Zeitgeist wrote: > > I did my drivers license test in a '74 Saab. The only thing I vaguely > remember about the '85 era vehicles is that I think they have the extra > weird gear driven H2O pumps which are a bitch to R&R, and leak into the sump > when they fail.
That gear drive water pump was in the B20 engine. The H20 replaced it in 1981. There were some layout differences in the H-engine, the water pump was belt drive and the distributor hung on the front of the cylinder head and engaged the cam, like the SLS pump on an OM60x engine. Water pumps on B-engines weren't hard to service, you just needed the special tool that pulled them out of the engine. Just take off the cover on the top of the block (3 screws) screw the puller onto the pump shaft, and pull the pump. IIRC, it's even faster than removing the camshaft, and I could adjust the valves in those engines in a half hour, including pulling the cam and switching the shims. Oops, I forgot, the B-engine water pump was under the alternator, so removing the alternator would add several minutes to the task. (I bought a cooling fan ratchet from Snap-On to R&R Saab 99/900 alternators, the bolts between the block and firewall were a pain without it.)
