Saab 9-5 SE
2010 Oct 25 We sold our 2000 Saab 9-5 SE. We owned the Saab for over seven years and sold it with 141,000 miles on the odometer (we put 112,000 miles on it). This page of material devoted to the Saab will remain active.
This is the first time I have been without a Saab in well over 15 years. I wish Saab made a minivan, but they don't. So we bought a 2010 Honda Odyssey. There is no comparison between the two marques. I miss the Saab.
Table of contents
- Purpose and disclaimer
- Automatic transmission oil cooler line/hose replacement
- Brake discs / rotors / pad replacement (front and rear)
- Constant velocity (CV) joint/axle replacement
- Heater/coolant circulation pump
- Motor mounts / engine mounts
- Photo comparison of the Oil Cooler for the Cadillac Catera CTS and the Saab 9-5 SE 6 Cylinder
- Recirculation door motor
- Strut and shock replacement
- Timing belt and pulley replacement instructions / how to / DIY
- Wheel bearing cross-reference (front)
- Wheel bearing replacement (front)
Purpose and disclaimer
Updated: 2009 Oct 22
Purpose
The purpose of this site and the information it contains is to provide useful or hard-to-find information about the 2000 Saab 9-5 SE.
Disclaimer
I have done my best to present correct and accurate information. However, I do not consider myself an expert in the area of Saab automobiles nor 9-5 models in particular. If you find this information useful, I'm glad to be of service. If you see something that is incorrect, I'd appreciate it if you would send me a quick email detailing the mistake. If you use any of the information I have provided, you do so at your own risk. I take no responsibility for the accuracy of nor the consequence of using any content on this site.
Automatic transmission oil cooler line/hose replacement
Updated: 2010 Jun 15
Disclaimer: We own a 2000 Saab 9-5 SE 6 cylinder 4-door sedan. This information may not be at all applicable to other Saab 9-5 models.
Immediately before our Christmas vacation trip to Denver and Scotts Bluff, Nebraska in 2008, I noticed automatic transmission fluid had been leaking. Not a huge amount, but enough that I didn't want to have to worry about it during our trip. A little bit of investigation revealed that the washers on the banjo bolt that secure the oil cooler line to the top fitting on the radiator had gone bad. I scrounged around in my stash and found some suitable temporary sealing washers. No more leaks from that location on the 2000+ mile round trip.
But then in mid-January, 2009 I began seeing fresh spots of transmission fluid on the garage floor. I looked carefully at all the washers on all 4 banjo bolts that secure both oil cooler lines...no detectable leaks there. Must be the automatic transmission oil cooler lines themselves, as they were pretty soaked with fluid with no other visible source.
I ordered replacement hoses from my favorite Saab parts supplier: eEuroParts. But, they didn't show the special washers for the banjo bolts on their web site. Rather than spend USD $4.00 each at the local Saab dealer, I ordered suitable replacements from McMaster-Carr: part number 93786A225. I ordered 2 packs of 5 (USD $5.66 per pack). The washers are a perfect fit, work perfectly, and are a lot less expensive.
Installation
The parts from eEuroParts arrived and were precisely what I needed. Same for the sealing washers from McMaster-Carr. The sealing washers were a snug fit on the inside diameter, just like the originals when I removed them. The outside diameter of the sealing washers is larger than original, but there is plenty of room for the extra size when fitted.
Fitting the new lines was pretty straightforward. Here's a quick rundown:
- Open the hood. (that was easy!)
- Start by draining the automatic transmission fluid. I do this every 3,000 miles when I change engine oil anyway. The Dextron 3 fluid required by the transmission is inexpensive and a drain and fill only requires about 3.4 quarts (have you priced a replacement transmission lately?).
- While the transmission fluid was draining, I jacked up the left front of the car and then removed the large black plastic piece that is attached to the bottom of the front bumper and to the frame further back. Removal is needed to gain access to the lines for routing, etc.
- Loosen the large hose clamp that secures the air intake duct near the bottom left corner of the radiator. It may look a bit like a radiator hose, but it isn't. Just give it a good squeeze and you'll confirm there isn't any fluid inside. With the hose clamp loosened, move the duct up and out of the way. It is pretty flexible. I pretty much folded it back on itself in front of the battery. Much more room to work now.
- Remove each of the 4 banjo bolts.
- Remove the lines, pulling them out from the top.
- Thoroughly clean the banjo bolts, paying special attention to the threads; then fit a new sealing washer next to the head of each bolt.
