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I just ruined my saab...or did I?

5K views 36 replies 8 participants last post by  euromobile900 
#1 ·
After taking the advice of some people on here, I began replacing my timing chain in a 15F windchilll. That was mistake number one.
Mistake number two, one of the plastic straps that I used to connect the old chain broke right at the crankshaft sprocket. The chain fell clear out of the sprocket.
Has anybody been able to recover the chain from above or should I just begin dismatling my engine and timing cover? Also, if the timing cover has to be removed, what is the procedure?
 
#31 ·
If you are only off by one tooth it should catch but it won't smash the valves at 1 tooth or even more teeth. Just lift the chain up and turn the cam around...
 
#32 · (Edited)
SHE LIVES AGAIN!!!!!;ol;;ol;;ol;

I finally got the timing right, and a very thoughtful friend told me to check the distributor timing which turned out to be completely off.

But now for the cheesehead move of the decade:

The hose for the AIC was removed....no wonder the car couldn't start- the mixture was too lean!!

I can't really express how I feel...but very relieved.

I'm pretty sure I screwed up everything that could possibly get screwed up.
I did this in approximately 8 days. In very bad weather.

I recovered the timing chain after removing it from the engine and connected it only to find that it was out of it's guide.... I had to remove it again and later reconnect it.

I must have removed and tightened down the valve cover at least 5 times.

The car is running better than before for sure, but the noise is still there. However the rattling noise on startup is gone.
It takes only one crank to start now as opposed to 3 cranks before.

I swear to the machine Gods that I will never attempt to mess with a car's timing system ever again. Lesson learned for sure.

I did a few 0-60 pulls and drove the car about 30 miles- everything is perfect!

I am going to admit, too, that I did have the pistons contact valves a few times. Once when I was removing a cam sprocket and once when I was rotating the engine without the tensioner. No apparent damage and the compression test gives me even compression. 450,000 miles! How is this not a reliable and extremely robust car? Shame on whoever despises the C900!

Thanks to 900t, euromobile, mmoe, jeffcullen, white65, and ludichris! Couldn't have done it without you.

Now...who'd like me to post a how-to thread?
 
#33 ·
A thread would be great! I'm glad you finally got it running again. It sure sounded like a truly stressful and insanely aggravating experience. I think I would have given up a while ago. (I say this as I have to call a truck to tow the 84 into a shop) :).

Truly an amazing community of members we have here. Maybe next time you work on a car (that is if you aren't completely fed up with working on them :)) someone would be nice enough to loan you some local garage space. Kudos to you. You're a hell of a lot more mechanic than I am at this point:)
 
#35 ·
I'm glad to hear that valves can touch the pistons lightly without bending.
It wasn't too light actually. A wrench was stuck at the camshaft flat and it flew out while I kicked down with full strength the ratchet at the sprocket. My whole force was applied to a set of valves. Really, the compression test showed no faults and the tester was rented from autozone in nearly brand new condition.


You're a hell of a lot more mechanic than I am at this poin
Thanks, but I'm not too proud of that. I want to concentrate on higher scale projects, rather than messing around with machines. I just don't think that it's too creative.
It really was an insane week. I'm glad this is over. The Gods really are mysterious.
 
#36 ·
yikes :| hopefully they last...

but yeah, when you consider what happens to an engine with a blown chain, but also consider the impact when the engine is spinning at 3000 rpm with the whole inertia of the car moving 70 mph spinning the crank, it is still pretty light...
 
#37 ·
Even with a crank idling at 1000rpm, that flywheel is a heavy mother especially considering that there's no compression to slow it down if the chain breaks.

Also consider Jim's authoritative warnings about bending the valves when rolling in the chain while trying to keep the cams sync'd up (not undoing the caps). I'd say it's getting near that kinda force. Difference is, Nuclear's force was an impact, like a soft hammer. The valve-bending Jim describes is caused by a gradual cranking, like a press. We know which is stronger.
 
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