2009 SAAB 9-3 wheel bolts

191 Starting and driving
Checks before drivingMake sure that the car and trailer are in
good working order. This is essential since
towing a trailer increases the strain on the
car.
 Check and if necessary adjust the tire
pressure of the car and trailer.
 Make sure all wheel bolts are properly
tightened.
 Make sure that the equipment joining the
car and trailer is properly secured and
adjusted.
 Make sure the trailer’s electrical cable is
properly connected and is not so long that
it drags along the ground. Also, make sure
the cable is not too short and risks break-
ing when turning a corner.
 Check all bulbs.
 Check the car and trailer brakes.
 Make sure that all items on or in the
camper or trailer are properly secured.
 Make sure that the trailer’s jockey wheel is
raised and locked.
 Check the distribution of the load so that
the car and trailer are well balanced.
 Check that the rear view mirrors provide
the best possible rearward vision.
 Make sure the trailer’s safety cable is
correctly attached.
Driving considerationsAlways take extra care when towing a
trailer, as the car’s handling will be different
and its braking performance reduced. The
trailer’s braking system and suspension
also have a considerable effect on these
characteristics. See also "Driving with a
load" on page 192.
Drive carefully:
 Descending hills
 On uneven roads
 Over railway crossings
 When meeting large vehicles.
If the car has automatic transmission, select
gear M1 when ascending or descending
steep hills.
ReversingGet someone to help you keep an eye out
behind the trailer as the door mirrors do not
always provide sufficient rearward vision
when reversing.
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246 Car careWheel ReplacementReplace any wheel that is bent, cracked or
badly rusted or corroded. If wheel nuts keep
coming loose, the wheel, wheel bolts and
wheel nuts should be replaced. If the wheel
leaks air, replace it (except some aluminum
wheels, which can sometimes be repaired).
See your dealer if any of these conditions
exist.
Your dealer will know the kind of wheel you
need.
Each new wheel should have the same
load-carrying capacity, diameter, width,
offset and be mounted the same way as the
one it replaces.
If you need to replace any of your wheels,
wheel bolts or wheel nuts, replace them only
with new Saab original equipment parts.
This way, you will be sure to have the right
wheel, wheel bolts and wheel nuts for your
vehicle.Notice:
The wrong wheel can also cause
problems with bearing life, brake cool-
ing, speedometer or odometer calibra-
tion, headlamp aim, bumper height, vehi-
cle ground clearance and tire or tire
chain clearance to th e body and chassis.
See “ Changing a tire ” on page 258. Used Replacement Wheels
WARNING
Using the wrong replacement wheels,
wheel bolts or wheel nuts on your vehicle
can be dangerous. It could affect the
braking and handling of your vehicle,
make your tires lose air and make you
lose control. You could have a collision in
which you or others could be injured.
Always use the correct wheel, wheel bolts
and wheel nuts for replacement.
WARNING
When fitting just
one new pair of tires,
these should be fitted to the rear wheels,
as these are more critical to the direc-
tional stability of the car (e.g. on braking
or in a skid). The existing rear wheels
should therefore be moved to the front.
WARNING
Putting a used wheel on your vehicle is
dangerous. You can’t know how it’s been
used or how far it’s been driven. It could
fail suddenly and cause a crash. If you
have to replace a wheel, use a new GM
original equipment wheel.
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259
Car care
When the car has to be lifted, the jack must
be positioned at one of the four jacking
points (front or rear) under the sill members.
If a floor jack is used, the lifting plate must
be positioned under the normal jacking
points, see illustration. If the car is equipped
with a towbar, the jack can also be placed
under this.
To be even more certain the vehicle won't
move, you should put blocks at the front
and rear of the tire farthest away from the
one being changed. That would be the
tire, on the other side, at the opposite end
of the vehicle.
 The car jack is designed solely for use
in changing a tire or fitting snow
chains. It must not be used to sup-
port the car during repair work or
servicing.
 Never crawl under a car that is sup-
ported only by a jack. Always use axle
stands.
 Raising your vehicle too high or with the jack improperly positioned can
damage the vehicle and even make
the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure to
fit the jack lift head into the proper
location before raising the vehicle, and
raise the vehicle only far enough off
the ground so there is enough room for
the spare tire to fit (no more than
25 mm or 1 inch clearance between
the ground and the bottom of the tire).
 Switch on the hazard warning lights if the car is on a road.
 The jack should be stored correctly under the carpeting in the trunk. If it
lies loose in the car, it could thrown for-
ward and cause personal injury in the
event of a crash or if the car rolls over.