- Wiggle each new hose into place on the car
- Add the second sealing washer to each banjo bolt and loosely secure the lines.
- One of the interesting things about the upper hose is that it has a little metal tab that sticks out (see the photo below). I believe the purpose of this tab is to properly align the upper hose with the bottom hose during assembly. When I removed my original hoses, the tab was not in this position. I decided to remove the tab so that I would avoid any metal-to-metal vibration/contact between the two lines. I don't if that was the best plan of attack, but that is what I chose to do. Probably the lines would have worked just fine with the metal doing it's intended purpose.
- With the hoses carefully routed, tighten each banjo bolt securely.
- Replace the drained fluid from the transmission, fit the air intake duct in place, and then start the engine and check for leaks. (No leaks for me!)
- Secure the large black plastic piece in place, lower the jack, and you are ready to roll.
- Start to finish, it took me less than 2 hours at a very leisurely pace.
The car has been used extensively over the past month with no detectable leaks. The new hoses and sealing washers are doing their job nicely.
Photo courtesy of eEuroParts.
Photo courtesy of eEuroParts.
Brake discs / rotors / pad replacement (front and rear)
Updated: 2009 Apr 19
For some time now I've been putting up with pulsing brakes
. I've known the problem was warped rotors, but just hadn't done anything about it. So, with 114,000 miles on the odometer, I figured it was time for new discs front and rear (rear rotors were original, front rotors had been replaced at 30,000). Replacement is straight forward, so I won't even bother going over it. The end result is no more pulsing and brakes that are every bit as good as before (read: no discernible improvement in braking performance). Here are the parts I chose:
Discs/Rotors
Brembo makes good stuff and I like them. Very competitive prices on these parts too.
- Front: Brembo part numbers 09.6997.20 (25519, 65519). Sourced from eEuroparts.com
- Rear: Brembo part numbers 08.8305.10 (25609). Sourced from eEuroparts.com
Pads
I went with my wallet on the pads. I knew I didn't want to go with ceramic (due to the increased wear on the rotors), so I stuck with the standard semi-metallic pads.
- Front: Febi part number 5055371F. Sourced from eEuroparts.com
- Rear: Raybestus PG Plus Pads (PGD763M). Sourced from my local O'Reilly Auto Parts
Constant velocity (CV) joint/axle replacement
Updated: 2010 Jun 15
At 130,000 miles (2010 Jun 05), the boots on my constant velocity (CV) joints/axles were showing some surface cracks. By the time I started working on them, the right side inner boot had actually split in one small location and was flinging a bit of grease around the inside of the wheel well. Not terribly bad, but definitely time to fix. I suppose I could have simply replaced the boots and grease after cleaning up the existing tripod and universal joint, etc. But, I found brand new (not remanufactured) complete CV axles (not including the inner tripod housing) for USD $61.35 each plus shipping from Car Parts Discount. I found that price to be quite inexpensive and certainly easier than disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling the original parts. So, I ordered the axles with the intention of heading in that direction.
Photo courtesy of Car Parts Discount.
After speaking with my brother, I became a bit concerned that I wasn't also getting the inner tripod housing (the splined part the fits into the transmission and into which the tripod fits). He works on many automobiles and said he usually purchases the entire unit, plucks the existing one from the transmission, inserts the new one, and is done in no time at all. Sounded better to me. I found some complete axles locally and I had decided to return the ones I had purchased from Car Parts Discount.
However, when I went to pull the inner splined tripod housing from the transmission, I could not get it to come out for the life of me. I pried on things with more force than I wanted to, used steady prying, sharp sudden prying, yanked on, yelled at, made calls for advice, tried everything again, and then gave up. I was going to break something expensive and time consuming if I kept after it.
The inside of my tripod housing looked fantastic and showed very little wear (in the location where the tripod rollers make contact). I reverted to the original plan and fit the shafts from Car Parts Discount. Although not pictured, the shafts come with a tube of grease and a clamp for the rubber gaiter. The axles are new (no core charge) and appear to be of good quality (though I'm no constant velocity axle expert).
