2.0 rebuild...help,overwhelmed

[saabfan9]

feel I'm in too deep while I was waiting for a new pressure sensor (thank you squaab99t) I had some oil leaks I thought I would address.... first off I fount the nut missing for the center cam gear retainer (have not found it yet) then the plunger for the timing chain tensioner is all chewed up. I then start looking at my valve clearance and oh my god. so I go around to the back and the rear main seal was my biggest leak so I pop that cover to see what I have to do to get the input shaft out there is this black plastic pinwheel looking thing I unscrew that and whatever that piece is that the pinwheel screws into is all crumbled up it looks like someone has tried to weld/solder that thing to keep it together, so I stopped right there. It also looks like the water pump might be in the early stages of leaking how can you tell? I'm looking at that small gap between the housing and block at I see some crud in there. I also found that idler gear (timing chain) was way off say 6 o'clock instead of 3, does this matter? why does it have timing marks, does this explain why I could never get the timing right?


where can I find valve shims?
where can I find a timing chain tensioner?
water pump leaking?
what can I do about that piece on the input shaft?
is that nut for the cam gear down in my trans?
idler gear issue?

surprised this car ran at all...feeling overwhelmed ... I've never pulled one of these motors apart


i'll get some pics up

[Crazyswede]

feel I'm in too deep while I was waiting for a new pressure sensor (thank you squaab99t) I had some oil leaks I thought I would address.... first off I fount the nut missing for the center cam gear retainer (have not found it yet) then the plunger for the timing chain tensioner is all chewed up. I then start looking at my valve clearance and oh my god. so I go around to the back and the rear main seal was my biggest leak so I pop that cover to see what I have to do to get the input shaft out there is this black plastic pinwheel looking thing I unscrew that and whatever that piece is that the pinwheel screws into is all crumbled up it looks like someone has tried to weld/solder that thing to keep it together, so I stopped right there. It also looks like the water pump might be in the early stages of leaking how can you tell? I'm looking at that small gap between the housing and block at I see some crud in there. I also found that idler gear (timing chain) was way off say 6 o'clock instead of 3, does this matter? why does it have timing marks, does this explain why I could never get the timing right?


where can I find valve shims?
where can I find a timing chain tensioner?
water pump leaking?
what can I do about that piece on the input shaft?
is that nut for the cam gear down in my trans?
idler gear issue?

surprised this car ran at all...feeling overwhelmed ... I've never pulled one of these motors apart


i'll get some pics up

this is a B motor correct?

Valve shims...Measure the ones you have and let me know what you need. Chris Rizzon has or had a ton of them and I am sure I can pick through his and send you some.

If the water pump is leaking its either going to leak out of the cover or it is going to leak into your oil. Look for oil milkshake or signs of coolant around the cover.

Tensioner...I think you can run the 900 style 8v tensioner.

The idler gear is attached to the layshaft. The layshaft drives your water pump, your oil pump, and your ignition distributor. If it is in the wrong place then your distributor will be mistimed or very hard to locate in the proper position to run the car.

If the nut for the cam gear fell off then its either behind your timing cover or sitting in the top of your transmission.

[Geoff]

All good advice from Crazyswede.

The plastic pinwheel on the input shaft: You might be able to get one off a 900. Not sure if it's the same part between gear primaries and chain primaries.

The timing chain tensioner, a MGB tensioner fits:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1977-saab-99/new-saab-engine-takes-shape/

But also read this caveat:
http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/bb/99/index.html?bID=12482

[saabfan9]

I ordered a timing chain tensioner for an mgb this should work right?

to figure out my shims I take all the old ones out reinstall the cam take the readings and subtract .008 (spec) right?

thanks again guys

[Crazyswede]

I ordered a timing chain tensioner for an mgb this should work right?

to figure out my shims I take all the old ones out reinstall the cam take the readings and subtract .008 (spec) right?

thanks again guys

With the cam in there...measure and record the current clearance for each cam lobe. Pull the cam off and measure each shim and compare to the clearance to determine whether you are good, need thicker, or thinner shims. Then go look to see if any of the shims from other lobes are the correct size to correct another lobe.

[saabfan9]

I had a saab buddy hook me up with valve shims so I have the head all built and ready....I had the pull the rear cover with all the gears to get the input shaft out, problem I'm having now is I can't get the throw out bearing sleeve-pressure plate-clutch stuff out of the way to gain access to the rear main seal (which was my biggest leak)..any ideas?


still looking for:
-water pump
-manifold pressure sensor

[saabfan9]

[Crazyswede]

I had a saab buddy hook me up with valve shims so I have the head all built and ready....I had the pull the rear cover with all the gears to get the input shaft out, problem I'm having now is I can't get the throw out bearing sleeve-pressure plate-clutch stuff out of the way to gain access to the rear main seal (which was my biggest leak)..any ideas?


still looking for:
-water pump
-manifold pressure sensor

I think there was mention of using a grease gun to pump up the slave cylinder to compress the pressure plate so you can install the pressure plate lock ring. Once that is in you can let off yhe slave..pull the 3 mount bolts out of the slave and pull the pressure plate bolts. The pressure plate...slave...and clutch disc then come out together.

[saabfan9]

my slave stayed in the car....I would have to drop the motor back in the car, is there an easier way?

[squaab99t]

my slave stayed in the car....I would have to drop the motor back in the car, is there an easier way?

You have the early version with the Y yoke lever and external slave. It has been 25 years, but I think you can just remove the PP bolts and pull out the whole shooting match as mentioned above. You have to pull the flywheel off anyways to get to the rear main seal.
Here is Han's home grown tool to press in the seal utilizing the flywheel bolts as a jack screw.

I think he made it from an ABS cap from the plumbing section in your local hardware store.

[DrewP]

If it really has to be compressed to pull the whole stack out, you can bolt the pressure plate back down and take a long screwdriver or a prybar and pry against the flywheel and pull forwards on this tab. It'll compress about 1/3rd of the pressure plate fingers at a time, but you can work the pressure plate tool in a little at a time, rotate the engine, do the next spot, etc. Be really really careful not to get your fingers anywhere that you could get hurt if the prybar slips off the pressure plate, it's much easier with a helper.

You have a factory manual that shows you how to hold the pressure plate compressed with the wire tool, right?

[99Super]

Those style of springs can also be compressed/held w/ Vice Grips. You can get two springs at a time that way. Then a holder of some sort like Drew said. I use a length of heavy copper bonding wire.

[DrewP]

Ooh, I never thought of vise grips, that's a good tip for when I inevitably have to compress the clutch and have access to none of my tools.

[Crazyswede]

I missed the slave detail when I was looking on my phone last night. In some ways that should be easier as you should be able to lever it manually or with a pipe as an extension and have someone put the snap ring in.

[Geoff]

The waterpump should be rebuilt, not replaced. This is because the teeth on the pump shaft have worn in to match the auxiliary shaft and also because rebuild components are readily available. See:
http://saabrally.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1552&hilit=industry

Note the bearing and make sure to get a high-quality R10 open bearing with a C3 clearance (you might want to source one from a bearing distributor).

The only thing in the thread above that's missing are the O-rings associated with the earlier style water pump "cages" (which are brass). I don't have one of those so I couldn't spec the O-rings.