Saab 95 driveline reinstall


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Here's my Saab 95's drivetrain ready to go back in the car -- I hope!
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This picture gives an idea of the juggling act necessary.
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What makes it difficult: The tail-heavy engine/transaxle combo has to be maneuvered OVER the front splash pan and UNDER the cross brace and battery tray! My first thought was to lash up the back of the driveline with a web strap to hold it level. This didn't work because the web strap hit the crossbrace.
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Seems like a good idea here, but causes problems once the engine is farther in...
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Next try was to use a ratcheting "come-along" to let me adjust the angle of the engine/transaxle. No good again...
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...Same problem. By the time I started getting the engine fitted in, the crossbrace would interfere with the come-along.
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Finally I gave up and decided to maneuver it in cold turkey. The drivetrain hangs down steeply at the back. This actually makes it easier to get it under the crossbrace.
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But then it wants to hang up on the bottom of the engine bay. I shoved a 2x4 under it and used that as a skid to help slide it back.
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WATCH OUT! While wrestling and tugging to get the drivetrain in place, it's very easy to bang the distributor on the crossbrace! I managed to maneuver around it, but it might be easier to pull the distributor before installing the engine and then put it back in afterward.
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Once the drivetrain was most of the way into the bay, I stuck a block of wood up through the transaxle drain hole and used a floor jack to lift the tail of the transaxle.
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Between the 2x4, the jack, and the engine hoist, I eventually managed to make the transaxle's universal-joint cups line up with the drive shafts. I already had unbolted the LOWER ball joints from the lower control arms and pulled the wheels out at the bottom to retract the driveshafts as far as possible; otherwise it's even more difficult to make everything line up. WARNING: It's safe to unbolt the LOWER ball joints, but NEVER unbolt the upper ones unless the spring has been compressed by a secure spring compressor!
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Once the engine was mostly lined up, I released the hoist. Now the drivetrain was sitting on the engine mounts and the block of wood coming up through the drain hole. I used the 2x4 to work the drivetrain side to side until I was able to fit the driveshafts into the u-joint cups.
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Continuing to maneuver the drivetrain...
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...still maneuvering...
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Finally everything lined up! -- U-joints, rear engine mount, front engine mounts, and exhaust downtubes.
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Once everything was properly placed, I could tighten down all the mounting nuts and bolts.
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Don't forget the engine side support brace! I almost did.