1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
PaulW, you're the one with the blown freewheel, right? Brian and kansas are right that you do NOT want to try to disassemble the transaxle without special tools, manual, and practice -- but the good news is that you may not need to go for the full D/A just to check out the freewheel problem.
As you noted, you have to pull out the two inner drivers to get the case apart. They're retained by internal snap rings and just pop out. Brian's advice on this was right on the money, put some sort of pry bar behind them and smack the other end to lever them out... just note that it takes a HARD smack, so make sure you've got something to catch the driver in case it pops clear out of the case (don't want it landing on your foot or the fender of your car...)
Once these are out, you can unbolt the two halves of the case and separate them. The freewheel hub and mechanism will be right inside the rear case -- no further disassembly needed to see it. (Also note that there's a little roller bearing for where the input shaft goes into the freewheel -- don't let it get lost.)
Don't try to remove the innards of the freewheel without a shop manual -- there are spring-loaded rollers inside and if you do it wrong you'll have bits flying everywhere! But you should be able to see well enough to get an idea of how badly it's broken. You may also want to unbolt the top cover of the transmission case so you can look down inside for possible damage to the gears from bits of freewheel debris going through them. But DO NOT try to take it apart any farther than that! There's nothing else useful you can do without special tools and more info.
Just inspect everything and if you don't see any jammed bits, broken gear teeth, etc., you may be able to just clean it out (try pouring several changes of gear lube through it) and if you're lucky, the transmission itself will be fine -- all you'll need to deal with is the freewheel itself, and how you deal with that depends on how broken it is. If the hub has broken up, you'll either need to replace it (requires a salvaged hub and a special SAAB tool) or permanently 'neuter' it so it's always locked.
Whatever you do, two bits of advice:
-- Do get the V4 service manual or a really good independent manual; it'll help you make sense of all the stuff you can see in there. West of Sweden SAAB sells authorized reprints of the Saab manual.
-- As long as you've got the gearbox out of the car and apart, replace the two side seals (where the inner drivers go) and the input shaft seal. It's good preventive medicine and really easy while the gearbox is apart. You can pry out the side seals with a big screwdriver; the input shaft seal comes out more easily if you buy a T-shaped seal puller from a NAPA store or similar.
You might want to have a look at the photos on my homepage.mac.com/jlw/saabstories website (sections: engine bay rehab 1, 2 and 3.) There are a few pics of this very operation that might give you a better idea of what you're getting into.
Good luck, but take it slowly!
posted by 68.13.13...
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.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
