2001 SAAB 9-5 Timing Chain

BRAMHAMS

MEMBER
2001 SAAB 9-5
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
62,000 MILES

A mechanic replaced the timing chain. He indicated, this job required removal of the engine. After installing, the car was running rough so I took it to another mechanic.

He said the first mechanic installed the timing chain incorrectly--15 links on one side of the sprockets and 14 links on the other. He said that was wrong and caused the engine to run rough and actually 'burn out the computer' which then needed to be replaced.

A few questiions:

Is it possible to install the timing chain incorrectly?
If it were installed incorrectly, wouldn't there have been damage to the pistons or the valves?
Could the 2nd mechanic have adjusted the timing chain as he explained, without removing the engine?

1 Reply

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Hello
Thanks for the donation

Yes, a timing chain can be installed incorrectly which would cause very poor idling. If your engine is an interference engine then yes, it may have caused damage to the valves. However, if it is a non-interference engine (contact local dealer to know for sure which is installed) then it would not have harmed anything by being installed incorrectly. It would extremely difficult to do any adjustments or replacement of the chain with the engine still in the bay. It takes two people to lay the chain correctly onto the sprockets and this is fairly impossible without the proper access to chain area.

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