The red car is a SAAB 900!@zmcgee,
It’s a shame to see your E500 setting there next to whatever that red car is w/ the flat. A timing chain snapping is almost unheard of. Take gsxr’s advice he knows these cars well.
It would be nice to see your E500 back on the road. There great cars.
Good Luck
I had need (don't ask me why, it's too embarrassing!) to replace the motor in my early 1993 500E - and followed excellent guidance from gsxr in installing a low mileage 119.972 from a 500SL.
Are you sure? It doesn’t look like one to me.
Yep I’m sure, we had two of them when they were new. The same body style was later renamed 9-3, but this looks like an early one and should be a 900.
I was going off this as a 900 which has different door handles and no 3rd window on the side:
The car that replaced the old 900 in your picture was named 900 for a couple of years until SAAB changed its nomenclature just like Mercedes did, changing the 900 to the 9-3 while being the exact same car.I was going off this as a 900 which has different door handles and no 3rd window on the side:
View attachment 220779
I probably shouldn’t argue with a Swede about Saab car identification
Awesome glad to hear!! I know the timing did jump but I’ve yet to take the timing cover off. When pulling the motor does the trans and motor need to come together or can they be pulled separately or which route is simpler as there’s not much room to work with thank you!!Timing chain breakage is almost unheard of on the M119. Have you pulled the valve covers to confirm this is accurate? Or confirmed the exact damage to the engine? it may be fixable, which would be the preferred option of possible.
If you do need a replacement engine, and can't locate one from another E500E, then yes... a 119.972 motor from a 1993-1995 500SL/SL500 is 100% bolt-in (need to swap the ETA though). It MUST be those USA model years and MUST confirm the engine serial prefix is "119 972". The earlier 119.960 and later 119.982 engines will not work.
If you buy a spare engine, take the time to do ALL the preventive maintenance prior to installation. All external seals including front & rear crank seals, replace ALL upper chain guide rails (not the chain or tensioner though), replace/reseal the cam advance solenoids, drop the oil pan and replace the oil level sending unit O-ring and oil sump pickup rubber boot, and more stuff I'm forgetting. You will not want to do this with the engine in the car. Also remove the transmission and re-seal that as well (every single external seal, especially the front pump and converter seal). Check/replace the reverse clutches while it's apart for the reseal.
BTW, welcome to the forum!
They can be done separately, which I prefer, as then the engine does not need to be angled severely (or, lifted as high). However this will add some slightly different challenges. If you have a lift, dropping the transmission first is less of a chore, but without a lift this could be difficult.
I have a low mileage ( 53000 Miles) 1993 500E motor complete that I would sell for $3000 if you are interested.
