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I took the plunge and replaced ALL of the Balance Shaft and Timing gears, chains, guides and tensioners over the last 2 weekends even though they had not yet failed. I have a '91 9kt with the 2.3 that I love to drive and plan to drive well beyond 200k. I have heard too many stories about improperly hardened BS gears failing on the '91's and taking out the engine. I only have 115k, but heard of this happening with as little as 120k. Anyway, I dropped about $600 in parts and took the plunge myself.
The task is not too difficult to accomplish if you are patient and thorough. THe Bulletin Board pulled me out of a few binds along the way. Too many helpful posts to thank everybody individually, but you know who you are. A particularly helpful hint was to place the timing cover in the freezer prior to installation. This allows the procedure to be done without removing the head or oil pan. Otherwise, the tolerance between the pan and head is too close to re-install the cover without damaging the head gasket.
I have driven the car about 300 miles and all is well, so the job was a success! I didn't realize that my chain made as much noise as if did before the new parts. I also found that the BS gear on the crank was more than 50% worn when compared with the new gear. It is hard to estimate when it would have begun to break, but it probably would have been in the next 20k.
Anyway, thanks again to all of you who helped me with this project; and if you are considering doing this yourself, buy the saab engine manual first and don't rush yourself! It can be done successfully by someone with reasonably good mechanical skills and PATIENCE.
posted by 216.125.1...
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