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How To

How to Tune an Eight Valve Saab 900

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(5 Ratings)

this will dramatically increase efficiency and performance on your eight valve saab.(some methods apply to 16 valve also)

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Replace spark plugs: the swedes recommend this every 12,000 miles or once a year. Use NGK plugs available at almost any automotive store.

  2. Step 2

    when disconnecting spark plug wires be very carefull, grasp the connection as close to the sparkplug as possible.

  3. Step 3

    (easiest when engine is cold)

  4. Step 4

    pull plug wire briskly and unscrew plug.

  5. Step 5

    i have had bosch wires brake when i pulled them becausei did not grip them close to the plug.

  6. Step 6

    i recommend Beck Arnelly wires if yours are shot.

  7. Step 7

    any wire that shows visual wear should be replaced(cracking or fraying)

  8. Step 8

    REPLACE DISTRIBUTOR CAP AND ROTOR

  9. Step 9

    first pry the clamps off the distributor cap

  10. Step 10

    (its the round cylindrical thing sticking out of the front of your engine)

  11. Step 11

    with a plastic cover and five wires coming out of it)

  12. Step 12

    now on the inside rim or the plastic cap,

  13. Step 13

    you'll see a square nub that

  14. Step 14

    fits into a square bay in the distributor

  15. Step 15

    now hold your new distributor cap(Beck Arnelly are best)

  16. Step 16

    next to the connected one looking into the inside of it

  17. Step 17

    now turn them so the little square nubs are both in the same relative location... i.e. both at twelve o'clock.

  18. Step 18

    and take one wire at a time from the old cap pulling briskly and pushing it firmly into the new caps corresponding hole

  19. Step 19

    do all five wires. one at a time making certain they are in their proper hole. and pushing again to make sure you have an excellent connection.

  20. Step 20

    now now on top of the distibutor there is a little plastic propeller looking thing ...

  21. Step 21

    pull that off and put the new one on.

  22. Step 22

    now put the new cap back on , lining up the little square nub.

  23. Step 23

    and fasten the clamps by pressing in at the apex of their arcs with one hand while holding the new cap in place

  24. Step 24

    with the other hand.

  25. Step 25

    .

  26. Step 26

    CHECK O2 SENSOR FUNCTION.

  27. Step 27

    this is easy if you have a volt meter.

  28. Step 28

    first lets identify the 02 sensor.

  29. Step 29

    on the passengers side inside the engine you'll see

  30. Step 30

    a big iron pipe coming off the engine.

  31. Step 31

    this is your exhaust header.

  32. Step 32

    on this there is a little gizmo with a wire coming out of it.

  33. Step 33

    this is the o2 sensor( some have 2 wires)

  34. Step 34

    follow the wire to a connector on the wheel well.

  35. Step 35

    its connected? GOOD, now disconnect it, set your volt meter to DC VOLTS

  36. Step 36

    touch your black wire to the engine and your red wire to our o2 sensor wire

  37. Step 37

    oh the engine has to be running at this point...don't worry the o2 sensor only generates about a half a volt

  38. Step 38

    about enough to tickle a butterfly

  39. Step 39

    if your o2 sensor doesn't put out any volts at all,

  40. Step 40

    test the volt meter on your battery. should gget 12.6 volts or so.

  41. Step 41

    if your oxygen sensor is dead replace it.

  42. Step 42

    itunscrews with a pipe wrench and screws back in... but its in there so twist hard.

  43. Step 43

    the swedish engineers recomend this unit be replaced every other year.

  44. Step 44

    don't forget to plug the wire back in now.

  45. Step 45

    if you get any voltage at all your o2 sensor works and you can move on... shut the engine off.

  46. Step 46

    Check and Adjust IGNITION TIMING

  47. Step 47

    *NEED STROBOSCOPIC TIMING LIGHT

  48. Step 48

    OK start by hooking the timing light to the battery black to neg. red to + .

  49. Step 49

    then take the inductive pick up and clip it around spark plug wire #1 the one that is closest to the cockpit of the car.

  50. Step 50

    they are also labeled on the valve cover.

  51. Step 51

    now find the distributor.and it has three 10mm nuts

  52. Step 52

    so get the opened end 10mm wrench ready.

  53. Step 53

    okthere is a hose coming out of the distributor going to the intake manifold

  54. Step 54

    unhook this hose at the distributor end and plug it with a pencil.

  55. Step 55

    now you need a friend.

  56. Step 56

    but first lets find the timing window.

  57. Step 57

    between the distribtor and the intake manifold there is a black plastic sheath, deep below hoses and wires

  58. Step 58

    its prety much in the front of the engine

  59. Step 59

    not to the radiator though. and centered . now there is a small plasic circle cut out

  60. Step 60

    this is your timin window.( remember there are only a few square feet this could hide in so LOOK.

  61. Step 61

    YOU'LL FIND IT.

  62. Step 62

    this little window will display

  63. Step 63

    numbers as the strobe flashes inside the hole

  64. Step 64

    ok

  65. Step 65

    now have your girl friend start the car and bring the tach up to 2000 rpm's

  66. Step 66

    shine your timing light in the hole and see what the number lined up is.

