suspension bushes

[rhodgie]

Front subframe bushes and rear suspension bushes have been reported to me as being worn and needing replaced soon..... getting too old to tackle it myself these days so what should I expect to pay a saab indie dealer to do the work..   will be going to see the garage at the end of this week but would like a rough idea of what to expect...

Thanks

[SwansSaab]

I recently had all my bushes replaced with poly bushes .. it came to £350 parts and labor if that's any help

[phoenix]

Front subframe bushes are expensive to do- the whole subframe has to be dropped. I've been quoted circa £400 incl parts to do it on mine. The rears depend on which ones it is. Most common seem to be the trailing arms.

SwanSaab- when you say "all your bushes", which ones exactly where they- there are a lot! This diagram from Powerflex should help




Pos Item
1     Front Wishbone Front Bush
2     Front Wishbone Rear Bush
3     Front Anti Roll Bar Mounting Bush    
8     Front Subframe Mounting Bush    
10   Rear Trailing Arm Bush    
11  Rear Anti Roll Bar Bush    

[SwansSaab]

Front subframe bushes are expensive to do- the whole subframe has to be dropped. I've been quoted circa £400 incl parts to do it on mine. The rears depend on which ones it is. Most common seem to be the trailing arms.

SwanSaab- when you say "all your bushes", which ones exactly where they- there are a lot! This diagram from Powerflex should help




Pos Item
1     Front Wishbone Front Bush
2     Front Wishbone Rear Bush
3     Front Anti Roll Bar Mounting Bush    
8     Front Subframe Mounting Bush    
10   Rear Trailing Arm Bush    
11  Rear Anti Roll Bar Bush

Yeah he did the whole lot .. front sub frame he said it was a bitch as one bolt snapped in the chassis and he had to drill and tap. he did the rears as well as they were the ones knackered but I asked him to do all   

[rhodgie]

I had a free winter check and was under the car on a ramp, definitely knackered are number 10 - rear trailing arm bushes.  Also knackered were the two rear most number 8's - the front subframe bushes....?? 

now if the rear two are knackered the other four won't be any good and they did mention having to drop the whole subframe and that it was a pig of a job (ie. expensive!)

 I also need two new tyres, a 90k service, wifes birthday present & not forgetting xmas soon enough, so I'm keen to try a save a bit where I can.... gony get tyres next week and leave service till December (wifes birthday is 14th Nov so no leeway there), was thinking the trailing arm bushes should be the cheapest so get them done first and save up for the subframe bushes at the start of next year.  That's gony be £220 for tyres, £200 for service, Visa card for wifes birthday & xmas...  then how much for trailing arm bushes & how much for the subframe bushes...  getting them done at separate times.  The anti roll bar bushes I think are okay but if cheap enough I'll get them done too.

[luckyegg]

did the front ones myself as had the engine out for a rebuild, but paid £100 for the poly bushes, saab orriginal are £23 plus vat,
i did have the rears done by my indie, including parts labour and vat it can in at £450, thats using saab original all 4 rose bushes plus the 2 rear trailing arms,
also did the antiroll bar  myself and was lucky ebough to get poly's for a fiver off ebay, which was a result,

surley doing the oil change yourself and then getting a full service done sometime next year would make sense
 as all you havbe to do is jack the front and undo the sump plug, unless of course your due a sump drop.

[philg]

I just did my rear ones and found that the Vectra B bushes were the same as those for the 9-5 but a third of the price. They were QH ones too so a reputable OE manufacturer. It would be worth trying to cross reference the part numbers.

That's if you know an indie who fill fit parts you have sourced.

[Audax]

QH and reputable! 

[philg]

QH and reputable! 

OK, depends on who you talk to! You can also get Febi Bilstein ones if you prefer.

[rhodgie]

Cars going in wednesday for 90k service (£199)

Also getting front subframe bushes and rear trailing arm bushes done at same time and been quoted £300 + vat (£360) so all in £560 which is a lot if money but its well spent and could have been worse....!!! 

I'm happy with the cost and as its at my regular saab indie the work should be okay too.  Not sure if I'm getting it done cheaper than normal although i did try haggling and when looking at the board (of jobs booked in) it was a bit lighter than previous visits. (July 2011) but that may be due to the time of the year as well as the credit crunch! 

Going to need boot struts (estate) soon and sure my back box or heat shield is dodgy but I've had it 3.5 years so don't know its true age but these will have to wait till its MOT or richer times.....

Will let you know how I get on

[Norfolk Jim]

Is that an annual service or just oil change service as Saab Service Club members get discount and oil change with checks, wash and vacuum is £129 including diagnostics etc and annual is £249.

Did you get main dealer to quote for subframe bushes?

[rhodgie]

90k is a designated service interval if that's what you mean by annual... Starts at 6k then goes up in 12k intervals....  i get an oil & filter change every 6k in between the main services (£65+ vat last time)

This indie is a saab specialist (Schoneville in Glasgow) I've been using since got the car and always been better & cheaper than the main dealer

[rhodgie]

Car done and beautifully cleaned too but at £560 i would expect it to look like its been cared for?

Anyway it seems to drive and brake better but it always does when its been serviced so no surprise there. For some reason the SID always seems to end up displaying in metric and a 24 hour clock.....!!!    No big deal as simple to swap it back to imperial (i like my mpg & mph, not l/kh?) but i do like a 24 hour clock which isn't available in imperial or usa display!! :-(

As for the suspension, it was proper saab rubber bushes fitted not the poly ones. I've heard too many stories about them giving a harsh ride to ruin my big comfy couches handling (comfort not cornering for me!) and besides those bushes have lasted 9.5 years & 90k miles so same again and I'll be happy.  There is a new section of motorway coming home on which the car has felt 'loose' on and never seemed to track straight and true and i assumed it was partly the bushes and partly poor roadbuilders workmanship (& partly my imagination) but tonight it seemed better.... i was almost through it before i noticed so be able to compare better when back at work on Friday.

They also said its pretty solid, drives well (which i knew;-) ) and there's nothing of note that i need to concern myself about. The exhaust is fine which was my next expense to worry about so yeehaa to that. MOT in 4 months is next.

[Audax]

Anyway it seems to drive and brake better but it always does when its been serviced so no surprise there. For some reason the SID always seems to end up displaying in metric and a 24 hour clock.....!!!    No big deal as simple to swap it back to imperial (i like my mpg & mph, not l/kh?) but i do like a 24 hour clock which isn't available in imperial or usa display!! :-(

I know why that is, to get the day counter/service indicator to reset correctly on the 9-5 the most reliable way of doing it is to reprogram the SID with Tech-2. Once you've done this it will set back to the default which is metric and you need to change it, sounds like someone isn't doing that step. I always have to be *really* careful as most people want Celsius on the temp scale but if you set it to C when someone prefers F you *will* get it in the neck.

[rhodgie]

The first time it happened after a service i was a bit surprised but as its a 2 second fix to put it back its not a problem... however i do prefer a 24 hour clock although no real need for it as i know its nearly 6am not 6pm without having to check with the car.... :-)

Car is handling better now, the motorway ride is improved as doen't feel like its wandering anymore .