What a Bad Start to the Day

"saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars" (saabstory) 05/14/2015 at 11:42 • Filed to: None

2

13

Got up early to drive to the airport. The car, a 2006 Saab 9-5 Aero (wagon), is known to turn over slowly. It fails to fire the first time and feels vaguely unbalanced. I tried again and it fires but it felt like the engine was rocking out of its mounting. I turned off the car and opened the hood. Nothing obvious wrong, all the hoses and wires attached to terminals and themselves. I figured that I’d try one more time to get an even fire but the hood won’t close evenly. Decided to call a cab. Hopefully the frame isn’t twisted. Hopefully it’s not borked. Plus my beloved cat of 10 years is sick and close to death in boarding. Let’s hope everything starts going smoother soon.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 05/14/2015 at 11:53

0

That’s the same platform as the Vectra and the Saturn L - the engine and everything are on a subframe with the suspension. Is it possible for the subframe bushings to have collapsed? I don’t recall offhand, but your whole drivetrain climbing out of place certainly might be an explanation.

ttyymmnn > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 05/14/2015 at 11:53

0

Your screen name seems particularly appropriate. Best of luck with everything.

saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/14/2015 at 12:05

0

That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. I didn’t think that the engine in this exact spec was shared with the other platforms, but pieces definitely are shared. You might know better though. What’s strange to me is that last night my dad drove it to the vet and back and there was absolutely nothing strange happening. Completely brand new problem this morning. The other very concerning thing was the hood not latching. That makes me worry that the frame has warped somehow. I’m trying to get it towed to a garage while I’m out of town.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 05/14/2015 at 12:28

1

What I thought might be behind the hood not latching would be the engine/et al shifting upward in such a way as to interfere - or in the case of you first starting, the engine slumped into contact with something would make it much noisier. Going further, it might just be an engine mount with similar results - I don’t remember how they’re set up in this case.

CaptDale - is secretly British > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 05/14/2015 at 12:32

0

Time for

saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/14/2015 at 12:36

0

My assumption was exactly the same thing! Twinsies!! I’ve seen about the same thing before on my friend’s car, but he hit a truck on the freeway. Thought there was nothing wrong but when they started it the engine knocked against the hood. There was no catalyst in my scenario though. I’m praying there’s nothing big going on here but there’s probably something big going on here.

ian > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 12/09/2015 at 20:40

0

Did u ever resolve this prob on the 9-5?

saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars > ian 12/10/2015 at 19:50

0

Yep! I took it to my local tech for his opinion. He lubricated the ignition switch (I believe he just sprayed some WD40 in there, but it was awhile ago now) and there’s been no problem since. Very odd, it was. If you’re having a similar problem, check the subframe bushing (under the engine) to see if it needs replacing. If you can’t tell, take it to a tech in case your engine is rotating on its mounts. This is NOT something you want. If you don’t, try the lubrication solution.

ian > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 12/18/2015 at 21:00

0

Thx. Yes, I’ve heard of the subrame bushes as being an issue, and the ignition cyl. as well. Do u have any sense at what total miles these cars become less reliable or suitable for roadtrips? (or even for upkeep cost factors, in that some parts are not cheap.)

saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars > ian 12/22/2015 at 03:39

0

It all depends on how well they’re taken care of. The subframe bushings and ignition switch aren’t super common issues. The bushings are still fine 10,000 miles later (~100k total) and the switch was a weirdo isolated incident. To reiterate, the switch lubrication caused all of my issues. If you change fluids regularly, keep an eye on moving parts and wash them, this generation can make 200,000 miles or above. There’s an owner in the pacific northwest who has one with 175,000 or maybe even more that he still commutes in.

saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars > ian 12/22/2015 at 03:40

0

And on the parts side of things - most parts aren’t that expensive. All car parts are pricey. Luckily, there’s still a good support network for Saab parts and many esoteric bits are still produced. I haven’t yet had to buy a part that I thought was not reasonably priced.

ian > saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars 12/25/2015 at 19:38

0

Yeah, I was thinking they’d be capable of high miles. I have read of AT fluid changes being smart every 50K. I didn’t realize that your hood latching thing could be related to the ignition?

saabstory | fixes bikes, breaks cars > ian 12/31/2015 at 21:55

0

The hood latching was something I thought to be a symptom of the cause of the engine problems. i.e. if the subframe bushing collapsed, the chassis could be warped and the hood wouldn’t fit squarely onto its rests. On the topic of fluid changes, I do them almost as often as I can. Even if I’m doing them at closer intervals than the OEM recommends, changing fluids regularly is the best way to make a car last.