Messages

How about this from Lidl?
Cheap as chips and available from the 23/7...

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_32958.htm

Russ

Could the whine be anything to do with serpentine belt/idler pulleys?
If the pulley bearing is knackered it could well make all sorts of odd noises...

Try Kwikfit. They recharged mine for £25 and guaranteed it for a year. All done automatically by their machine so no need to worry about some spotty youth fiddling with your car...
Russ

Took the car on a trip down to Devon from Norfolk and somewhere along the way, whatever had stuck freed itself and all is now back to normal  .
My knowledgable neighbour thought that the shock(s) might have temporarily stuck as they'd suddenly been asked to work harder and in a different position than usual or possibly that a suspension bush twisted and got jammed.
Only problem now is that I need to fetch some more briquettes....
Russ

Don't forget to put some copaslip on the wiper arm fixings before re-attaching!

Are the sunroof drain tubes bocked?
You can use talcum powder to reveal where the water is getting in - just dust it over the suspect areas and you'll soon see the leak.
The only safe way of getting the wiper arms off is to use a proper puller (about a tenner on eBay).
Mine were stuck fast but came off with a loud bang and a cloud of corrosion.
Russ

Sods Law dictated that minutes after I'd posted the picture, I found an article on the "Platanoff" site where he was installing Eibach and Bilstein rear suspension on a 9.5.
http://photo.platonoff.com/Auto/20070930a.Saab_9-5_Rear_Suspension/
He makes reference to "barrel" coils on the upper part of the spring which are normally compressed together and explains that the compliance does indeed come from the lower coils. Since Hirsch springs seem to be made by Eibach, it appears that springs ain't the issue.
Russ

Sorry to keep banging on about this but I thought pictures might help.
This was with nothing in the boot and the suspension resting on an axle stand, ie normal loading.
It looks odd to me that the first few coils are all squashed together and aren't going to be contributing much to the ride.
All the compliance will be down to about half the spring?
Is this normal?
Russ

Just had an email back from Hirsch confirming that the load rating of their springs is exactly the same as standard Saab items.
Looks like I haven't overloaded it then...
I'm still sure something isn't right though but I can't think what else it could be?
Russ

Chatting to the Mrs about this problem and whether I was just imagining things, she reminded me that we had recently transported about 250kgs of firewood briquettes home about 30 miles and I wondered if the load could have partly crushed the "progressive" springs?
This might explain the excessively hard ride and lack of compliance.
Do you think that such a load spread out over the whole of the load area, ie rear seats folded down, would be enough to squash the springs permanently?
As far as I remember, the standard load limit was about 575kgs for the estate.
I guess the only way I can be sure is to take one out and measure it?
Anyone know what the new uncompressed length should be?
Russ

I have found the answer - go for a drive in my wifes Smart Brabus.
Its stiff springs and wide low profile tyres crashing over what passes for roads in Norfolk make the Aero feel like a Rolls!
Russ

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. It is true that I'm only doing short journeys these days so the suspension and tyres don't really get a chance to warm up.  We're due to go on a couple of longish trips shortly so it'll be interesting to see if things improve.
Russ

I have an '04 Aero estate fitted with the Hirsch suspension upgrade which has now done about 50k miles - car is at 80k.
Generally, I've been delighted with the setup and found it a great improvement over standard.
However, over the last month or so, I've started to notice that the car seems to be riding a lot harder and crashing into road defects rather then absorbing them as before. A quick look underneath hasn't revealed anything obvious (broken spring or shock leaks) so I 'm begining to wonder if its just me getting older! I'm currently on Conti 3 XL's at factory pressures so I don't think its a tyre issue.
Are there any bushes that could fail and give these symptoms? The large rear arm bushes were replaced when the suspension was fitted. Is it likely that the Hisch shocks are starting to fail? All suggestions or ideas gratefully received!
Russ

In my experience its unlikely to be the cassette. They don't usually throw a CEL and when mine was failing,  it caused high speed misfires rather than a lumpy idle.
Could it be a faulty lambda sensor?
If you have an OBD reader you could pull the codes which ought to give you a clue.
Or take it to your local dealer and hook up to thier Tech2.
Russ

I fitted the Hirsch suspension kit to my '04 Aero estate, keeping the standard 17" wheels and Conti tyres.
Much better than standard - a little more jiggly perhaps at very low speeds but none of the lurching and crashing that I had with the standard set up.
As others have said, its well worth checking all your bushes first before splashing out on new suspension...
Russ