Installation was straightforward as I followed the procedure outlined in the Saab Workshop Information System (WIS) software. There were a couple of small stumbling blocks:
- With the large end of the inner boot removed, the tripod should simply pull out of the tripod housing. But it doesn't. The WIS makes reference to a plate edge stating
Remove the plate edge and lift off the tripod housing. The plate does not need to be refitted (only for production purposes)
. But, there is no diagram illustrating this plate edge. Not wanting to destroy anything, it took me a while to finally figure out that the plate edge is what is preventing the tripod from being removed. So, I used my sheet metal shears to cut the plate edge (up to the main part of the tripod housing) and then popped off the entire plate edge with a small screwdriver. With that plate edge removed, the tripod came right out of the tripod housing. Therefore, if your joints have never been replaced, expect to cut off the entire plate edge and discard it. - Fitting the new boot in place is easy. But, the little cheap clamp that is provided with the axle doesn't work so well. I think part of the problem is that once the plate edge is removed, there isn't as much of a grooved recess for the cheap clamp to fit into. The result is that the clamp wants to roll off the boot. Not good. I fiddled with the cheap clamps for a while, but couldn't fit them in any sort of satisfactory manner. Instead, I used large hose clamps and they worked much better. The hose clamp is much wider and I positioned it such that half of it was covering the edge of the boot, while the other half was overlapping the tripod housing. This provided a very firm clamp that isn't going to roll off.
All in all, this job is not bad at all and requires very little in the way of special tools. The car drives just as it always had (which it should because the original axles were not destroyed from running dry or dirty).
Heater/coolant circulation pump
Updated: 2009 Jul 27
Out of the blue my radiator cooling fans would continue to run on low speed for long periods (hours) after the car was shut off. I knew something was amiss because this wasn't happening a few days prior and the ambient temperatures remained fairly constant.
Pressing Auto + Off on the control panel inside the car generated two fault codes: 18 and 19. Code 18 is for the bypass valve solenoid while code 19 is for the heater/coolant circulation pump. I had recently verified the operation of the bypass valve solenoid and I couldn't see how this could cause my radiator fans to continue running. Nonetheless, I decided to remove the circulation pump and have a look.
I found the circulation pump to be non-functional and slowly leaking coolant into the pump and onto the ground (another small annoyance that has been bugging me for a long time now). Also, when I tested the pump operation, I found a direct short at the terminal connections on the pump. That is, the connections on the pump body were essentially joined to one another by corrosion. Good grief, that can't be good.
A new pump is ~$200 from eEuroparts. But, I didn't think I really needed one. We live in a warm climate with only occasional trips to cold country. Plus, it is my understanding that the circulation pump only operates when the ignition is turned off. Apparently, it circulates warm coolant through the heater core so that the cabin gets warmer more quickly. Certainly a feature I could live without.
So, I left the pump out of the car and joined the two radiator hoses with the 3⁄4 inch hose connector I picked up from my local auto parts store.
With the car back together I had no more leaks, no more ACC fault codes, and - best of all - no more radiator fans running on low for hours on end.
Motor mounts / engine mounts
Updated: 2009 Oct 19
Over the past several thousand miles (120,000 miles on the odometer now) I'd been noticing some strange vibrations in the cabin. These vibrations were the worst when the car was travelling between 60 MPH and 75 MPH. I originally suspected a tire imbalance. But, after having the tires balanced, the problem persisted. I put up with the vibrations throughout a 2000 mile round trip to Colorado for my nephew's wedding. Fortunately, I was able to travel at 80 MPH for most of the trip and the vibrations weren't nearly so bad at that speed. When we got back home, though, I certainly wanted to get this problem corrected.
Reading online, I discovered that the engine mounts were a likely candidate. So, I purchased new left and right motor mounts (eEuroparts) and installed them. Installation of these two mounts is very straightforward.
Wow! The difference in vibration and noise in the cabin (and outside) was incredible. It is like we have a new car again. My wife is thrilled with the improvement and commented that the car was so quiet and vibration free that she was a little worried about putting it in gear, fearing the engine wasn't even running. The replacement of these two engine mounts is the single best purchase I have made for improving the overall experience of driving the car.
Photo comparison of the Oil Cooler for the Cadillac Catera CTS and the Saab 9-5 SE 6 Cylinder
Updated: 2010 Aug 14
Disclaimer: We own a 2000 Saab 9-5 SE 6 cylinder 4-door sedan. This information may not be at all applicable to other Saab 9-5 models.
This is relevant to the 6 cylinder 9-5 only. This has no relevance to 4 cylinder Saabs.
