Econmancer

Replacing the brake pads on the SAAB 9-5 is easy. I’d suggest 2.5 hours for this job if you aren’t in a rush. Most of the time seemed to be spent jacking up the car and removing the wheels.

The first step is to raise a wheel like you are changing a tire. Be safe and set the parking brake, block the wheels you aren’t raising, use jack stands, all that good stuff. You’ll then need to remove the wheel. On the front brake pads, it helps if you turn the wheel so you can get better access to the back of the caliper before you raise the car. Open the brake fluid reservoir and put a rag around the fill hole to pick up any fluid that may spill as you work on the calipers.

Once the wheel is off, you should see something like this-

The metal spring clip on the front can be removed with a screwdriver. There are two bolts holding the caliper. You can access these bolts by removing the plastic dust caps with the screwdriver.

The bolts are E-20 torx size. It might take some pressure, but they should loosen without too much fuss.

You can see in the above image where the top bolt is unscrewed and ready to be removed. Once both bolts are removed you can work the caliper loose. You’ll want to push the piston inside the caliper a bit to give you room to wiggle the caliper free. You can do this with the screwdriver. Once freed, the caliper can be rested on a box or step stool to keep pressure off the brake line. The old pads are wiggled off and the new ones are installed. Push the piston inside the caliper all the way down to make room for the new pads. I used an oil filter wrench to do this and it worked perfectly, but they make a tool designed just for pushing the caliper piston (if you want to get fancy). Installation is done in reverse and the metal spring clip is installed as seen in the top image.

The rear brake pads are replaced in the same way. I found the clearance tight because of the rear suspension, but an extension on your socket wrench should give you room to remove the two bolts from the caliper. My rear pads still have plenty of material when my front pads were nearly bare, but I still replaced all four at the same time.

The tension spring is installed as seen above. Check the brake fluid level and replace the lid to the reservoir before you drive away. The new pads will need to be bed-in. There are several techniques to doing this and they are found on the internet. It’ll be several hundred miles before brake performance is maximized. Be careful a give yourself plenty of braking distance while the pads are getting settled.

From Amazon:
Brake Pads

-P. Econmancer

I replaced my cabin air filter as part of my 90k mile service. The cabin filter is not part of the standard 90k service, but I had a feeling (which seems to be proved) that my filter was original to the car. Now was a good time to correct that issue.

I won’t go into great detail about the removal process because there are several good sites that explain in detail how to replace the cabin filter in the SAAB 9-5.

Old filter, possible from 2000 with 90k miles on it.

Brand new filter from TheSAABSite

I was shocked how large the filter is, it’s about has the width and length of a sheet of paper. I always imagined it to be maybe 4×6 inches. I thought they had sent me the wrong filter when I opened the package and saw how big it was.

You start by removing the carpeted cover on the passenger’s side foot-well, there are a few plastic rivets holding it on.

Then the plastic dash panel and glove box are removed, around 6 or 7 Torx screws are holding them in place. The glove box has an air duct and two wires that will need to be pulled off before the entire box can be removed.

There are about eight Philip head screws holding on the black plastic panel that seals the cabin filter. The panel is in the lower right side of this image

Once the panel is gone, remove the old filter by moving the cable bundles to the side and sliding the filter out. You might want to put something down because my filter was host to a handful of tiny leaves and damp rotten foam chunks.

The new filter is installed in reverse, the supplied foam goes in first, at the top with the holes fitting over the two pipes. The new filter can then be slid in with some delicate pressure. The black plastic panel is reinstalled, the wiring and ductwork for the glove compartment is reattached and the box is installed, the dash panel is returned into place and the carpeted cover is riveting back. That is all there is to this project. It was easy to do and only took about twenty minutes to complete.

Let’s see…

Loud “exhaust” sound when accelerating and no evidence of an exhaust leak exists? Check.
Rough gear changes, especially during spirited driving? Check.
“Engine” vibration when idling in gear, but the engine mounts are solid? Check.

Looks like it’s time for me to change the transmission fluid.

I used an easy three-part process to service my transmission fluid. The fluid change takes a total of 30 minutes, divided in three ten minute parts.

