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Need help, buying a new beeter, know anything about saturns?


OGRE

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They're not bad cars, and people seem to like the SL more than others. Both Jon(V3rs3) and I worked for Saturn for a while. I would make sure it's not burning oil, or anything like that because that was common if I remember correctly. Usually muffler straps need replaced and other small ignition components, but that's all I can recall off the top of my head. Jon might have more to add.
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Easy to fix, cheap to maintain. The DOHC's do have a tendency to be oil burners, as mentioned. It's often said that they get that way when oil change intervals go longer than 3-4000 miles, and the rings get coked up because they don't have proper drainage channels in them. So change the oil often.
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Just keep an eye on the oil level and it'll be a good runner, they burn oil like a sieve. Even a rebuilt motor can burn 1qt per oil change. DOHC so better motor, manual trans don't have any problems other than occasional the input shaft leak. Check the spark plug tubes for oil. Common problem with the valve cover warping. Looks pretty clean. Super easy to work on, any other questions PM me. I was a tech for several years at Saturn.
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To Jon's point, the SL2 manual transmission utilized a planetary gearset that made it really durable...I remember watching "Extreme 4X4" years ago and there was an offroad buggy that used the SL2 engine/transmission longitudinally-mounted as a transaxle to send power front and rear. The guy remarked that in a few dozen applications with heavy rock-climbing and off-roading, the transmission has never been a breaking point.

 

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To Jon's point, the SL2 manual transmission utilized a planetary gearset that made it really durable...I remember watching "Extreme 4X4" years ago and there was an offroad buggy that used the SL2 engine/transmission longitudinally-mounted as a transaxle to send power front and rear. The guy remarked that in a few dozen applications with heavy rock-climbing and off-roading, the transmission has never been a breaking point.

 

Yeah, I've never seen one break in the 6 years I worked there. Only clutches and some leaks. The auto trans on the other hand was complete junk. A lot of problems there.

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All the 1.9L saturns burnt oil. Period. Just keep an eye on the level. The DOHC models, tend to eat timing chains / tensioners. Yes, spin tires too much, and the diff pin will shot out through the case. Muffler strap is common annoyance on them. Expect to replace radiator at some point... It's all cheap shit though. And they are easy to work on. Body is all plastic, Except for the hood, the roof, and the top of the trunk, so it will never rust the panels out. The upper Engine Mounts, tend to collapse. Again, super easy to replace...
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it was 1.5 qt low when i got there, and had a pretty healthy vibration (he said it could be the mounts. Could smell the oil a little when standing behind car and he gave it a rev. in hindsight i think i need to stay with a bigger family vehicle that my wife can drive too. Thank you for the heads up guys.
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