Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel

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Tue 27 Apr 2010 22:58
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - akr

I have a question about the DMF on my wife's Saab 93 convertible TiD150. It went in for its annual service and first MOT the other day. No problems really but the dealer said when I went to collect it there was some vibration in the DMF on start up and they'd like to replace it under warranty. Personally, I think this is quality service as I'd never even noticed anything wrong with the car.

Anyway, I was just curious to know what would have happened if the DMF had "gone" in the next year and, more to the point, how expensive it would have been to fix?

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Tue 27 Apr 2010 23:13
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - Avant

Nice to have you back, AKR!

If you go to Ask Honest John and look at FAQ no. 94, HJ explains what happens when they go wrong. I think the cost would vary from main delaer to independent - and also of course according to any other damage.

Edited by Avant on 29/04/2010 at 19:41

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Wed 28 Apr 2010 01:22
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - akr

Thanks for that - it makes interesting reading. It suggests also to me that the failure of the DMF doesn't cause a catastrophic failure. More likely a gradual worsening in the engine's running.

The most important part of all this is that the dealer seems to have saved me several hundred pounds without me even realising there was a fault. That, of course, pleases me greatly!!!!!

Interestingly, my 93 (or should I say the GM 1.9 lump) doesn't feature in the "known failure" list at the bottom of question 94. And more to the point, if the DMF is a diesel related item, why is the Golf R32 in there? Do they have one too?

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Thu 29 Apr 2010 17:28
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - Group B

I had a new DMF fitted to my A4 1.9 tdi last month. It was approaching 120k miles and the clutch was juddery and ready to start slipping. I inherited the car from my Dad and he regularly used to hold it on the clutch at junctions.

Along with the clutch there was a very slight sideways wobble at idle, which a friend said was a sign of the DMF starting to fail. It caused no engine running problems, whether that would have developed later I dont know.

I took it to a VAG indie specialist for the clutch and sure enough the DMF was flagged up as being on its way out. I was charged £240 for the part, was told the labour cost was nil as the clutch was already being done. Not the end of the world; I was expecting it to cost more..

Re: Golf R32. I was looking at an Audi tech brochure some time back and it seems all manual A4s, petrol or diesel, had them back in 2003-ish, so no surprise an R32 has one.

Edited by Group B on 29/04/2010 at 17:29

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Fri 30 Apr 2010 09:35
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - pd
If the 93 isn't in a failure list then it should be. Vectra's and 93's with the 1.9tdi lump (in 150bhp tune in particular) are one of, if not the most, prone to failure of DMF cars out there.

There seems to be some barmy paranoia about DMF's on this site - some do give trouble (93's as mentioned) but many cars have them and they last the life of the car.
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Fri 30 Apr 2010 22:32
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - akr

To be fair the DMF's the least of my worries. The dealer fixed it under warranty no problem at all.

But he did give me the joyous news that a stone had perforated the air con system and needs a new compressor at the bargain price of £600!!!!! Sod's Law I suppose.

Anyway, good as the Saab dealer is I'm afraid I'll be toddling off to an independent when I get round to raising the funds to sort that. The car's got instant air conditioning anyway - it's called an electric soft top!!!!!

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Sat 1 May 2010 11:31
Saab 93 - Dual Mass Flywheel - corax

If it needs a new compressor, it's probably not been working for quite a while. Moisture will have got in and contaminated the internals of the compressor.

If the system is turned on once a week for 10 minutes, it wil circulate the refridgerant which also contains a lubricant and keeps the seals moist. If you'd used it, you would have noticed it wasn't working and only received a bill for a new condensor, which should be a whole lot cheaper than a compressor. If you look at some Saab specialists, they may be able to send you a good used compressor for less money, then get a specialist to fit it.

My car is 12 years old and the aircon is ice cold. I just carry out the above (including all the way through winter), and get it recharged once every 2 years for £70.

It amazes me how many people must buy a car with aircon, then they don't use it properly, it goes wrong, and end up with expensive repair bills. I think the best way to keep it working is to have the compressor come on every time the engine is started, so that you consciously have to turn it off if you don't want it operating. I think some Mercedes have this feature.

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