When my oil cooler began leaking coolant, I began investigating alternatives to the USD $460.00 Saab replacement oil cooler. I'd read on the Saabnet Forums that the Cadillac (97-01 Catera and 03-04 CTS) and Saab (~2000 9-5 SE 6 cylinder) use the same basic engine. In an attempt to save some cash, I decided to order up an oil cooler for a Cadillac to see if it would work. The Cadillac part was USD $230.00. I ended up returning the Cadillac oil cooler (part number 93176626) and purchasing the proper Saab oil cooler (part number 4770988). You can read my observations and responses from forum list members on the Saabnet forum.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Recirculation door motor
Updated: 2009 Jul 27
Summer in Phoenix is a bit warm. I started to notice my Air Conditioner wasn't doing the job like it had in the past. A little investigation and I discovered the passenger side vents were putting out cold air, but the drivers side and rear seat vents were putting out air at close to ambient temperature. Just a few weeks prior, when temperatures were hovering around 100°, everything seemed
fine. It wasn't until we got into the mid teens (around 115° or so) that the A/C couldn't keep up with cooling 100% hot outside air.
I pressed Auto + Off on the control panel to see if any ACC fault codes were generated. It came back clean. So, it was time to dig into the foot wells on either side of the car and see if I could figure out the cause of the problem.
I visually verified the blend door shaft and blend door stop arms were intact and functioning when I would manipulate the controls. I also visually verified the air distribution drum was rotating properly (feet, dash, defrost, etc). So those problems were out.
I was stumped for a while until I discovered the location of the recirculation door motor (high inside the right side foot well). It has apparently been broken for so long that I hadn't even realized it no longer worked. I removed if from the vehicle and found the shaft broken, the internal plastic gears striped, and the housing around the shaft broken.
Until I sourced a replacement, I used a small bungee cord to hold the recirculation door closed (so that all air would recirculate inside the vehicle). This worked very well and I was getting cold air once again.
I sourced a used replacement motor off of eBay and it works a treat.
Strut and shock replacement
Updated: 2010 Jun 15
At 130,000 miles (2010 Jun 05), I replaced the rear shocks and front struts with Monroe Sensa-Trac units (part numbers 5992 and 71428). We are the second owners of the car and purchased it with 30,000 miles on the odometer. From day one, I was disappointed with the handling. I always felt it swayed too much in the corners and it never seemed to feel as tight as my 1985 Saab 900S. The Monroe replacements made a huge improvement! I should have done this 100,000 miles ago.
To make matters even better, the Monroe units are inexpensive and I was able to take advantage of free shipping and a USD $50.00 rebate. All told, I spent a little over USD $100.00 to replace both shocks and both struts. Fantastic!
Installation is not difficult, just follow the procedure outlined in the Saab Workshop Information System (WIS) software. A couple notes:
- Removing the top nut from the rear shock can be quite difficult. Following advice I read elsewhere (Dmitry Platonoff and Fix My Saab), I cut off the exposed shaft with my chop saw and the used my pneumatic impact wrench to remove the nut. Piece of cake.
- When I purchased the shock and struts, I also ordered the Monroe strut mounting kit (part number 903959) as I feared my original
bearings
would be destroyed. Instead, I found my originalbearings
to be in fantastic condition and to rotate more smoothly than the replacements. I reused my originals and returned the replacements for a refund.
Timing belt and pulley replacement instructions / how to / DIY
Updated: 2009 Nov 17
Disclaimer: We own a 2000 Saab 9-5 SE 6 cylinder 4-door sedan. This information may not be at all applicable to other Saab 9-5 models.
With 120,000 miles on the odometer, our Saab was ready for it's timing belt to be replaced. I knew that I also wanted to change out the tensioning and idler pulleys at the same time. But, having never changed a timing belt before, I was more than a little apprehensive about doing this work myself.
I called a couple of experienced and trustworthy independent shops in the Phoenix area to see what it would cost if I had someone else perform the work. USD $1,200.00 and maybe more got me thinking more about doing this work myself. So, I started doing some research to see what all was involved with this job.
At some point along the way, I figured I could perform this work myself. So I started reading more, ordering tools and parts. In the end, it all worked out perfectly and I'm quite pleased that I did the job myself. Not only did I save more than a little money, but now I have the knowledge I can use again in the future.
Special tools
- One of the first things I realized I would need is a specialized set of timing belt tools. Certainly I could have cobbled together a set of homemade tools that would have gotten the job done. But, I really didn't want to take any chances. I thought about renting tools. But, when I found the complete set of specialized tools (OTC Part Number 6687) from Network Tool Warehouse, I jumped on it. This set worked very well for me.
- A set of internal star bits are needed. I just used a cheap set I purchased from Harbor Freight (item number 91238).