  67. Step 67

    it should be 20

  68. Step 68

    if it is anything else you must lossen the distributor.

  69. Step 69

    and turn it slightly one way and then the other to see

  70. Step 70

    where twenty is working with the person in the car to find that magic spot where the engine

  71. Step 71

    is at 2 on the tachometer and the timing mark reads twenty on the line.

  72. Step 72

    when you finally find that sweet spot . crank those 10mm bolts down but not too hard , they might break.

  73. Step 73

    now reconect the hose to the distributor and un hook the timing light.

  74. Step 74

    SET THE IDLE

  75. Step 75

    the idle is set at the intake manifold which is the

  76. Step 76

    tube that is connected to either the big black rubber bellows or the aluminum turbo tube.

  77. Step 77

    now here you'll find a cable connected to a lever ...this is the throttle.

  78. Step 78

    first make sure the screw under the lever that acts as a backstop for the throttle is completely backed off until it doesn't touch the nub on the throttle lever, and then just turn it in one half a turn so they just touch.

  79. Step 79

    will your car idle now?

  80. Step 80

    if not or if it oscilates,

  81. Step 81

    take the rubber boot of the tube and get in there with an old tooth brush and some carb cleaner and open the throttle and clean all around inside of there. be thorough i've had more luck smoothing out rough idles this way than any other.

  82. Step 82

    all clean now reattach the boot and run the engine to normal operating temp.

  83. Step 83

    on the top of the throttle there is a bolt with a lock nut that appears to be holding "nothing " in place . this bolt holds your idle speed in place. lossen the lock nut , turn it and you will see.

  84. Step 84

    now turn it slowly and in small increments reving the engine and letting it idle down between increments until you land at about 900 rpms. just below the one on the tach.

  85. Step 85

    now tighten the lock nut and your set.

  86. Step 86

    FOR BONUS PERFORMANCE

  87. Step 87

    CHANGE AIR OIL AND FUEL FILTER

  88. Step 88

    AND CHANGE ALL FLUIDS AND BELTS.

  89. Step 89

    THE AIR FILTER IS UNDER THE BIG BLACK RUBBER BELLOWS.

  90. Step 90

    THE BELTS ARN'T AS HARD AS THEY LOOK, WITH BELTS I SAY DON'T THINK JUST "DO"

  91. Step 91

    AND WITH THE COOLANT YOU DRAIN THAT AT THE BOOTOM OF THE PASSENGERS SIDE OF THE RADIATOR.

  92. Step 92

    DO THIS ONCE A YEAR AND YOUR SAAB WILL SHINE LIKE A STAR.

  93. Step 93

    a guy in rochester n.y. has 400,000 miles on his 900 and a careless owner can expect 250,000 mi. if they tune up.

  94. Step 94

    a meticulous owner may expect 3-4 hundred thousand miles out of there saab 900 if they love there car care for it and take care of it .

  95. Step 95

    a guy up in nova scotia got over 500,000 on his old 76 saab 99 with the eight valve .

Tips & Warnings
  • saab dealers also have excellent parts for a little extra dough.
  • THE ENGINEERS RECOMMEND THIS ONCE A YEAR OR 12,000 MILES TOO.
  • if you cannot read the marks in the timing window: make sure the
  • light is clean , the lens and all. if that doesn't work
  • hold a wire brush in the hole to clean the surface of the wheel
  • for a while with the engine running.
  • beck arnelly parts all the way for long life and dependability
  • many of these parts are made in america: surprisingly and are of great quaility, and have good dependibility.
  • i've never had anything they make fail.
  • keep loose clothing long hair and pony tails and rings and jewelery ouyt of the engine compartment and for pete's sake wear old clothes. your gonna get greasy. ...
  • saabs are notorious for seeping oil. they don't really leak but when working on one expct to get greasy.they just seep.slowly /they all do/
Who Can Help

Comments  

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 1/16/2006 Don't disconnect your 02 sensor while testing it. The oxygen sensor is a device that is used to trim the air/fuel mixture as close to stoichiometric as possible. With the 02 sensor disconnected the controller will not receive the correct inputs, and depending on the air fuel mixture being too lean, you may not get a voltage signal from it. With the sensor connected, put your voltmeter ground side on the battery and your positive lead on the voltage signal from the 02. While the engine is running in closed loop operation (feedback mode), if your vehicle is running properly, you should see a voltage fluctuation of .2V-.8V.
.5V is the mean value indicating a perfect fuel mixture. Above .5 is rich and below .5v is lean. The only way to verify if the 02 is calibrated correctly is to have a gas machine measuring the actual 02 emissions from the tailpipe.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 12/9/2005 Go for nothing less than a Bosch distributor and rotor arm, they're original equipment and best quality.
Same with spark plugs and leads, NGK and Bougicord.
Don't let the people at Eurocarparts or GSF fob you off with other makes of spark plug, my 900's have always run best with NGK's.
Once, at Eurocarparts upon checking the paper work, I'd noticed my Saab had been typed in as a 9000. I insisted that a 900 be typed in to check the codes of the bits that I had ordered. The guy didn't want to do it, another more helpful body behind the counter did it and sure enough, all the codes changed.

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