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Re: 2.3 Balance Shaft Chain
Posted by Stephen Goldberger (more from Stephen Goldberger) on Mon, 20 Nov 2000 15:21:51
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00

>My mechanic recently told me that the engine in my '91 9000 2.3 non-turbo
should have new timing chains

*snip*
>Is this a common/likely problem for a 130,000 mile 2.3 balance shaft
>engine? Is this do-able for a reasonably good home mechanic? I have
>rebuilt '50's and '60's British engines and gearboxes. What are the
>special tools if any? Haynes implies that the mechanics special
>shortcut of not removing the head involves some risk of damaging the
>head gasket. What else is likely to go in this engine in next 20 to 30
>K miles? Is there a way to check the wear on the chains without diving
>into the full $1500 job?

Whew! Quite a list of questions...

It is not unusual, unfortunately. NINES is conducting an investigation
into the phenomenon, so hopefully we can determine the extent of the
problem. You can easily check the wear on the cam chain by pulling the
tensioner and measuring its extension - 11mm if memory serves me correct is
the repair point. You can pull the valve cover and assess the wear on the
cam sprockets, too. but you can't check the lower cam-chain sprocket, nor
can you inspect the balance shaft chains and sprockets without pulling the
timing cover, which is much more than half the job.

I checked the shop manual, and while the job is long and involved, it
doesn't look like any magic is involved. I would recommend obtaining the
Genuine Factory 2.3 Engine manual section, which is available from Saab
dealers (or was) before attempting this. As good as the Haynes manual may
or may not be, embarking on a $1500 job without the best information you
can have is foolish. I'd plan on two full weekends and all the evenings
in between if I were doing the job - I'm sure a skilled mechanic can do it
in less than two days.

The only 'special tool' I noticed in the procedure is a flywheel locking
tool. That, and a gizmo to hold the belt tensioner compressed. You will
need to remove the serpentine belt, so do take note that the one and only
reverse thread fastener on the entire car is the (undocumented) one that
holds the idler pulley in place (the one that MUST come out to get the belt
out - why do I know this?).

There is absolutely no reason to pull the head. The chain wheels come off
the cams quite easily, thank you. You don't need to pull the head to pull
the cams, either. It's not a short cut to leave the head in place.

Aside from the chains and sprockets, the other things which can come undone
are the harmonic balancer (aka the crank pulley) and the woodruff key that
drives it and the oil pump. You will have these parts on the floor, and
they are not expensive. As Frank Freeman used to say, 'get the biggest
hammer you have and pound them to bits - then you won't be tempted to reuse
them'. The head gasket is a known weak area on early 2.3 engines, though,
as well as the original design DI cassette. And, if you are this far into
the engine bay, changing the water pump and the alternator brushes can't
hurt. You will need to remove the upper engine mount, and by this time the
rubber bushings in that part need replacing if they haven't been already.
Suspension bushings are near the end of their lives, although you aren't
disturbing them with this job. You should replace the serpentine belt
whenever it's removed, unless it's *very* fresh, because it's inconvenient
to replace, lasts a long time, and is inexpensive.

Good luck, and if you do it yourself, take pictures and write it up for
NINES!

Stephen Goldberger, Editor and Publisher
NINES, the magazine of the SAAB Club of North America
vist our web site at http://www.saabclub.com


Posts in this Thread:

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