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Head Replacement - Timing ?s... more help needed!
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Posted by matthew greig (more from matthew greig) on Mon, 4 Nov 2002 16:44:50 Share Post by Email
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QUICK BACKGROUND: I inherited a '93 9000CSE (manual, normally aspirated) that overheated and consequently warped the head. Our local Saab dealership diagnosed the problem, and removed everything (head was already off - along with cam timing sprockets & upper timing chain tensioner) before I ever received the car. I'm replacing the head (rebuilt unit that came complete MINUS the cams) and have the head bolted back on with the cam timing sprockets/timing chain installed, but I have some worries about the work we've done. Here are the specific steps that we took:

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1. I assumed that the Saab dealership removed the head with the flywheel @ 0 deg. and with piston #1 @ TDC (pretty safe assumption I would think). Yesterday evening, my brother-in-law was trying to help me out by checking to see if the battery had been re-charged. In turning the ignition key to the on position, he turned it a little too far and engaged the starter. We spun the motor all the way around again (vs. just spinning it backwards as we probably should have done) until the #1 piston was again at TCD ... but remember here that the cam timing sprockets and timing chain were not connected to the camshaft.

2. We swapped over the camshafts and camfollowers (taking care to keep the camfollowers aligned with the original camshaft lobes), installing the camshafts with the alignment mark facing up.

3. We installed the cam timing sprockets and timing chain, taking care to align the white marks on the timing chain with the white marks on the cam timing sprockets.

4. It was late, and we completely forgot to install the upper timing chain tensioner (it's still in my box of parts as I type this).

5. We manually spun the engine (which took forever using a standard screwdriver) two times to check for timing chain alignment. The first time around, the white alignment marks on the two cam timing sprockets were not even close to lining up with the white alignment marks on the timing chain. The marks were almost 50% off - when the alignment marks on the timing chain were aligned with marks on the cam bearing caps, the alignment marks on the cam timing sprockets were almost 180 deg. off - basically at the bottom of the cam timing sprockets. On the second spin, the alignment marks were closer to being aligned, but when the timing chain and the bearing caps lined up, the cam timing sprocket was still 8 or 9 teeth off.
****************************

SO, here are my specific questions:

1. My diagnosis here is that my timing is completely off ... but I don't know how to go about getting my motor correctly timed.
2. Can I install the top timing chain tensioner body (minus the plastic guide pin, the spring, and the plug bolt) while my head is bolted to the block? I'm not sure that there's really clearance to get in there...?
3. Did I install the cams correctly/is there a correct alignment for installing the cams?
4. If the upper chain tensioner is not installed and you spin the engine around, does it allow the timing chain to slip? I just can’t figure out why the alignment marks are so far off…

Thnx a ton!

Matthew – stuck in CA until I get this car back together – Greig
206.255.6927 (cell)






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