1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members see ZERO ads on the bulletin boards and get more feature. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
So it's finally done, and I have to say, this was not as easy as I thought it would be. Car is a 1990 9KT with the 2.0L engine. Classic alternator fail behavior, should have picked up on it before it totally failed, but just one more lesson learned. Here's what I learned. You have to remove the horizontal engine mount (dogbone) in order to get to the top alternator bolt. It is an extremely tight space, why they did this is beyond me. I removed the belt tensioner (mine is the manual one, not the shock absorber) to get more room to work. Next time I will take out all but one bolt, the top left one, and swivel it away if possible. That bolt has a nut that sits in a hexagonal recess that is next to impossible to reach. Needless to say I had to put the nut back in place, and it required a contortionist move, and some outside the box thinking. When you get a replacement alternator (if you go that route) make sure it is identical to the one you are replacing. Mine had the nuts for the wires in a different orientation, requiring me to remove the alternator wire bracket to get more slack. Also, the alternator's lower mounting arm was slightly wider than the slot on the engine block, which meant I had to file the alternator a bit to make it fit. My advice is to test fit the alternator without hooking up the wires first to see if it fits, and if it doesn't, make it fit first. Removing the pulley and fan and reinstalling them requires an impact wrench. Make sure you have access to one. Also there is a slot for a woodruff key. I had to customize an oversized key with a dremel tool in order to make it work. Saab says there is no key on their diagram, that the torque of the nut would hold it, but it has a slot, so I had to put a key in it. I bought my remanufactured alternator at Autozone. They guy at the garage that I went to for an impact wrench told me to save my receipt I might need it. I don't know if this was just mechanic ribbing, or true, but the part itself had a German made VR, and the rest of an alternator is not that complex, so I am not too worried, but yes I have the receipt. Hopefully this one will last another 150k, as I think the one I had was the original unit. The last lesson...make sure this happens in spring, or summer, or fall, not the coldest days of the year in winter.
posted by 69.121.215...
, Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:27:14, Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:35:01, Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:14:21, Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:04:21
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
