During the past two weeks and last weekend I have done some basic maintenance stuff on the 9-3t I bought a while back. As I plan to keep the car for a few years I decided to fix a few issues – namely the brakes (squeaking), timing chain (rattling), and a little rust on the floor pan. It was also convenient to put in a new water pump and drive belt since most of the engine was going to come a part anyway.
I started the job by taking the brakes completely apart to clean them properly. I also put in new brake pads.
The next order of business was to fix the corrosion protection which was starting wear out.
There was already some visible rust on the floor pan.
I removed the rust spots with a wire brush and angle grinder.
Anti-corrosive paint.
And for a final touch I re-sprayed the underside with rust proofing compound.
There was quite a bit of dirt under the plastic covers so I opened them and cleaned them out. This stuff stays permanently wet! A perfect way to get the rust some foothold!
Time to move on to the engine.
The most important job was to replace the noisy timing and balance chains, gears, and guides.
There’s not enough room to pop out the timing chain cover right away. You need to suspend the engine, remove the engine supports and then push the engine towards the gearbox side to get enough room.
New timing chain, gears, and guides installed. Time to put in the balance chain.
It’s also a good idea to clean the oil pan and especially the oil pump coarse filter.
If you have not checked the crankshaft pulley torx screws yet I recommend you do it as soon as possible! They have a tendency to come loose and can cause a lot of damage. Fix by applying some Locktite and tighten.
I replaced all the old vacuum lines with some new silicon lines. Yep – ugly colour but I got it free…
All back together again. As the engine was apart I also replaced the drive belt and water pump.
The next order of business will be a stage 1 Biopower software. I’m also going to put in some new poly bushes at front. Should be fun to drive after that.
Oh. And say goodbye to the 900. I parted it out and many of the somewhat rare accessories and parts now live on in other Saabs.
