[mutungi]

where are they? How to set TDC for removal of head and replacement of timimg/balance chains/sprockets?

 

[Dave Beddows]

Eeeeermmm - a Haynes Manual will only cost you about £15 at your local Halfords you know mutungi..... and the pictures and text are biased towards 204 (balance shaft) engines.......

Absolutely no offense intended mate but I can now predict what question is comming next with this (there will be a part 2 regarding refitting the pipe to the waterpump when you've replaced the timing cover for example....?) and the Haynes manual does give a good few tips regarding what you are doing

Haynes manuals are nothing near what they used to be btw and I'm sure most of us are more than willing to offer you any advice we have to make things easier but - BUY A MANUAL (If you already have one, my humble appologies!)

 

[curlystu]

I agree,
Mutungi buy a manual, or dont f*** around with things you dont understand.

 

[mutungi]

calm down folks.....I have a Haynes manual and fully understand the mammoth task in hand but no harm in a SECOND OPINION, is there? At least one gets assurance from fellow enthusiasts! For example, can some bright spark here tell me where in Haynes manual they tell you how to tackle seized turbo nuts? Or where to lock engine crank to enable removal of the crankshaft pulley bolt?

 

[Dave Beddows]

Like I said no offense intended but pg. 2A-8 section 6 in the 1995 edition of the Haynes Saab 2000 manual explains this as well as any of the rest of us could surely(?) and with pictures....

This isn't the start of an argument and I know exactly what you are saying - dash bulb specs in a Haynes manual!!!? for example - and I guess if people are willing to reply to every step of the process then why not!

 

[mutungi]

Dave...you understand how it is....you like the suit and you wanna buy it, yet you still ask the wife if it is Ok, it adds that teeny-weeny bit of confidence to your choice. Same here, if I was a SAAB techy, no problem! But I am a mere DIY weekend handyman with interest in car mechanics and feel dealerships don't give you a fair deal in fixing cars thus my efforts to tackle the issue in hand. Anyway, enough said, is someone going to answer my original question?

 

[kprm77]

Perhaps Mutungi could have worded his query better, but there was no call for a hostile response.

This board will not work if contributors start sniping at each other.

Not all of us are mechanically competent (especially me), so please be more patient with some of the queries.

Kevin Mc
9000 Moderator

 

[zeppelin]

mutungi,you have all my support. i bought a 90 9000s with what i hoped was blown h/gasket.ihad never done anything like this before/i was sh..... myself,but with a haynes and lots of double checking you will do it .i did;; any way down the line, if you need help post i will help as best i can regards zep. ps. your biggest hinderance is your self doubt. believe me it is true, fear f..... you up.

 

[trejon]

Your only hope is to either apply some heat from an Oxy- Acetylene torch to each nut and whilst it is hot (and expanded) undo it quickly before it cools down. Once you've got it going spray some WD40 to aid it's removal. Failing this you can either chisel or hacksaw the offending studs off and renew on re-assembly. There isn't any magic solution to the problem of nuts seizing on studs that are exposed to extreme temp changes. The one thing that I can recommend is that when you re-assemble you do it with new studs and nuts regardless of the method you applied to remove them. The LAST thing you want to happen when you are putting it all back together is for a nut to seize up half way down a stud. I would also recommend that in extreme temp applications the use of stainless steel studs and nuts will better cope with the temp changes and weather conditions thereby making it easier to dissmantle next time.(God forbid) Also applying a wipe of nickel or copper based anti-seize compound wont do any harm either.

 

[trejon]

I forgot to mention........ don't bother asking your dealer for stainless steel studs and nuts cos he'll probably look at you with a vague expression and reply uhhhh! If he does have them they'll probably cost you 3 arms and 2 legs. Go to your local nut and bolt supplier and they should be able to supply them. Failing that just e-mail me on [email protected] and they will be winging their way to you in no time at all,all the way from sunny Brisbane. NOT !! It's pimply sissing down here at the moment!!

 

[sgould]

A word of caution. We use lots of nuts and bolts at work for pipe flanges etc. We would not usually use a stainless nut and bolt together. Not sure of why, but under high stress they lock on and can't be undone. We think that when stressed, the hard crystals in the stainless steel distort and form a sort of ratchet.

We don't often have high temperature use - normally high corrosion. We would use from choice a stainless bolt (or stud) with a gunmetal nut.

 

[Dave Beddows]

Nooooo, this wasn't what I intended at all - I hoped (it would seem mistakenly - for which I appologise again) that I had phrased my reply in a friendly way. I have previously replied to mutungis' postings and will continue do do so if I can be of any help. It just seemed to me that a lot of the questions asked regarding a b204 engine are answered (with pictures) in the Haynes Saab 9000 manual should you not have one, mutungi has one, I'm sorry, Dave messed up

 

[kprm77]

Dave - it wasn't your response I was getting at! Curlystu was OTT in his reponse. Curlystu - I'll assume that your response was made in good humour, but try to word things a little more diplomatically! A smiley would have taken any hostility out of the remark.

Anyway, there have been some good responses on this thread since, so I'll shut up, and back to the Saabs!

Kevin Mc
9000 Moderator

 

[Anthony B]

The manual gives a good guide but there is no substitute for experience on some things.For example, the manual doesn't tell you how to get the side blower vent pipe back onto the outlet and the feed whilst working over the top of the dash.Fiddly job but dead easy once you have the technique.Similarly mutungi's post about the pipe...I might have saved myself a boat load of hassle if someone had helped me first time.Personally I think the manual is probably not as useful as the pool of experience on here.Keep up the good work and the help.
A

 

[MikeH]

Although I have not yet needed to undo either my manifold or turbo bolts ,I have always had good results with Plus-Gas,Wd 40 evaporates to fast,a cheap diy recipe is a 50/50 mixture of brake fluid and paraffin applied and left to soak,but for God's sake keep it away from your paintwork.

 

[curlystu]

Sorry! No offense intended :¬) just my warped sense of humour.....

 

[kprm77]

Good Man Curlystu!

With this Bulletin Board/Email lark, it is often very hard to put accross exactly how you feel when you are writing, i.e. mannerisms, tone of voice, facial expression and so on.

I've been tempted more than once to make some remarks to other threads over the years, but it is so easy to mis-interpret on these boards. I'll be more daring when it comes to the people I know personally, but even then I'm careful in case someone else jumps in at their defence, before the others get a chance to respond.

We're trying to get the scripts updated on the boards, so that'll give us access to a range of facial expressions (smileys, rolling eyes and so on) as well as a host of extra features - so that will make it better.


Kevin Mc
9000 Moderator

 

[Dave Beddows]

OK, in answer to the original question... The engine it at TDC when the timing marks on the sprockets (little machined lines) line up with the timing marks on the inside of the cylinder head. If in doubt take the spark plug out of number one cyinder and gently pop a screw driver in to see if the piston is at the top of the bore. If you're still unsure continue to rotate the engine (clockwise - and having removed the screwdriver...) and see which valves are operated first - if it's the exhaust ones then you were at TDC.

Once you're happy the engines at TDC and all the timing marks line up put a little dab of paint on the relevant chain just above the timing mark on the sprocket. Then when you have removed the old chains you can use them as guides to put dabs of paint on the new chains in exactly the same places. Which then means that when you come to fit the new chains you will know for certain that you've got the timing right.

Not sure if this is what you were asking about but hope it helps anyway

 

[mutungi]

Thanks Dave....it is this little bit of extra which is not covered by Haynes!