900 Se Auto..Timing chain...still a factor?

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derek - 01 Jul 2004 01:21 GMT

Hi,
help wanted. I had Saabs years back, when the timing chain was a bit of a
cost thing to replace at around 90k miles.

Now, I'm back in the buying Saab market again, and looking at 900SE
Automatic, convertible.. 1996. (93 shape)
Is the timing chain still a consideration, or does it now go on forever? Is
the life expectancy of the timing chain dependant on the type of driving, ie
city or long runs? While I'm here.. can anyone recommend any other places I
can research this car? I want one!

Anyone got any good advice on what to look for?

My man, he say.."him costly horse to maintain... we buy a mule instead, and
I fix him every time he breaks. Then we buy new mule, or maybe a nice
donkey"
And he's not even a Red Indian. He's Scottish, and tight as an Oyster.
Would I be better p/exing him for a more generous model? :-)
Only joking about the last part.
I'm serious about the car. All advice/help appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation

Nichollette

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Grunff - 01 Jul 2004 01:32 GMT

> help wanted. I had Saabs years back, when the timing chain was a bit of a
> cost thing to replace at around 90k miles.

Very unusual for chain to need replacing at such a low mileage.

> Now, I'm back in the buying Saab market again, and looking at 900SE
> Automatic, convertible.. 1996. (93 shape)

Ouch! Picking a prime example of a butchered GM monstosity then...

> Is the timing chain still a consideration, or does it now go on forever?

It's still the same chain (apart from the v6, which is belted), and
lasts about as long. Expect to replace maybe at 200-300k miles.

> Is
> the life expectancy of the timing chain dependant on the type of driving, ie
> city or long runs?

Not really - what's important is that oil is changed regularly, and the
chain tensioner is replaced when necessary.

> While I'm here.. can anyone recommend any other places I
> can research this car? I want one!

The chain is really the least of your worries on this car. The least
likely thing to leave you stranded by the road. By a mile. And
relatively cheap to replace compared to some of the other items you
might be looking to replace on a 1996 900.

> Anyone got any good advice on what to look for?

I'm the wrong guy to ask.

> Thanks in anticipation

Good luck.

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Grunff

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Henrik B. - 01 Jul 2004 10:42 GMT

> > help wanted. I had Saabs years back, when the timing chain was a bit of a
> > cost thing to replace at around 90k miles.
>
> Very unusual for chain to need replacing at such a low mileage.

Not so. The 2,3-liter engines of 1989 - 1992 has a weak gearwheel (the
bottom one) on the balanceshafts.
It's a 9000 problem.

Cheers!

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Fred W. - 01 Jul 2004 13:20 GMT

> > > help wanted. I had Saabs years back, when the timing chain was a bit of
> a
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> bottom one) on the balanceshafts.
> It's a 9000 problem.

You are correct. I had a '92 and did the deed myself at less than 90k
miles. That unfortante trait only applied to the 2.3L engines of those
years. By 1993 it was fixed. The '96 9-3 will not have that engine, nor
the chain problems.

-Fred W

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Grunff - 01 Jul 2004 16:07 GMT

> Not so. The 2,3-liter engines of 1989 - 1992 has a weak gearwheel (the
> bottom one) on the balanceshafts.
> It's a 9000 problem.

Fair enough - but that was a very specific range of vehicles with a
known problem, not timing chains on Saabs in general.

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Grunff

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Dave Hinz - 01 Jul 2004 03:15 GMT

> Hi,
> help wanted. I had Saabs years back, when the timing chain was a bit of a
> cost thing to replace at around 90k miles.

Hm, OK, never had one go, let alone that young, maybe you had a tensioner
fail leading to a chain going? Those usually give you much (months) of
warning. If you're talking early 80's or before, that tensioner has
been redesigned.

> Now, I'm back in the buying Saab market again, and looking at 900SE
> Automatic, convertible.. 1996. (93 shape)
> Is the timing chain still a consideration, or does it now go on forever?

If you buy the 4cyl engine, it's a chain and will go probably hundreds
of thousands of miles. If, for some reason, you buy the V6, it has
a timing belt, isn't a true Saab-designed engine, isn't as tune-able,
and needs more attention. The belts need to be replaced every (what,
45,000 miles is it?) or ugly, bad things _WILL_ happen. The 4 is the
same rock-solid engine (ok, more or less, yes I know, etc) that you've
come to expect of Saab.

> Is
> the life expectancy of the timing chain dependant on the type of driving, ie
> city or long runs? While I'm here.. can anyone recommend any other places I
> can research this car? I want one!