- A set of external start bits are needed. I just used a cheap set I purchased from Harbor Freight (item number 5931).
- The remaining tools primarily consisted of wrenches, sockets, and the like.
Parts
Next up for purchase were the parts. Although I knew the belt had to be replaced, I also wanted to swap out the one tensioner and two idler pulleys. A kit from Rock Auto (Gates TCK285) for USD $129.99 included the belt, tensioner pulley, both idler pulleys, and a new backing plate for the tensioner pulley and upper idler pulley. I knew from reading online that the backing plate would *not* fit my engine. But, removing the pulleys from the new backing plate and fitting them to the original backing plate took no time at all. The cost savings of reusing the original backing plate (which isn't a wear item) was significant (around USD $250.00). I would definitely go this way again.
Strictly speaking, that is all I needed to change. But, since I was into the engine that far anyway, I decided to replace the water pump (USD $61.99 from my local auto parts store) and serpentine belt (USD $29.90 from eEuroparts). I'm glad I did.
Source of information
I read many different bits of information (multiple times each) before I began this work. The instructions below are a compilation of my experience and the information from the following sources:
- Chris from CT's (WhiteTurbo) post on Saab Central
- David Ingram's post on The Saab Network
- Anders' (SWEDECAR) post on The Saab Network
- Saab Workshop Information System (WIS)
- Instructions that came with the Gates kit
- Instructions that came with the OTC special tools.
Instructions
Part 1: Accessing the timing belt and pulleys
- Set the parking brake and open the hood.
- Jack up the car using the right side rear jack point. Raise the car high enough from that point and you will be able to remove the front wheel. I used this rear jack point so that I could shove a jack stand under the right side front jack point. With the jack stand in place, lower the jack.
- Remove the right front tire.
- Remove both of plastic shrouds from underneath the engine as well as the plastic shroud that fits inside the right front wheel well.
- Place a jack underneath the oil pan. Place a piece of wood between the jack and the oil pan to disperse the pressure on the pan. Raise the jack so that the pressure is taken off the right side motor mount. You won't need to raise it much, just enough.
- Optional: If you are going to replace the water pump, now is a perfect time to start draining the coolant.
- Disconnect the negative battery terminal.
- Remove the black plastic cover that hides the engine.
- Remove both Direct Ignition Cassettes.
- Remove all spark plugs.
- Set the Direct Ignition Cassettes back in place to prevent anything from falling into the open spark plug holes.
- Loosen the hose clamps on the Air Mass Meter, disconnect the electrical connection, and set the air mass meter aside (some place safe).
- Remove the three vertical bolts that secure the top of the engine mount bracket to the engine mount. If it seems that there is any pressure on the bolts as you remove them, raise the jack under the oil pan to relieve the pressure.
- Remove the engine mount from the engine block.
- Loosen (but do not remove) the bolts securing the pulley to the water pump.
- Loosen (but do not remove) the bolts securing the pulley to the steering pump.
- Loosen (but do not remove) the bolts securing the pulley to the crankshaft.
- If you are going to reuse the serpentine belt, mark it for the direction of rotation so you can install it back in the same direction (masking tape and a pen works well).
- If you do not have the Saab WIS showing how the serpentine belt is routed, draw a picture of the routing.
- Remove the serpentine belt by placing a wrench on the bolt that secures the tensioner pulley to the tensioner. Rotate the wrench clockwise to relieve the pressure on the belt.
- Remove the pulley to the water pump.
- Remove the pulley to the steering pump.
- Remove the pulley to the crankshaft.
Note: I marked the crankshaft pulley to indicate the position of one bolt so I would be certain to reinstall it in the same position. When I went to reinstall the pulley, I discovered that the holes in the pulley are not symmetrically drilled...allowing for fitment in only one location. Thus, I didn't need to mark the pulley. - Remove the black plastic cool-air duct that is connected to the alternator. This is a friction fit and just pulls off.
- Remove the complete serpentine belt tensioner. It is secured by two bolts that require a 16 mm socket (a wrench will not fit).
- Remove the black plastic timing belt cover. The timing belt and pulleys will now be exposed.
Timing belt and pulleys exposed. Camshaft pulleys 1 (left) through 4 (right).Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Optional: If you are going to replace the water pump, now is a great time to remove it, clean up the mating surface on the engine block, and fit the new water pump.
