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Ignorance is Bliss... I just had to look didn't I?

14K views 50 replies 17 participants last post by  ttmuench 
#1 · (Edited)
As my wife asked me today when she saw the 4-day old Saab 93 convertible that she has now claimed for herself taken apart and the car on ramps.... "Why didn't you just ignore the sound like a normal person and enjoy the car? It would have been fine for a long time to come" " lol... I guess I just can't be like everybody else"

It all started this morning... I decided to do some deeper poking around. This morning I started the car cold with the hood up and I could plainly hear the timing chain rattling. I pulled the tensioner and it was maxed. ~~sigh~~ so, I decided to pull the pan to check the oil screen. It was about 50-70% clogged by my calculation. What do you think? (sorry, took this with my phone).


The pan was free of any sludge. It was average for the age of the car. I did find quite a few pieces of brown and white plastic though. I assume that they are from the chain guide. Here's a couple of them.



Then, I did something stupid. I had the right idea but since it didn't work, I now think it was a stupid idea. I cut the balance chain and began slowly removing it. about 1/3 of the way through, it jammed. I tried backing up a hair then moving forward but it was not going to move period. I backed up a bit and tried one last time and heard more plastic cracking. a nice cized piece then fell out. ~sighs again~. Now I am in the process of pulling the timing cover. I have the bolts out, the water pump and PS pump off, the pullies removed and the valve cover off. All I have left to do is get the harmonic balancer off. Any tips on that? I have a piece of 2x4 to hold the engine still but I can't seem to budge it. I may go get my neighbor's impact wrench. What do you guys suggest there?

I went ahead and ordered new guides and a new chain. They should be here tomorrow.

More to come...
 
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#4 ·
Lovely tools - knowledge($priceless$), and impact guns($200) and air compressors($500).

Not so lovely is the neglect and non-knowledge from the previous owners.

Remove the starter and jam some oak wood in the opening ???...another crazeee idea..
 
#5 · (Edited)
WaSaabiPSI said:
Well, when your done, Its one more thing you can croos off your list. Looks like it was a good idea to drop the pan. I like to do this about every 25,000 miles just for the hell of it. Once you do it once it doesn't take too long the second time.
Yeah, dropping the pan wasn't all that bad. It took about 1.5 hrs start to finish. I could definately do it in 3/4 of the time now.

earthworm said:
Not so lovely is the neglect and non-knowledge from the previous owners.
Holding it still isn't really the problem. I have a 2x4 against the journal for that. The bolt just doesn't want to give. I'll give the impact a try tomorrow.

I can't really get mad, I knew what I was getting into when I grabbed this car. It looks like one of those cars that gets washed and waxed weekly, always smels nice, clean carpet and immaculate seats but never gets maintained under the hood. Oh well... When I finish it, I'll know all about this car and can have a piece of mind when my wife is out driving in it.
 
#7 ·
Are you leaving the balance chain off, and just replacing the timing chain and guides, or both?

Out of curiosity, I would be interested in knowing how deep the grooves in the plastic chain guides are when you get them out.

Oh, and just for the record (although I am sure you wife is always right), if the chain guides actually start to come apart, the next step is a broken engine, so you did your wife and yourself a favor. The engine which these came from was one of several broken engines sitting at an indie Saab shop:



 
#8 ·
Tweek's Turbos said:
The crank pully is on good. The engine I was working on was out, and I still had to brace it against some stuff and use something to keep the crank from spinning.
Once the bolt is off, how hard was it to pull the pulley off?


PMI said:
Are you leaving the balance chain off, and just replacing the timing chain and guides, or both?

Out of curiosity, I would be interested in knowing how deep the grooves in the plastic chain guides are when you get them out.

Oh, and just for the record (although I am sure you wife is always right), if the chain guides actually start to come apart, the next step is a broken engine, so you did your wife and yourself a favor. The engine which these came from was one of several broken engines sitting at an indie Saab shop:
Exactly, she is right :cheesy: now that that's out of the way I can fix the car. Thanks for the pics of the broken guides. I'll take a bunch of pictures when I get the cover off (hopefully) tomorrow. The pan is now clean, the screen is clean. The top end looks new inside so I'm really puzzled about the clogged screen.
 
#10 ·
GaryG said:
Did you pull the chain out from the front or back side after it was cut? If you went against the normal rotation direction I can understand how problems might occur.
I tried it turning the engine in the direction that the engine normally travels. My guess is that a piece of thje guide is broken off and the chain piled up on it.

Anywho, I got the harmonic balancer bolt off and the pulley moves back and forth easy enough. I'm now trying to figure out the best way to get the engine to move over about 2-3 inches so I can get the pulley and cover free of the crankshaft.
 
#13 ·
PMI said:
Congratulations! How did you make room to get it off?

Btw, are you going to pop out a couple bearing shells for a look? That was what really open my eyes to the engine issues and what can happen with gravity oil fed galleys and blocked screens.

I posted pics of my bearings a couple years ago in this thread:

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53285
Thanks. Here's how I made enough room. I first loosened the center bolt on the engine mount directly below the airbox. I only needed about 1.5" clearance. As you can see, the jack isn't even extended much.



PMI, Here's the picture of the guide you asked for. I can hit it from another angle if you like but it doesn't show much wear.



Thanks for the idea on the bearings. If I pull them off and see any problems, Can I just get new ones and slide them in?
 
#14 ·
I see it. So you loosened only the one mount? Cool! If the guides are not worn in, then there is no point taking more pics, thanks.

I was not there when the mechanic replaced my bearings, just the inspection. They did not have a set on hand, and we did not see the one which later came out in pieces right away.

It was done with the pan off and from the bottom, but I do know that they did not have to touch the crankshaft, they just measured it to make sure it did not need to be machined.

