This section talks about changing the serpentine belt and pulleys for the 4 cylinder engine.
SAAB recommends changing the belt every 60,000 miles. The pulleys and tensioner are optional
There are two belts available for the 9-5. The long one and the short one.
The reason for the short belt is that SAAB made it very difficult to change the middle idler pulley with the engine in the car.
After many complaints of additional noise and vibration with the short belt, SAAB has discontinued it and has gone back to the long belt.
Replacing the pulleys is a good idea since they are relatively cheap to replace, however it is not necessary.
You can tell if a pulley needs replacing by feeling how smoothly it spins and by feeling for slop in the bearing.
The pulley should not wiggle side to side very much at all.
Replacing the whole tensioner assembly should only be done if yours is leaking fluid.
This is a good DIY project, but can be a little difficult for the beginner. If you have large arms and big hands, you may have difficulty with this project!
Beware that the haynes manual has wrong information. The tensioner pulley is moved in a clockwise direction to release the tension, not anti-clockwise!
Also, the hex wrench to hold the tensioner is 4mm in size rather than 6mm.
Let's begin!
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