Returning after 30 years....

Hi

Others can put me right on this ... the only engine with a belt was the

2.5 v6, and that did not have a turbo. If your engine is a 4 cylinder don't worry about a belt.

Regards Charles

I'm not completely convinced about that. Well I know that the Saab engine in my 9k has timing chain. However, the new 9-3SS have Saab modified Vauxhall engines, there is even a NA base model which has a straight Vauxhall engine. I would have to open the bonnet or something to put my mind at rest.

Not sure about the new 9-3SS, but the 1997 900 Turbo being discussed has a genuine Saab engine with timing chain.

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Yes, I believe so since it's the same engine block as in my 9k. But the 9-3SS has a completely new engine.

The new 93 with the Z18XE and Z19DT engine both have a timing belt, There is nothing like progress.......... Regards, Tom, Saabtech.

You mean: progress for the beancounters...

Thankfully at the same time BMW have moved away from belts to chains...

Sorry my previous post was meant to have a hint of sarcasm............ Regards, Tom, Saabtech.

...interesting about BMW. Any idea which BMW models have/had belts as opposed to chains? (though maybe I should look on one the BMW newsgroups).

Yes, that was how I read it.

All of the M10 2V/cylinder 4s have chains (and always have), the

2v/cylinder baby sixes (M20) have belts and are also interference engines.

Bill

Tom,

I would respectfully submit that your sentence could be improved by replacing "There" with "This".

Best regards, Dave Hinz

The only ones that I am aware of were the small (2.5 and 2.7 liter) inline 6 cylinder engines from the mid '80s up until ~ 1991. This engine was designated as the "M20" engine in BMW parlance. These were found in the 325i, 325e, 525i and 525e model cars. No 4 cyl, 8 cyl or big 6 cylinder engines ever had timing belts. All chains.

That said, those same engines (the ones with the belts) are among the most long lived and reliable engines ever produced. It is not at all unusual to see one with 250-350 k miles on it and no major rebuild. It was merely a matter of changing the belt and tensioner every 50k miles religiously.

The belt change on that car was about a 45 minute job in the hands of an experienced wrench. The first and only one that I did took me about 1

1/2 hours total and I was doing a lot of instruction manual consultation and fumbling around.

I thought the M40 1.8 and M43 1.6 also had belts?

I have a real soft spot for my e30 325i - that engine is sheer poetry. The car is getting old and rusty now, which is a shame, but I love driving it.

I think you will find quite a few changes from your 99, most not for the better :-( You will find your wrenches will be of little use fixing the GM electrical bells and whistles that will probably give most of the problems. Look out for the ignition switch failure - which could leave you without any electrical power (no lights- no engine - no power brakes

- no power steering) suddenly on the highway at night. This happened to me with a GM900. Easily test however, start the car and wiggle the switch - if it dies, you have identified one issue. Power seat relays tend to loosen and fall out - easily replaced but a pain. Vent control motor can fail - sympton is you cannot control air flow, but this could also be the control panel - neither is inexpensive. I am sure you are aware of the DI cassette failures and wide variety of symptoms. The same issues plague new GM cars. I test drove a brand new H3 and the speedometer did not work.

My GM900 was towed to the sh> Folks: