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Car Forum / Saab Cars / September 2005Saab 9-3 brakes...help!
I am helping my father in law with the brakes on his 2003 9-3 Saab 2.0 Linear. I've done brakes on my Honda, Mercury, and Chevy, but never o a Saab, so I was in for a treat! After taking off the tires, we spen the better part of a day searching out auto parts stores that had th right size of the 'specialty' tools we needed (torx, hex). To mak matters worse, my father in law bought the car used with 55k miles, an the wheels or the brakes had never been taken off or replaced!!! My 12 brake wrench was not up to the task, and we had to spend about $100 i tools just for this car just to get the calipers off. (yes we used B to loosen and brake cleaner) not to mention the auto parts guy misrea the parts number and sold us the wrong rotors... :mad: We took the RF caliper off and I was able to push the piston back int the piston housing by hand very easily while bleeding the caliper. After tightening everything back up, and leaving the caliper resting o the suspension, we left it for the evening to go get more tools, etc. The next day when we went to replace the rotors and put new pads on, found the piston had fully extended itself. I might mention that i was 30F degrees hotter than the day before. I tried bleeding it again while pressing on the piston, and then with C clamp trying to push it back in, but with no luck. It seems frozen. The fluid that came out was actually very hot to the touch, even thoug the car had been sitting on jacks for a week in the garage. So detached the caliper from the brake line and tried pushing it in on th floor after fully draining the caliper, and still couldn't get it bac in. The fluid seemed clean with no gunk buildup, so haven't trie brake cleaner yet. I intend to try blowing it out with compressed ai this weekend, and then resetting it if possible. So... 1) does anyone have any advice or experience with how to fix the pisto without buying a rebuilt caliper? :confused: 2) does anyone know where I can get rear rotors, since no auto part stores in Kansas City stock or sell them? 3) is the piston screw compress instead of just straight compres against the pad? 4) How much does a typical rotors and pads for all wheels cost on thi car? 5) I use Wagner Thermo-quiet pads on all my cars, and have had goo luck with quiet and long wear, but a little dust. Does anyone hav luck with them on Saab? Should I go ceramic instead? I've read many postings here, but haven't yet found anything directl helpful to my problem. Thanks for any information you can provide Mik -- Sunday_Mechani > I am helping my father in law with the brakes on his 2003 9-3 Saab 2.0t > Linear. I've done brakes on my Honda, Mercury, and Chevy, but never on > a Saab, so I was in for a treat! After taking off the tires, we spent > the better part of a day searching out auto parts stores that had the > right size of the 'specialty' tools we needed (torx, hex). Torx and hex are specialty tools now? > I tried bleeding it again while pressing on the piston, and then with a > C clamp trying to push it back in, but with no luck. It seems frozen. > The fluid that came out was actually very hot to the touch, even though > the car had been sitting on jacks for a week in the garage. That doesn't make any sense...? > So I > detached the caliper from the brake line and tried pushing it in on the > floor after fully draining the caliper, and still couldn't get it back > in. The fluid seemed clean with no gunk buildup, so haven't tried > brake cleaner yet. Brake cleaner goes on the rotor, not in the calipers; I hope that's not what you meant? > So... > 1) does anyone have any advice or experience with how to fix the piston > without buying a rebuilt caliper? :confused: I can't think of any failure mode with those calipers that explains what you describe. This isn't one that you have to turn back in like the '70s and '80s 99/900 calipers, is it? Are there holes in the face of the piston for such a purpose? > 2) does anyone know where I can get rear rotors, since no auto parts > stores in Kansas City stock or sell them? Try to find a "beck arnley" dealer. Or go to eeuroparts.com (note two e's at the start of that). > 3) is the piston screw compress instead of just straight compress > against the pad? That's what I'm wondering. I don't have that specific car but I don't remember anything of the sort in that new of a Saab. But, if it's got the 2 or 4 holes in the face of the piston, it's likely. > 4) How much does a typical rotors and pads for all wheels cost on this > car? see eeuroparts.com for a guide. > 5) I use Wagner Thermo-quiet pads on all my cars, and have had good > luck with quiet and long wear, but a little dust. Does anyone have > luck with them on Saab? Should I go ceramic instead? Personal preference and driving style entirely. I just buy the Saab pads and I'm happy with them. > I've read many postings here, but haven't yet found anything directly > helpful to my problem. I don't understand why your brake fluid would be hot, nor do I understand why the piston went in before and now will not. Something doesn't make sense just yet. >> 2) does anyone know where I can get rear rotors, since no auto parts >> stores in Kansas City stock or sell them? > > Try to find a "beck arnley" dealer. Or go to eeuroparts.com (note two > e's at the start of that). Might also want to try English-Swedish Spares, a Saab/Volvo/Jag, etc. "dissambler" near Atlanta, Ga. http://www.english-swedish.com/contact_us.htm Call, don't e-mail. They never answer e-mails, in my experience. I just got a replacement side mirror from them for my 1997 900SE. Full assembly for $100. In great shape. Called late Tuesday, had it in hand Thursday. I'm hoping it will be as easy to put on as it looks like it is. Thats why we have the midas touch. Sometimes it cost a lot more to do the job yourself than to bring it to a qualified brake shop. best regards papa PAPAGENE4JACK Wrote: > Thats why we have the midas touch. Sometimes it cost a lot more to d > the > job yourself than to bring it to a qualified brake shop. best regards > papa Umm, yeah. Last time I went to Midas, they charged $320 for lifetim pads and replace one rotor on the