Part 2: Changing the timing belt and pulleys
- Rotation of the engine is clockwise. As you would expect, this is clockwise as you are facing the timing belt. Never rotate the engine counter-clockwise. If you go past where you want to be, rotate the engine clockwise the required number of revolutions to get back to where you need to be. Do not
back up
. - Rotate the crankshaft and bring the engine to Top Dead Center (TDC). The notch in the hub for the crankshaft pulley will be pointing straight down in alignment with the corresponding notch on the engine block. The marks on the camshaft pulleys should align with the corresponding notches in the backing tin that surrounds the timing belt. If the notches in the camshaft pulleys do not align properly, rotate the crankshaft one more revolution and the notches should be in alignment.
Note: Camshafts 1 and 2 use an identical pulley with identical notches and markings. Likewise, camshafts 3 and 4 use an identical pulley with identical notches and markings. Each camshaft pulley will have two notches and a stamp next to each notch:1
or2
on the left two camshaft pulleys;3
or4
on the right two camshaft pulleys. The number closest to the notch should be the notch that is aligned with the notches in the backing tin that surrounds the timing belt. Don't get confused about this. Just bring the crank to top dead center and make sure the notches are in alignment. If nothing aligns, rotate the crank 360° and now the notches should be in alignment. See the photos below.
Note: Do not expect the lines on the belt to align with the notches in the camshaft. I suppose they might, but that would be very rare.
Note: I spent considerable time rotating the crankshaft and observing how the notches came into alignment. I didn't need to do this, but I wanted to be absolutely certain that I understood how things were intended to be aligned before I took anything apart. You may wish to do the same.
Camshaft pulleys 1 (left) and 2 (right).Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Camshaft pulley 1 aligned with notch in backing tin.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Camshaft pulley 2 aligned with notch in backing tin.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Camshaft pulleys 3 (left) and 4 (right).Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Camshaft pulley 3 aligned with notch in backing tin.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Camshaft pulley 4 aligned with notch in backing tin.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
Notch on crankshaft pulley hub aligned with notch on engine block.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Once you are certain you understand how everything functions, rotate the crankshaft almost two complete revolutions. Just before the crankshaft is at TDC, fit the crankshaft locking tool and then rotate the crankshaft the rest of the way to TDC and lock the tool to the water pump. The crankshaft locking tool is very nice because you do not need to visually align the crankshaft using the notches. Instead, the locking tool will come to rest against the water pump and the crankshaft will be at TDC. Done. It couldn't be easier.
- Fit the camshaft pulley locks to both sets of cam pulleys. If they don't fit easily, don't force them. You may need to remove the crankshaft locking tool and rotate the crankshaft around almost two complete revolutions again. Refit the crankshaft locking tool and then slowly rotate the crankshaft while you insert the camshaft pulley locks.
-
Before proceeding, verify the following:
- Crankshaft is at TDC, notch pointing straight down.
- Crankshaft is locked with the special locking tool.
- The notches on the pulleys for camshafts 1 and 2 are properly aligned with the notches in the backing tin.
- The pulleys on camshafts 1 and 2 are held in place with the special locking tool.
- The notches on the pulleys for camshafts 3 and 4 are properly aligned with the notches in the backing tin.
- The pulleys on camshafts 3 and 4 are held in place with the special locking tool.
- Optional: I took the time to mark on my old belt where the notches in the crankshaft and camshaft pulleys where located. I did this so that I would 100% sure of which lines to use on my new belt. While you shouldn't need to do this, it doesn't take long and then you will be sure that your belt is correct for your application. This also allowed me to verify that I should use the green lines for the crankshaft and camshaft pulleys 1 and 2; and use the white lines for camshaft pulleys 3 and 4.
- Remove the nut securing the tensioning pulley in place. Remove the pulley and take note of any spacers behind the pulley.
- Make a note of the original position of the eccentric on the upper idler pulley. Mine was close to 9 o'clock.
Upper idler pulley. Note the location of the green dot indicating a good initial position of 9 o'clock.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Remove the bolt securing the upper idler pulley in place. Remove the pulley and take note of any spacers behind the pulley.
- Make a note of the original position of the eccentric on the lower idler pulley. Mine was close to 12 o'clock.
Lower idler pulley. Note the location of the green dot indicating a good initial position of 12 o'clock.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Remove the bolt securing the lower idler pulley in place. Remove the pulley and take note of any spacers behind the pulley.
- Remove the belt.
- Compare the old belt with the new belt. Make sure the number of teeth are correct and that you know which lines correspond to your application.
