Uprated control arms + ball joint I fit to the OG93 were Meyle. Just curious before I buy, to know of Meyle were, or are now considered OEM for this part?

Cheers

[carrera]

Meyle are OEM supplier for many VW components, generally considered a decent supplier.

I have used Febi components on mine - similar supplier status to Mayle