 Grit, salt and rust can clog the inner threads of the wheel bolts if the car has
been driven for several years exclu-
sively with alloy wheels.
If steel wheels are being installed, the
bolt hole threads in the brake hubs
should be cleaned before the thinner
steel wheels are fitted. It may other-
wise not be possible to achieve the
correct clamping force, despite tight-
ening the wheel bolts to the correct
torque.
NOTICEApply the jack only to the jacking points
indicated on the body.Jacking points for floor jack
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260 Car care1 Wind the jack up to a suitable height before placing it under the jacking point.
Each jacking point is indicated by an
arrow on the sill (see illustration).
Make sure that the jack fully engages the
jacking point in the underside of the sill
member and that the entire foot of the
jack is steady and flat on the ground. The
jack must not stand on snow, ice or sim-
ilar.
Wind up the jack until it just begins to lift
the car. 2 It is not necessary
to remove the wheel
cover.
If, none the less, you wish to remove the
wheel cover, take hold of the outer edge
and pull it straight out.
Remove the plastic wheel bolt covers.
Loosen the wheel bolts half a turn.
3 Wind the jack to raise the wheel clear of the ground. Remove the wheel bolts and
lift off the wheel.
Jacking points
Marking of jacking points
IB4529
Removing the plastic wheel bolt covers
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261
Car care
4 Clean any rust or dirt from the contact
surfaces between the wheel and brake
disc. Do not wipe away the grease in the
wheel hub.
5 Add a thin layer of grease on the bolts before fitting, see page 261. Fit the
wheel and screw in the bolts in the
sequence shown on page 262 (opposite
pairs).
Tighten the bolts enough for the bolts
and wheel to be seated correctly.
6 Lower the car and tighten the wheel bolts to torque in sequence as shown on
page 262.
Tightening torque
Light-alloy wheels: 80 ft.lb. (110 Nm).
Steel wheels: 80 ft.lb. (110 Nm). Lubricate the heads of the wheel studs
with a small amount of Vaseline or simi-
lar and refit the plastic covers on the
wheel studs. The Vaseline makes it
easier to remove them later on.
7 Retouching the wheel bolts after twenty
or so miles.
Tightening torque
Light-alloy wheels: 80 ft.lb. (110 Nm).
Steel wheels: 80 ft.lb. (110 Nm).
We advise against using wheels with large
ventilation slots in winter, as the brake com-
ponents are then more exposed to slush,
road salt and grit.
If you fit wheels of a different dimension, the
speedometer can be reprogrammed to
ensure it is as accurate as possible. We rec-
ommend that you contact a Saab dealer.
Driving with tire chains 3, see page 186
NOTICE Do not overtighten the bolts using a
impact wrench: not only can this
damage the wheels but it can also
make it impossible to undo the bolts
using the wheel wrench in the car’s
toolkit.
 When refitting a wheel cover, make sure that the valve protrudes through
the marked recess in the wheel cover.Do not wipe away the grease in the wheel
hub.
Clean any rust or dirt from the contact sur-
faces between the wheel and brake disc.
Grease the surfaces indicated with a thin
layer of grease
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262 Car care
Tire repair kit3
The tire repair kit re places the spare wheel.
The repair kit allows a punctured tire to be
temporarily repaired and reinflated without
needing to remove the wheel.
Minor damage to the tire, such as a foreign
object that has penetrated the tread, can be
temporarily repaired with the repair kit.
Do not remove the foreign object. Damage
larger than 0.16 in. (4 mm) and damage to
the sidewalls cannot be repaired with the
repair kit.
Follow the instructions supplied with the
repair kit carefully.
If the compressor sounds strange or
becomes abnormally hot, leave it switched
off for at least 30 minutes.
WARNING
Make sure no one can jog the gear lever,
for example, as the engine must be idling
when the tire is repaired. There is other-
wise a risk of personal injury.
Do not use the repair kit if:
 the damage to the tire is larger than 0.16 in. (4 mm).
 the wheel is damaged.
Do not exceed 50 mph (80 km/h) after
repairing one of the car tires with the
repair kit.
WARNING
Change the punctured tire as soon as
possible.
Replenish the repair kit at a workshop.
We recommend that you contact an
authorized Saab workshop. The canister
of sealant must be changed once every
four years. See the date on the canister.
The handling characteristics of the car
may be impaired.
Driving with a tire that is underinflated or
has a puncture can damage the tire in
such a way that it is not possible to repair
it with the sealant.
Tightening sequence, wheel bolts93_US_7carcare_MY09.fm Page 262 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:26 AM
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