- Fit the new tensioning pulley. Do not tighten. If the new pulley comes with a new spacer, make sure it is the same thickness as the old spacer. If not, use the old spacer.
- Fit the new upper idler pulley. Do not tighten. If the new pulley comes with a new spacer, make sure it is the same thickness as the old spacer. If not, use the old spacer.
- Do not fit the lower idler pulley just yet.
- Fit the belt. I found the following method worked very well for me:
- Start by fitting the belt to the crankshaft so that the double green lines are aligned with the crankshaft notches. Fit the wedge piece so that the belt does not move from the crankshaft.
New belt positioned on the crankshaft pulley with the orange plastic wedge in place. Note the double green lines on the belt.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Fit belt around tensioner.
- Fit belt around camshaft pulleys 1 and 2, making sure the green lines on the belt align perfectly with the notches in the camshaft pulleys.
New belt positioned on camshaft pulleys 1 and 2. Note the green lines on the belt.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Fit belt around the upper idler pulley.
- Fit belt around camshaft pulleys 3 and 4, making sure the white lines on the belt align perfectly with the notches in the camshaft pulleys.
New belt positioned on camshaft pulleys 3 and 4. Note the white lines on the belt. Note also the arrows indicating the direction of belt rotation.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Start by fitting the belt to the crankshaft so that the double green lines are aligned with the crankshaft notches. Fit the wedge piece so that the belt does not move from the crankshaft.
- Fit the new lower idler pulley. Do not tighten. If the new pulley comes with a new spacer, make sure it is the same thickness as the old spacer. If not, use the old spacer.
-
Before proceeding, verify the following:
- Crankshaft and camshaft pulleys have not moved. They shouldn't, as you've got them locked down.
- Double green lines on the belt are aligned with the notch on the hub for the crankshaft pulley.
New belt positioned on the crankshaft pulley. Note the double green lines on the belt.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Single green lines on the belt are aligned with the corresponding notches on camshaft pulleys 1 and 2.
New belt positioned on camshaft pulleys 1 and 2. Note the green lines on the belt.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Single white lines on the belt are aligned with the corresponding notches on camshaft pulleys 3 and 4.
New belt positioned on camshaft pulleys 3 and 4. Note the white lines on the belt. Note also the arrows indicating the direction of belt rotation.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- The belt should be roughly centered on the toothed pulleys. I found that as I rotated the crankshaft, the belt would actually move a bit to its desired location and then just stay there. No need to worry about belt position as long as it consistent on all the toothed pulleys.
- Give the tensioning pulley a bit of tension just to keep the belt in place. Snug the retaining nut such that it won't back off...but the final torque of 15 pound feet is not yet required.
- Position the lower idler pulley so that the eccentric is located at 12 o'clock. Sung the retaining bolt such that it won't back off...but the final torque of 30 pound feet is not yet required. Note: The Saab WIS makes mention of using a special belt tension gauge. This tool is not needed. Once you set the tensioning pulley, it will provide all the tension that is needed.
Lower idler pulley. Note the location of the green dot indicating a good initial position of 12 o'clock.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Position the upper idler pulley so that the eccentric is located at 9 o'clock. Sung the retaining bolt such that it won't back off...but the final torque of 30 pound feet is not yet required.
Upper idler pulley. Note the location of the green dot indicating a good initial position of 9 o'clock.Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.
- Adjust the tensioning pulley so that the two alignment marks are aligned. Snug the retaining nut.
-
Before proceeding, verify the following:
- The nut securing the tensioning pulley and the bolts securing the idler pulleys are good and snug. What you don't want to happen is for them to loosen up as you are rotating the crankshaft, the belt get off a tooth, and then the timing is off. Not good.
- Remove the wedge piece, the lock on the crankshaft, and both locks on the camshaft pulleys.
- Rotate the engine 2 complete revolutions. Just before the crankshaft is at TDC, fit the crankshaft lock and rotate the crankshaft to TDC.
- Fit the alignment jig and check that the notches on the camshaft pulleys match the marks on the alignment jig. Sorry, I've no picture of the alignment jig. It looks like a figure
8
and fits inside both pulleys. Once you fit it, it will be immediately obvious whether or not the pulleys are in the proper location.- If notches on the camshaft pulley have rotated past the marks on the alignment jig, then the idler pulley is too tight. Loosen it just a bit and try again.
- If notches on the camshaft pulley have not yet reached the marks on the alignment jig, then the idler pulley is too loose. Tighten it just a bit and try again.