front of my Chevy Pickup. Smal print later states lifetime pads are the cheapest they sell, and don' include the labor which was something like $32/hr. So next time I had a problem, I went to Tires Plus, and paid $615 for pads and 1 rotor replacement. After checking the charges, they go their pads from O'Reilly down the street, and upcharged me 100%, plu they were the cheapest you could get. There are very few businesses who ethically and responsibly charge fo thier work. If I spend $100 on tools for a brake job, and can buy th parts (which were only $120 with tax for four premium pads and 2 fron rotors for the Saab) then I'm still saving myself $500 over what th Saab dealer was going to charge. Thats well worth a few hours o frustration -- Sunday_Mechani You think 320.00 for a brake job with life time pads and a new front rotor is a lot with labor,after you and your father in law spent the better part of a day just trying to find the tools needed to do the brake job on his car. I think your father in law would have been more impressed with you if you just said dad we need the midas touch, lets bring it to a pro. best regards papa > You think 320.00 for a brake job with life time pads and a new front rotor > is a lot with labor,after you and your father in law spent the better part > of a day just trying to find the tools needed to do the brake job on his > car. I think your father in law would have been more impressed with you > if you just said dad we need the midas touch, lets bring it to a pro. best > regards papa I wouldn't let Midas touch any of my cars. "Pro's" don't necesarrily do good work, just fast work. I'll take my time and do it right, or if it's too difficult, seek an independant specialist with good recommendations. Torch weilding chop shops like midas? no thanks... -Fred W Well, good news. After figuring out how the brakes work on the 9-3, was able to quickly install new rotors and pads. Here's th breakdown... New tools: $78 4 Wagner Thermo Quiet pads: $98 (O'Reilly's) 2 new front rotors: $92 (O'Reilly's) 1 bottle Dot4: $4 Hours doing it the first time: 12 (including getting materials an tools) Savings after my costs, compared with Saab quote: About $400 The car runs and brakes beautifully, no Midas touch required. Here's my experience: 1. You can save $thousands over the next several (or 75k+ miles) year if you own your Saab that long by doing your own brakes. 2. Need torx tools and sockets, and Hex Rotors are hard to find (even for Midas or other brake 'specialists since they get theirs from the same place I do with an upcharge) 3. Rear pistons rotate clockwise when retracting. You will need t apply much pressure, and should go in after about 5-10 revolutions. I you don't have a pin tool, use a pair of needlenose pliers to fit in th piston holes to grip the piston. 4. If a piston is "stuck" and can't be pushed in (front or back) us compressed air from an air compressor and release air into the brak line intake of the caliper. The piston will blow out. Much care mus be used when doing this: the caliper needs to be removed from the brak line, and do not try and catch the piston, do this against the floo with a towel, since the piston will come out very fast. Then carefull reinsert the piston inside the boot and push back into the caliper. 5. According to a Saab mechanic, there is NO bleeding sequence for th 9-3. I found this to be true, but just in case, the sequence I use was: LF, RR, RF, LR 6. The brakes may rub a bit and sound like they are grinding for th first 50 or so miles when you have new rotors and pads. This is due t the pads 'setting'. They need to be heated up a couple of times an set, as well as the new rotor-which is massive on the 9-3 - needs t wear appropriately for the pads. The grinding sound will go away, an it will drive and brake nicely. Since I was concerned about this a first, I asked a Saab mechanic, and he validated the above, and wa correct in my experience. The brakes make no sound after about 5 miles or so depending on your braking habits. There is a product yo can buy that the shops use to take care of this when applied to the ne pads. 7. If you don't have a large (24") brake wrench, get one. $25 a Sears. It will save you alot of time loosening and tightenin bolts/sockets. 8. The 9-3 rotors are so big, you may not ever have to replace them. Our car had 55k miles on it, and we were changing the brakes for th first time. We chose to get new rotors on the front, because they ha been worn excessively. Also, the LF pads were disproportionately wor to the RF, as well as the rotor. Next time I do this it will cost me about $50 in front pads and Dot and maybe 2.5 hours tops. Compare that with a $300++ Midas brake job! More money to play with... -- Sunday_Mechani >Well, good news. After figuring out how the brakes work on the 9-3, I >was able to quickly install new rotors and pads. Here's the [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] >and maybe 2.5 hours tops. Compare that with a $300++ Midas brake job! >More money to play with.... Hi. I'm just about to replace the front brake pads on my 99 9-3. I'd like to avoid bleeding the whole system. Is there any way around it? (never worked on ABS brakes before.) Use a bleeder hose. Nothing to worry about, actually. You should blee the lines as a matter of maintenance, just to put clean brake fluid i the lines - sorta like flushing your cooling system every so often. The 9-3 has independent lines, so there is no sequence required, and i very easy. Because you are doing just the front pads, you only need to bleed th front lines, if you want. The 9-3 brake system is gravity fed, so if you leave the line open o hanging down, it will eventually bleed all the fluid. good luc -- Sunday_Mechani Dave Hinz Wrote: > On Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:02:15 -0500, Sunday_Mechani > <mjsmanderson@yahoo.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > understand why the piston went in before and now will not. Something > doesn't make sense just yet. I agree with you, something doesn't make sense. The only thing I ca figure is the piston is cock-eyed in the caliper (piston housing). Thanks for your input -- Sunday_Mechani |
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