car shakes in reverse gear

Hello,

Do these vibrations only happen in reverse? When you are stationary and put the vehicle in drive, does it not vibrate?

I suspect a possible worn engine mount or gearbox mounting.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-a-motor-mount-works

This is easily checked. Simply start the engine, apply the hand brake, and foot brake.
Put the vehicle in either reverse or drive and, with the brakes still applied, press the accelerator pedal. Have someone look at the engine and check for any excessive movement. This is called power braking.

How to power brake.
https://youtu.be/bFTxfxfEeX0

Please let us know how you get along.

Cheers, Boris

When driving or idling, it doesn't shake. Only when in reverse gear.

what do you mean by a worn engine?

Just to jump in, I think he is talking about a worn-out engine mount or transmission mount. This is correct that this would be the most likely cause of this issue.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-a-motor-mount-works

I am attaching the info from the manual on these mounts. I would put the vehicle in gear and watch the engine and see if there is much movement when it is going into gear.

Please let us know what questions you have on this. Thanks

So, would it be an engine mount or a transmission mount or both? How can I tell which one to replace?

Correct. It could be one or all of them. The way to start to find this out is to lift the hood and put the vehicle in gear and see how much the engine moves.

It should not move much at all so if you see movement then a mount is most likely worn out. So, at that point you have to do the same thing with putting it in gear and watch each mount and see where you can see it flexing.

Okay. Now, how many mounts are there altogether?

Take a look at the attachments below. You have a mount on both sides of the engine and transaxle.

Normally you have one on the back side as well, but it looks like this Saab only has the two.

Now, can I get to the from under the hood?
Do you have a video or manual for removal and installation procedures for these including tools needed and torque settings?

I attached the locations above because I would suggest inspecting them first, but I attached the complete process below for both mounts.

Let us know what you find. Thanks