[Jeremy R.]

I was looking at the parts listings on eSaabparts, but that's only confused things more. They only show the wide bearings for the 9-3. For the NG900, they show both, and indicate that the wider bearings were for earlier engines and the narrower ones were for later engines. That seems backwards, since you'd think that the newer style would have carried over to the 9-3, not the older style. The 9-5, though, used the narrower bearings, which again, seems odd, since the B205 and B235 are virtually identical except for the pistons and crankshaft.

 

[Jeremy R.]

It seems like you can't get the narrower ones anywhere. I rebuilt the engine in my wife's 2001 9-5 Aero a few years back when it sludged up and seized the balance shafts. The narrow bearings look like the ones I bought, but I also replaced the balance shafts with ones out of a 9000, since I also had a 9000 block laying around. I had bought it for the crankshaft and pistons to convert my 900 to a 2.3 some day. The older balance shafts were much thicker and heavier. I'm sure the engine loses a few horsepower spinning those around.

 

[Jeremy R.]

The only things you need besides the B234 balance shafts themselves are the front bearings and sprockets, since those are different. Luckily the old ones were in good shape and I was able to reuse them. The ones from the B235 were trashed. The sprockets had no teeth left.