You'll love it; the chain isn't a cause for concern, at all. Failures are
unusual enough that I can't think of more than two mentions in the last
year here.

> Anyone got any good advice on what to look for?

If the SE in your part of the world gives you the 9-speaker sound
system, you'll love it. Dark Side of the Moon is a fantastic
"show off the sound system" CD for it. If you care about rear seat
legroom, the 9-5 has more of it, but there's no 'vert in the 9-5 line
that I'm aware of.

> My man, he say.."him costly horse to maintain... we buy a mule instead, and
> I fix him every time he breaks. Then we buy new mule, or maybe a nice
> donkey"

Not sure why you'd have to "fix" a mule, aren't they sterile? but yeah,
I see the point. Repair costs on my '99 9-5SE have been the usual
(tires/oil/brakes/scheduled service) with the addition of a serpentine
belt and it's tensioner at, oh, 70K miles or so. I didn't find brake
parts to be too out of line, and tires don't care if they're on a
racehorse or a mule.

> And he's not even a Red Indian. He's Scottish, and tight as an Oyster.
> Would I be better p/exing him for a more generous model? :-)

Some questions are better left unanswered in a forum such as this...

> Only joking about the last part.
> I'm serious about the car. All advice/help appreciated.

We're pretty friendly here, questions are most welcome. Can you get
a copy of the service records, especially if it's a V6 engine?

Dave Hinz

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Henrik B. - 01 Jul 2004 10:40 GMT

> Hi,
> help wanted. I had Saabs years back, when the timing chain was a bit of a
> cost thing to replace at around 90k miles.

Jep, been there, done that. But this was only the case with the 2,3-litre
engines between '89 and '92.

> Now, I'm back in the buying Saab market again, and looking at 900SE
> Automatic, convertible.. 1996. (93 shape)
> Is the timing chain still a consideration, or does it now go on forever?

I't will go on forever. :o)

> Is
> the life expectancy of the timing chain dependant on the type of driving, ie
> city or long runs?

Your driving isn't of any consideration. Your oil-changes are on the other
hand.

> Anyone got any good advice on what to look for?

Jep, 9-3 Conv. a much better car.

Cheers!

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Fred W. - 01 Jul 2004 13:23 GMT

> > Anyone got any good advice on what to look for?
>
> Jep, 9-3 Conv. a much better car.

Ooooh. I disagree there. I much prefer the hatchback and in fact sold a
2000 9-3SE CV and bought a '98 900SE 5-door. There is too much body flexing
in the rag-tops for my taste. The '98 was the first year of the hydraulic
clutch (a big plus) but the power is down a bit on the SEs until 2000.

I'd say look for a 2000 SE 5 door.

-Fred W

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Henrik B. - 01 Jul 2004 14:14 GMT

> > Jep, 9-3 Conv. a much better car.
>
> Ooooh. I disagree there. I much prefer the hatchback and in fact sold a
> 2000 9-3SE CV and bought a '98 900SE 5-door. There is too much body flexing
> in the rag-tops for my taste. The '98 was the first year of the hydraulic
> clutch (a big plus) but the power is down a bit on the SEs until 2000.

I'm sure you're right, but Derek is in fact looking for at Convertible. And
I'm sure you agree that between the NG900 Conv. and the 9-3 Conv. That the
9-3 is the better Conv. - right?

Cheers!

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Bob - 01 Jul 2004 18:30 GMT

>I'm sure you're right, but Derek is in fact looking for at Convertible. And
>I'm sure you agree that between the NG900 Conv. and the 9-3 Conv. That the
>9-3 is the better Conv. - right?
>
>Cheers!

I'd disagree a bit. The 9~3 convertible came out in 1999, with an
acknowledged 1000 new parts. It takes a little time to sort out
new parts, so 2000 would be the year to buy. That will be quite a
bit more money than a '98 or earlier. There are not really any
major changes in the 9~3 vs. the NG900 so for most people it's
the same vehicle.

I'd suggest a '97 900SE 'vert or a '98. You get the hydraulic clutch
in '98. That's not a major difference but is a "nice to have". As to
the power, you can easily do what Saab did and pull some more HP out
of the 900SE but if you are not a hobbyist and want it "out of the
box" then an ECU upgrade might be the way to go and that may be $500
to $1000. The '98 already has 185HP and Saab torque so it's no slacker
but a little tuning is loads of fun. Of course, some suspension tuning
is in order to add to the fun factor. There were some minor issues
with various NG900 components when it first came out so I don't
recommend the '95 or '96. The fixes were all incorporated by '97.

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