MOT advisory - free play in steering

[phil_cardiff]

Just been to see a 2nd hand Saab 9-5 aero. Car was in decent condition but the MOT had a few advisories.

1. Needs new tyres on the rear - no problem.
2. Suspension bush has some play - reasonable cost to replace?
3. Free play in the steering - no idea what would cause this, is it a worry? Would it cost loads to fix?

The rest of the car is pretty good with a very good service history so I am tempted.

[davepoth]

which suspension bush? it could cause a bit of play at a front wheel.

[phil_cardiff]

I should have written which bush it was down.

Steering rack sounds like ££££. Still, a bit of play in it is unlikely to throw you off the road is it?

[E30M3SE]

What year and miles is the 9-5?

Could be track rod ends, track rods, or the rack.

First two are relatively cheap, £200 ish for genuine OE parts less for patterns.

Edited by E30M3SE on Tuesday 7th February 16:57

[phil_cardiff]

E30M3SE said:

What year is the 9-5?

Could be track rod ends, track rods, or the rack.

It's a 2005. Forgot to mention that it has been an advisory in the last 2 MOTs. Tha last owner threw plenty of cash at the car (recent direct injection cassette AND crankshaft position sensor), all at a main dealer so I guess he'd been told it wasn't worth worrying about. Or that it would cost more than the car was worth to fix...

[motco]

MOTs and advisories seem to have changed of late. They have, I gather, been told to toughen up on advisories so that a potential fault that *might* become dangerous in the coming year stands a good chance of being fixed rather than ignored. I challenged my friendly MOT tester about my brake pads that had 50% life left but still attracted an advisory. He said that some higher mileage un-mechanically sympathetic drivers would drive on through the pad material on to the metal oblivious of the danger so they have to warn them. Longer service intervals are implicated too.

[kambites]

I don't know about the 9-5, but the 9-3 has a common(ish) fault where the steering rack mount points come detached from the bulkhead.

[buggalugs]

Free play in steering could be anything, from the column UJ's to the rack to an inner or outer ball joint. MOT advice is usually a bit more specific than that! Basically you need a more precise diagnosis before anyone can advise you on cost.

Symptoms will be vague steering and the car wanting to wander/follow the road, and maybe tyre wear.

[Deva Link]

I have a Merc that I don't use much and it gets a different set of advisories every year, and I've never fixed any of them.

Suspension rubbers are like flat roofs on surveys - they always say they need replacing.

[E30M3SE]

kambites said:

I don't know about the 9-5, but the 9-3 has a common(ish) fault where the steering rack mount points come detached from the bulkhead.

The bulkhead issue does not affect 2002 onwards 9-3's.

[phil_cardiff]

Ok, worst case scenario, let's say the steering rack has gone.

How much is it going to roughly cost to replace (parts and labour) from a decent independent?