saab 9-5 timing belt/chain

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John Bain - 09 May 2007 18:21 GMT

I have an eight year-old 9-5 which has now covered nearly 89000 miles.
Could somebody please let me know if any timing belts/tensioners are
due/overdue for replacement.
I've been told nothing is needed as the belt is a chain belt. The manual is
not clear.
However, I don't want the usual mess if something breaks. The car seems to
be running ok, but at idle there is a slight but audible noise - like a ping
pong ball rattling around inside a tin can is the only way I can best
describe it.
Thanks jb

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Fred W - 09 May 2007 22:31 GMT

> I have an eight year-old 9-5 which has now covered nearly 89000 miles.
> Could somebody please let me know if any timing belts/tensioners are
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> describe it.
> Thanks jb

You do not say what engine you have, so I cannot be 100% certain. But
if you do have a timing chain, rather than a timing belt, they generally
will last more than 89,000 miles with proper maintenance. That said,
your description of the sound does make me suspicious. You should
probably have it inspected by a knowledgeable SAAB mechanic. You may
have had a failure of the chain tensioner or one of the guides that
could produce the floppy chain prior to the chain actually wearing out

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-Fred W

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John Bain - 10 May 2007 08:22 GMT

thanks for that. the engine is a petrol 4 cylinder 2.3 turbo ecopower.
there is a reference to an engine drive belt replacement at 110,000km in
the service sheets.
thanks again jb

>> I have an eight year-old 9-5 which has now covered nearly 89000 miles.
>> Could somebody please let me know if any timing belts/tensioners are
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> failure of the chain tensioner or one of the guides that could produce the
> floppy chain prior to the chain actually wearing out

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Fred W - 10 May 2007 13:59 GMT

> thanks for that. the engine is a petrol 4 cylinder 2.3 turbo ecopower.
> there is a reference to an engine drive belt replacement at 110,000km in
> the service sheets.
> thanks again jb

OK, good. All the 4 cylinders have a timing chain. The only drive belt
is the external one you can see for the alternator, waterpump, power
steering and AC compressor.

A had to replace the timing chain and all of the guides once on an
earlier 2.3 liter engine ('92 9000T) at around 90k miles. I am sure it
was due to a prior owners negligence at oil changing. It wasn't that
bad of a job, but the labor costs would be high if you have it done for you.

Signature

-Fred W

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john - 12 May 2007 14:32 GMT

>I have an eight year-old 9-5 which has now covered nearly 89000 miles.
> Could somebody please let me know if any timing belts/tensioners are
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> describe it.
> Thanks jb

your description does sound like chain rattle however it could just be valve
train noise which isn't serious. Try an oil change and if the

the noise goes away when warm it's probably OK.

90K is very low mileage for a timing chain replacement on these cars but
depends how the car has been treated/serviced.

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Andrew Sinclair - 12 May 2007 19:08 GMT

>>I have an eight year-old 9-5 which has now covered nearly 89000 miles.
>> Could somebody please let me know if any timing belts/tensioners are
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>90K is very low mileage for a timing chain replacement on these cars but
>depends how the car has been treated/serviced.

Use a long screwdriver to touch the top of the engine and put the side
of your head on the handle of the screwdriver (well away from any moving
parts), if the noise comes through clearly then it could be something
inside the engine like the chain but at 89k miles I'd be surprised if it
was.

My money is on either one of the two idler pulleys on the
serpentine/accessory* belt or the water pump. These both have a habit
of failing and could make the noise you are hearing

At 89k miles you should have had a new belt at the last or last but one
service but often the pulleys are not changed, if you have no record of
the belt being changed then it may be prudent to have it replaced whilst
having the pulleys checked.

Andy

* serpentine/accessory belt is the 'fan belt' on the side of the engine
that drives all the auxiliaries like alternator, power steering pump,
water pump etc. If that snapped on you then you would be in trouble.

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Andrew Sinclair http://www.smellycat.org

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