Occasionally you must replace the timing belt on your Saab because of wear or damage. Saab recommends that as a matter of maintenance you replace the belts approximately every 60,000 miles. The procedures for changing the timing belt are standard on most Saab models, including the 9000 series V-6 3.0 liter engine. For specific instructions regarding your Saab model, refer to your owner's manual. You can replace the timing belt in about four to six hours.
Lift up the front passenger side of your Saab with a floor jack, and slide a jack stand under the front passenger side axle, then lower the floor jack until the vehicle is resting on the jack stand.
Remove the front passenger tire of your car by using a lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts; place the tire and lug nuts in a safe location.
Disconnect the front fender wheel cover by pulling it away from the vehicle frame and detaching the plastic snap pins from the pinholes in the frame.
Place a socket between the engine frame and the oil pan to keep the engine in place, then locate the upper engine mount support bracket at the front of the engine.
Disconnect the upper engine mount support bracket with a socket wrench from the engine block and the frame, and move it out of the way.
Loosen the bolts on the water pump and the power steering pump with a socket wrench just enough to loosen up the timing belt.
Take the tension off the timing belt by using a 15 mm socket wrench on the tensioner pulley bolt, then remove the belt tensioner as well as the water pump and power steering pulleys.
Detach the air intake pipe on the top of the alternator with a socket wrench, and remove it.
Locate the lower engine mount bracket, and disconnect it using a socket wrench. Unfasten all the outer timing cover bolts with the socket wrench, leaving the center bolt attached.
Locate the timing marks on the camshaft sprocket, just above the crankshaft and the timing cover, that run sideways across the edge of the parts.
Rotate the crankshaft clockwise by placing a socket wrench on the middle bolt and turning it until the timing marks on the camshaft sprocket and the timing cover line up.
Place camshaft locks on both sides of the engine banks in the front at the camshafts to lock them in place and keep them from turning.
Disconnect the idler pulleys at the tensioner with a socket wrench, and remove the pulleys and the timing belt from the front of the engine.
Attach new idler pulleys, tensioner and timing belt on the front of the engine, and align the white marks on the camshaft sprocket with the timing belt marks.
Verify that the crankshaft and camshaft timing marks are still lined up, and remove the camshaft locks.
Reattach the outer screws on the timing cover, then connect the lower engine mounting bracket to the engine.
Connect the air intake pipe at the top of the alternator, and tighten the tensioner bolt.
Tighten the bolts on the water pump and power steering pump, then adjust the tensioner bolt until the timing chain is tight.
Reattach the upper engine mount support bracket, and remove the socket from between the oil pan and vehicle frame.
Reinstall the fender wheel cover by snapping the pins back into the pinholes on the frame.
Reattach the tire on the front passenger side, then lift the Saab up with the floor jack and remove the jack stand from under the front axle.
Lower the car to the ground. Start the engine and verify that the timing belt is operating properly, then shut the engine off.