- There exists some interaction between the idler pulleys. For example, if you tighten the upper idler pulley, it will affect both camshafts 1 and 2 as well as camshafts 3 and 4. Camshafts 1 and 2 will be rotated more clockwise while camshafts 3 and 4 will be rotated more counter-clockwise. Therefore, you may very well need to tighten one idler pulley and loosen the other. You will just have to use trial and error to get it right.
- Each time you adjust the idler pulleys, you will need to check and adjust the tensioner pulley.
- Once you've adjusted the pulleys, remove the lock on the crankshaft and rotate the engine 2 more revolutions. Fit the crankshaft lock and recheck the pulleys with the alignment jig. Keep adjusting, rotating, and checking until all pulleys are properly aligned.
- Once you are 100% satisfied with the alignment, do a final check/adjustment on the tensioning pulley. From what I've read, the alignment marks on the tensioning pulley should be just a hair on the tight side. By a
hair
, I mean 0.04 inch. You will probably notice that the alignment marks move around a bit as you rotate the engine. No need for concern, this is just the normal spring-loaded tensioner doing it's job as more or less valve spring resistance is encountered. - Using a torque wrench, tighten the nut on the tensioning pulley to 15 pound feet.
- Using a torque wrench, tighten the bolts on the idlers pulleys to 30 pound feet.
- That's it. You are now ready to put everything back together.
Part 3: Assembly
Assembly is pretty much the reverse of disassembly. A couple of points...
- The Saab WIS says to use thread locking compound on the three bolts securing the water pump pulley to the water pump. I used medium strength thread locking compound. Torque for these bolts is 6 pound feet.
- The Saab WIS says to use thread locking compound on the three bolts securing the steering pump pulley to the steering pump. I used medium strength thread locking compound. Torque for these bolts is 15 pound feet.
- The Saab WIS says the torque for the crankshaft pulley is 15 pound feet.
- I applied anti-seize compound to most all of the bolts to which I didn't apply thread locking compound.
Part 4: Start the car
Nervous? You better believe I was. There isn't anything you can do at this point other than turn the key and start the engine. Mine was a success. I hope yours is too.
Wheel bearing cross-reference (front)
Updated: 2010 Jun 02
The front wheel bearings have the following size and cross-reference:
- 39 mm ID × 74 mm OD × 39 mm Wide
- Tianshui DRB Trading Co.: DAC39740039 (DAC 39740039)
- BREDA: C488
- FAG: 579557
- SKF: BAHB636096A (BAHB 636096 A)
- IRB: IR-8603
Wheel bearing replacement (front)
Updated: 2010 Jun 15
At 130,000 miles (2010 Jun 05), I replaced both of the front wheel bearings. The original bearings weren't bad. But, I was already disassembling most of the related components to fit new struts and constant velocity joints/axles. So, I decided to fit new bearings at the same time. Removing the hub/steering swivel member assembly was pretty simple and straightforward. I just followed the procedure outlined in the Saab Workshop Information System (WIS) software.
With the assembly removed, I headed over to my 12 ton press to get the assembly apart. The procedure is really a three step process. Start by pressing the hub from the inner race of the bearing, remove the giant circlip, and then press the entire bearing from the steering swivel member. Sounds straightforward enough...
However, the inner race of both bearings was solidly frozen to the hub. By applying force with the press, each bearing broke in half (as a shower of ball bearings exploded downward from my press). This left me with an inner race still frozen in place on the hub, and the remainder of the bearing still in place on the steering swivel member.
Removing the outer race from the steering swivel member was easy. I pulled the circlip and I pressed it right out. Good.
Removing the inner race from the hub, however, was a different story. There really isn't any way to get a puller or press on the remaining inner race. So I never even bothered trying that. Instead, I reached right for my 4 inch angle grinder and carefully cut the inner race right up next to the hub. I was as careful as I could be not to nick the hub, but a nick or two was inevitable (and won't hurt anything in the long run, anyway). Once the inner race with thin enough, I popped it a few times with a chisel to complete the break and then it came right off with very little pressure from a couple of pry bars.
With everything apart, I cleaned up all the surfaces, lubricated with a good quality grease, and pressed in the new bearings. The new bearings went in easily and smoothly.
Note: The large circlips will very likely be damaged when you remove the old bearings. Both of mine were bent and I had to unbend them for reuse. I wish I had ordered new circlips at the same time that I had ordered the bearings. But, I didn't and I was unwilling to wait. Should I ever do it again, though, I'll buy new circlips.