There may be something in the Haynes manual. the WIS is not much help on actualy replacing the bearings, I know that much.
 
#15 ·
Well, I got the new timing chain on and the balance chain out. I also have the new guides installed.

Double Check me here. With a pencil in cyl 1, the key on the crankshaft is pointed straightt up and the pencil is at it's highest point. I have both camshafts set with their marks straight up as well. The 2 marks on the new chain match the 2 marks on the camshafts but the 3rd mark seems to not line up with any mark on the crank. It turns fine and no valve v/s piston contact seems to be happening.

I'm putting the timing cover back on tomorrow morning. I don't see where there was any gasket or sealant of any kind behind the cover. I'll research that tonight but plan on using high heat copper gasket maker. The same for the oil pan.
 
#51 ·
Well, I got the new timing chain on and the balance chain out. I also have the new guides installed.
So I'm replacing my timing chain with the head still on the motor. I have the timing and balance chain assemblies removed. The last thing I'm not sure how to remove is the pivoting timing chain guide. One guy on the forum said he just yanked it out, but never said how he got the new one in. How did you remove and install this guide?
 
#16 ·
There is a flange sealant called for by Saab. There should have been traces of the old stuff on the timing cover (?) This is from EPC:

Article : Flange sealant
PartNo : 9321795
Usage : 25 ML
From the WIS:

When #1 and #4 are at TDC -

1) the 0-degree mark on the crank pulley should be lined up with the mark on the timing cover
or
2) the 0-degree mark on the flywheel/driver disc should be lined up with the mark on the end plate.

There are also marks on the camshafts and on the camshaft bearing caps which have to be lined up. When those are in line, then both the intake and exhaust valves on #1 are closed. The marks are on the inside face of the first bearing cap. and I do not think they point straight up (can't quite remember, but from the drawings it does not look like vertical. This is for the NG900, but I doubt it is different for the 9-3.



There was a discussion about this, including pics on SN recently, and also how and why people often mis-align one of the cams by one link on the chain.
 
#17 ·
PMI said:
There is a flange sealant called for by Saab. There should have been traces of the old stuff on the timing cover (?) This is from EPC:


From the WIS:

When #1 and #4 are at TDC -

1) the 0-degree mark on the crank pulley should be lined up with the mark on the timing cover
or
2) the 0-degree mark on the flywheel/driver disc should be lined up with the mark on the end plate.

There are also marks on the camshafts and on the camshaft bearing caps which have to be lined up. When those are in line, then both the intake and exhaust valves on #1 are closed. The marks are on the inside face of the first bearing cap. and I do not think they point straight up (can't quite remember, but from the drawings it does not look like vertical. This is for the NG900, but I doubt it is different for the 9-3.



There was a discussion about this, including pics on SN recently, and also how and why people often mis-align one of the cams by one link on the chain.
Thanks. That's how I lined mine up so I guess I'm good to go. I would have felt better if I could have figured out how to get the marks on the chain to line up with something on all t corners. Oh well, it spins w/o any problems.

I now have the timing cover back on and the oil pan back on. I am about to go put the PS pump, Alternator and water pump back in now.

More to come. Oh yeah, check out my other thread. I had to figure out a way to get a snapring off. Worked like a charm.
 
#18 ·
It's ALIVE!!!!

Well, I got it all back together and it fired right up. I let it idle while I refilled the coolant and it was SOOOOOOO quiet. It's still up on the jackstands and I have to change out a motor mount but it's at least running. I didn't see any leaks either.
 
#20 ·
Thanks. I just finished up replacing the motor mount and took it for a short drive. It ran smooth and was very quiet. I can't take the credit on this one though. When the chain siezed up in the guide I thought I'd be pulling the engine. I said a prayer and got to work.
 
#21 ·
Goin back in...

As much as I hate to do it, it looks like I have to go back in. The oil under the car doesn't lie. I have a leak somewhere. I kinda hoped it was residual but the oil is pale and new. I'm guessing I didn't reseal the pan or timing cover well enough. This sucks because I crawled under the car last night and couldn't see where it was coming from. I'm going to Napa this morning to pick up some anaerobic sealer and then I guess I'll get to work on dropping the oil pan. ~sigh~
 
#22 ·
Oil Pan Removal Help

Hi im planning on taking down my oil pan on my Saab 900SE V6 what precaution should i take and what is could be the worst thing i see........ do i have to remove down pipe or anything else...replace oil pan gasket?
I took a look and notice some of the screws that holds the oil pan is had to get to so i figure it needs a special too or something else have to be removed........... Thanks
 
#23 ·
Saab Max said:
Hi im planning on taking down my oil pan on my Saab 900SE V6 what precaution should i take and what is could be the worst thing i see........ do i have to remove down pipe or anything else...replace oil pan gasket?
I took a look and notice some of the screws that holds the oil pan is had to get to so i figure it needs a special too or something else have to be removed........... Thanks
The V6 is an entirely different animal. Why are you going to drop the pan on it? Are you having issues? curious? doing other work? Whats up?
 
#24 ·
Frank_Drebin said:
The V6 is an entirely different animal. Why are you going to drop the pan on it? Are you having issues? curious? doing other work? Whats up?
I was changing the oil and was curious to know how my oil screen looks... and i hear a noise from were the belt is but i think its the pulley (tensioner) going bad (closer to the firewall at the top) not exactly sure if it is but it has a lil vibration to it.........
 
#25 ·
did you pull the h-balancer without a puller frank?

I'm just curious frank, did you not require a puller to get the harmonic balancer off?
I'll be doing mine sometime soon and I figured it was required.
and thanks for the previous help frank ...i should mention I just bought a 98 se coupe 2.0t with 142km..(needs a second gear) and I assume you are talking about the v6 but i still have one of those too.
thanks
 
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