First I used my vacuum pump to suck out the old transmission fluid.

I got almost three quarts out on my first pass. I had let the fluid get a little low because a little more than 3 quarts can be drained this way. I then refilled the sump with three quarts of Valvoline Max Life, but any quality Dextron III or compatible ATF fluid will do.

I then drove to work and back before draining/refilling the fluid for a second time. I drove to school and back before draining/refilling the fluid for a third and final time. This final time I added about 3.2 quarts instead of just 3, to top the sump off to the recommended level.

This gently replaces the bulk of the 7.5 quarts inside the transmission. I have read cautions against aggressively flushing the transmission on the 9-5. People have reported problems with valves sticking and seals leaking after having their transmission flushed. The process I used is supposed to prevent these possible issues.

Renewing the fluid made the car drive quieter, softened the shifting, and reduced vibration (especially when backing out of the garage and parking spaces).

Two of the three bulbs in my “Fasten Belts” light have been out since I purchased by 9-5. I decided it was finally time to replace those bulbs.

I purchased replacement bulbs from Memotronics Electronic Components. It was an excellent shopping experience. I ordered five 2721 bulbs for less than fifty cents each. That is much cheaper than other online sources I found. I was unable to find a local source for 2721 bulbs. The bulbs arrived securely in my mailbox a week later.

Removal and Replacement:

Use a small screwdriver on the forward edge of the dome light lens to carefully pry it loose and then set it aside. This exposes the one size-24 Torx screw that holds the plastic trim of the console.

Remove the Torx screw and pull the trim down. Don’t pull too hard because there are wires attached to the thermometer and microphone. This exposes the three light sockets for the fasten belt sign.

You will want to use some small pliers or tweezers to carefully remove the old bulbs because the space up there is tight. I suggest putting on rubber gloves at this point to keep skin oil off of the new bulbs to extend life and reduce discoloration. The new bulbs then press back into the sockets. I was able to do this with my gloved fingers, you might need a combination of tweezers and fingers to get the bulbs in place.

You can see the two new bulbs on the right and middle, they are a little longer than the bulbs that were in the light before. Now you will want to turn on the ignition to see if all the lights come on before you reinstall the trim, screw, and lens.

And here is the finished product; a fully lit “Fasten Belts” light.

I got in my 9-5 late this morning to go to lunch and immediately there was an info display alert, my front left headlight was out. So I turned off my lights, went to lunch, and then picked up a $7.99 replacement bulb at Target on my way back home.

The 2000 SAAB 9-5 uses the common H7 bulb for both the low and high beams. The driver side bulbs look like they are much easier to replace compared to the passenger side because of the air intake cramping the right side of the engine compartment.

This was my first headlamp bulb replacement in the year and a half I’ve owned the car, so I haven’t tried messing with the right side headlight or the high beams.

You won’t need any tools for this job. You will want a pair of latex/rubber gloves, a soft rag, or a tissue to keep skin oil off of the new bulb. I personally always wear latex gloves when I work on the car to protect against light abrasions and to make washing up easier when I’m done.

How to remove the burnt bulb from the headlamp:

The back of the head light assembly has a large round black plastic cover. It twists off with a half turn like a jar lid. Set it off to the side.

This exposes the light socket. Remove the brown wiring harness from the back of the bulb by pulling away with a slight rocking motion.

There is a metal wire clip holding the bulb in place. The top of the clip held by a hook at the top. Press towards the headlamp and over to the passenger side to free the clip from the hook.

The burnt bulb now can be removed from the head light with little effort. The new bulb is put in its place, lining up the notches in the bulb with the base to make sure it seats correctly. Use the rag/glove/tissue when you handle the new bulb to keep it clean and free of skin oil. This precaution will make the bulb last longer and keep it from discoloring. The wire clip is lifted back into place and secured and the brown wiring harness is pressed into the new bulb. Return the plastic cover and you should be back in business.

I accidentally pulled the wire clip off completely as I was removing the bulb because I didn’t remove the wiring harness first. It just goes back into place at the bottom of the headlamp. Luckily you shouldn’t have to worry about this because you’ll follow the directions.