$500 score Saturn SL2

[EvanD]

I needed a small econobox for my business. I found this deal online. Advertised as a check engine light problem. Turned out to be a service engine soon light that was never turned off after a recent oil change by an indy shop.

90k miles clean interior newer tires. I checked under the hood last night. Everything was tight and fresh. Steering straight ball joints anf front end tight. Tranny shifting great.

I believe someone changed out the coolant at one point fairly recently. It was yellow in color. Was it original dex cool???

The only thing I could find that needed attention is maybe a tranny fluid change. Still didn't look burnt. What else should I look into?? I don;t want to spend to much $$$ on it as its a work vehicle.

 

[spasm3]

What year, and how many miles?

 

[EvanD]

2002 with 90k

It only needs key fobs

 

[spasm3]

Good shape with only 90k? If it has been taken care of, it has a lot of miles left. Being an 02 is should have the brass etcs coolant temp sensor. The earler years had polymer ones that failed and leaked corroding he wiring connector, and causing the car to run really rich.

Just check where the rear trailing arms meet the body. On each side in front of the rear wheels. If thats rusted out, the body is shot, thats a problem area for cars in the rust belt.

Single overhead cam engines did have a habit of leaking air around the intake manifold gasket. I never had that problem on the dohc.But it could come up. Usually on the passenger side. This can be changed with the engine in the car. The intake nuts can be tough to get on and off over the starter. Small hands help here.

.

The only issues will be getting decent engine mounts and t bone absorbers. No good aftermarket, and no oem left. Also no great strut mounts, no more oem. Moog used to be good but not so much now. If i do struts on my sons saturn, i will try Sachs, no experience with them though.

The car will at some point use oil, they had low tension piston rings. I had the best luck with 10w 40 conventional. One of mine used a quart in 400 miles. Still ran great. As long as it has oil in it, it will go 200k + miles. I tore it down an the ring lands were clean, which is why piston soaks and kreen did not help, it was low tension rings not sealing well.

Enjoy. The sohc engines really got good mileage i got 40+ hwy in my sons sc1 manual.

The only other thing i can think of is the ignition keys. They are soft and wear down. If you have problems, its either take the vin to the dealer and get a new key which is expensive, or remove the ignition lock and take it to a good locksmith and let him make a key from it. I never had key copies work right. Even with the dealer codes.

 

[Sayjac]

Looks good and price seems right. Iirc, member eljefino has quite a bit of experience with these.

 

[Warstud]

Originally Posted by EvanD
I believe someone changed out the coolant at one point fairly recently. It was yellow in color. Was it original dex cool???

It's probably the cheap AMAM because Dexcool is orange.

 

[spasm3]

The only thing i forgot to mention is body parts. 2002 bumpers hoods are in shorter supply used. Headlight brackets harder to find as well. The body style was redone for 2001 and the last year was 2002. So not nearly the numbers produced like say a '98 model. So if you have a tap up and need a hood or bumper it may be harder to find. 2001 and 2002 inter change. The SC 01 and 02 bumpers and hoods can be really hard to find, sedans may be easier.

 

[toneydoc]

You should easily get your $500 worth and more out of that vehicle

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted by toneydoc
You should easily get your $500 worth and more out of that vehicle



Keep oil in it and it should go 200k+

 

[Kira]

With what I've read here now I suggest looking around for junkyards now. At least go to that website which lists parts from all over the country.
Is it "usaparts.com"? It's an impressive site.

Family member (SIL) had a '95 4 door with the 2 valves per cylinder engine. It was solidly built.
That was the car which had a 4 qt. oil capacity. 3 quarts were needed to bring it to the FULL mark.
When I suggested keeping an eye on the oil level I was treated as if I had scolded the Queen of England aloud for bad table manners in public.

 

[MrMoody]

With only 90K and no big issues, you stole it! It barely qualifies as a beater.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

On my 99 SL2 I had reverse slam in the 70k mile range. Used synthetic transmission fluid from then on until 272k when sold. New thinner fluid is not recommended. I used Mobil 1 synthetic transmission fluid for years. Last change was with Amsoil Torque-Drive.

Transmission fluid for Saturn

If it were mine I would used 5w-30 synthetic oil (bought on sale of course).

I second the mount issue. Worst mistake was installing Anchor dog bones and transmission mount. When the dog bones ripped the vibration was severe. It was not until 200k+ that they were replaced. Hopefully at your mileage they will be OK for a while.

Saturnfans is excellent resource of info for your Saturn. Good luck!

 

[eljefino]

These cars run great on 15w40. Not sure if you live where there's salt but the front subframe gets rust issues by where the LCA bolts up. The exhaust blower motor things carbon up as do the throttle bodies and EGR passages. The FL400s size filter (3600 etc) is oversized but actually easier to use because it sticks out past the passenger CV axle and is more grab-able.

These cars respond very well to water decarbonizations sprayed in the throttle bodies.

The ATF is silly easy to change, with a spin-on filter. Don't tug the fragile Trans coolant sensor wires changing the filter. Clean ATF is necessary but you can run generic Dex-Mer.

The engines are assembled with RTV and are never leak-free.

 

[mattwithcats]

A few hints...

Oil filter - Purolator 20195 / Fram 3600 / Wix 51516...

Oil - Mobil 1 AFE 0W-30 runs good in a automatic..

Alternates are Pennzoil Ultra Platinum in 5W-30 / 10W-30,
or Shell Rotella T6 in 5W-30...

If your burning oil, try Rotella T6 in either 0W-40 or 5W-40...

PCV is PCV1009DL from AutoZone. It's probably behind the counter. Has a .01 hole in it to reduce crankcase pressure... Reuse the right angle adapter...

If your tires say "44 PSI Max" on the side, add 4-5 pounds over what the door sticker says, original tires were 35 PSI Max...
Otherwise your tire shoulders will wear out, and you will plow through corners...

Use either Dexron III or TES-295 transmission fluid, not Dexron VI

Use a Wix or Napa transmission filter...

 

[mattwithcats]

Saturn S Series use a waste spark system,
two cylinders fire backwards,
so plain copper plugs work best...

I went to one range colder, OE was BKR5E-11, one colder was BKR6E-11

I have a 2002 SL2...

 

[GMBoy]

Love those old SL series. I had my 1st one on 1992. A fully loaded teal green SL2 (5 Speed) with tan leather and all. My 1st new car. Then I got a deal on a clean 2001 SC2 yellow with black leather a few years ago....FREE. It was in great shape, 121k miles but ran rough and used oil. I did a full tune up, soaked the rings and drove it as a DD for a year until a neighbor begged me to sell it to his teen age daughter as her 1st car. She totaled it 8 mos later....was a great car. I wish I could find another loaded SL2 or SC2 that was not beaten up.