The tech we have at work is a buddy, and often asks my opinion on things, which I take as a great compliment from an ASE Master, who has shown great adeptitude in fixing all of our fleet vehicles, as well as the host of groundskeeping equipment we have, abused by our very own Willie the Groundskeeper.
Anyway, like most techs, this guy does side work.
We were talking last week, and he asked me whether I knew of a good source for low-miles used Saturn engines.
The story is that a young woman had her Saturn towed to his place, not running.
He said that she told him that the red light (oil pressure) had been coming on for the last few days the car had run, and that the car eventually quit on her.
He told me that there was no oil on the dipstick, and when he removed the drain plug, nothing came out.
His original thought had been to do a field overhaul, and get her back on the raod.
He said that when he removed the oil pan, he found a piece of conecting rod laying in it, so the engine was toast.
I told him that I had learned here that real Saturn engines consume real amounts of oil, and that she had probably run the poor thing dry without anyone having told her that she needed to check the oil level regularly.
Anyway, the girl bought the car, a 2000 SC2 with only 65K for a mere 2500.00.
Too bad she'll now have to spend 1700.00 with labor for a used engine to get the thing back on the road.
All of this could had been avoided with the regular addition of the cheapest 5W-30 (or anyW-any) she could have found.
A tragic case of ignorance no being bliss.
Anyway, like most techs, this guy does side work.
We were talking last week, and he asked me whether I knew of a good source for low-miles used Saturn engines.
The story is that a young woman had her Saturn towed to his place, not running.
He said that she told him that the red light (oil pressure) had been coming on for the last few days the car had run, and that the car eventually quit on her.
He told me that there was no oil on the dipstick, and when he removed the drain plug, nothing came out.
His original thought had been to do a field overhaul, and get her back on the raod.
He said that when he removed the oil pan, he found a piece of conecting rod laying in it, so the engine was toast.
I told him that I had learned here that real Saturn engines consume real amounts of oil, and that she had probably run the poor thing dry without anyone having told her that she needed to check the oil level regularly.
Anyway, the girl bought the car, a 2000 SC2 with only 65K for a mere 2500.00.
Too bad she'll now have to spend 1700.00 with labor for a used engine to get the thing back on the road.
All of this could had been avoided with the regular addition of the cheapest 5W-30 (or anyW-any) she could have found.
A tragic case of ignorance no being bliss.
