Re: The Infamous Saturn Oil Usage

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MrCritical

MrCritical

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Looking at one of these cars with the single cam engine (1.9, I believe) 96k miles. No way to find out the history, or ck with original owner.

What's my %chances in your estimation of ending up with an oil burner? Was there ever an upgrade by year model that took care of the problem before they switched to Ion/2.2 ecotec?

Thanks in advance.
 
Mine was an oil burner by 70k or so. That was a 2000 SOHC. IIRC it was about 2k for the first qt, then about 1k before it needed a second qt, then I think I did an oil change at 4k. Been a while.

I'd probably just count on it being an oil burner, and pay accordingly.
 
You can pretty much count on it being an oil burner. There are exceptions, of course, but most Saturn S-series cars use oil with that kind of mileage. Mine has almost 90K on it and uses about 1 quart every 2000 miles. It's really not all that bad; I just add a half quart every 1000 miles or so and change it every 3000 miles with Amsoil synthetic. The good news is that if you keep the oil level up, these engines will run a good long time, even when they're using a quart or more every 500 miles. Saturn engines are often killed by not having enough oil, so keep an eye on your oil level at every fillup for a little while until you can accurately gauge how much your engine is using.

They supposedly redesigned the piston rings around the 2000 model year but that doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, at least not on my car. I think the design flaw is that the pistons don't have drain holes and I don't think that was ever changed for the original S-series engines. In 2003 they went to the Ecotec for the Ion, which succeeded the S-cars (and didn't sell nearly as well).
 
They updated the ring design in 2000. They also came out with a better rod ratio at the same time. Things still burn and leak though and that year range (2000-2002) has a weaker clutch if you're buying a stick shift.
 
Originally Posted By: raffy
You can pretty much count on it being an oil burner.



I agree, my 2000 SOHC with 172K consumes about a quart every 800 miles. Runs fine though, I top it off with used Redline 20W-50 that I drain out of my raced Corvette.
 
Originally Posted By: raffy
...I just add a half quart every 1000 miles or so and change it every 3000 miles with Amsoil synthetic...

seriously??? you do 3K changes w/ amsoil in a SATURN???

seems pretty wasteful, but whatever...

back to the OP's question, some have found MMO soaks loosen up the oil rings so they seal better. others just keep a case of oil in the trunk.
the saying goes, stop at the gas station to check the gas and fill the oil...
 
I liked my '00 SL, manual steering, manual transmission--nice econobox. No real issues with it in the 116k that I had it for, although I think it was due for struts when I got rid of it. Seats weren't very supportive at all (and were worn out at that age); and the road noise was high.

The Ion's seemed to be step down. Lots of ignition switch problems IIRC. Maybe other issues. The motor may have been better, but I don't recall the rest of the car as getting much better.
 
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: raffy
...I just add a half quart every 1000 miles or so and change it every 3000 miles with Amsoil synthetic...

seriously??? you do 3K changes w/ amsoil in a SATURN???

seems pretty wasteful, but whatever...

back to the OP's question, some have found MMO soaks loosen up the oil rings so they seal better. others just keep a case of oil in the trunk.
the saying goes, stop at the gas station to check the gas and fill the oil...


Agree - I have 97 Saturn running Amsoil Euro 15w-40. Uses about 1 qt for 5k miles - and that's my OCI.
 
A topic I'm very familliar with! I own a Saturn its a 98 dohc 5soeed it's at about 200,000 excellent running I'm very meticulous with it. My Saturn uses about a quart every 1500 miles and that's a synthetic 5w30 if it does use oil you can run 15w40 as long as its not to. Cold. The sohc are the worse of the two engines IMO they also have head gasket issues. But if its clean and in good shape I wouldn't shy away from it. They're good cars. I will drive mine for a long time to come. If it doesn't use oil or uses just a little run Mobil 1 at 5k oci. There is also a Pcv you can run that helps ill look up the part number and post it for you. with 96k if the price is decent and its nice looking I'd buy it. You won't regret it they're very reliable and easy to fix cars. Not real expensive either.
 
You could check with Carfax and pay their fee for whatever information they may have on your vehicle. That is, if they have anything.
 
I've not noticed oil weight helping or hurting much.

The spread before I did my ring job was 600 on 5w30 or 750 miles on 15w40.

It at least ran better on 15w40 as it wasn't "burping" it in on vacuum tranistions, causing knock retard and the resultant timing pulling.

The twin cam motors don't seem to pull timing as bad and can smoke like chimneys but keep on going at full power.
 
None of mine were bad oil burners but they do all burn to some degree. Solid motors though, just have to check the oil and add accordingly, and if you do so, it will last a long time.
 
Over the years, I've owned 4 S series Saturns with both SOHC and DOHC 1.9L engines. All of them burned oil to some degree. The best was a 95 SC2 at about 1qt per 5,000 mile change interval. The worst was a 96 SC2 that used 1qt every 800-1000 miles. The latter gradually improved when I began using Rotella T6 in it, but it still burned a quart every 1200 miles or so. The engines run well and get good mileage. So if you treat oil as a consumable and don't go crazy with exotic/expensive synthetic oil, it's a good daily beater. The transmission fluid on the autos is easy to change too. There's a drain plug and a spin-on filter that looks like a typical oil filter.

Best,
 
I have a 98 SW1 with 152k on it. Great little cars! Mine burns about 1 quart every 2k miles. I just run cheap dino 5w30 in mine. I have noticed it uses less if I add a bottle of STP, but I know that gets a lot of hate on this site... I generally just keep it topped off and change at 4k miles. Also if you are burning a lot of oil I have had success on another Saturn doing the MMO piston soak along with a few quick changes. Reduced consumption considerably.
 
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: raffy
...I just add a half quart every 1000 miles or so and change it every 3000 miles with Amsoil synthetic...

seriously??? you do 3K changes w/ amsoil in a SATURN???

seems pretty wasteful, but whatever...

back to the OP's question, some have found MMO soaks loosen up the oil rings so they seal better. others just keep a case of oil in the trunk.
the saying goes, stop at the gas station to check the gas and fill the oil...


Yes, the MMO treatment:
1. Remove all spark plugs
2. Put MMO in all cylinders
3. Leave it alone for a while
4. Crank the engine with the spark plugs out to blow out the MMO
5. Put the spark plugs back in
6. Drive the car.

GM dealers sold this product called "Top end cleaner" which could be used in this manner, and I have heard that it is more effective than using MMO. I have also heard of people using Seafoam for this job.
 
Single overhead cam had casting issues and head would crack. Not sure of years affected. In 2000 intake manifold gasket would leak when they switched to a plastic intake manifold. Eljefino is a good example of some Saturn owners who are frugal and technical. Saturnfans has a ton of info on common repairs. I am pretty frugal (poor) and not very technical. But I have been able to learn to do brakes and other repairs with help of Saturnfans and You Tube. It is a nice car for someone who can DYI.
 
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