Saturn SL1 - 40k miles without OC! Stupid buy?

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NC_Oil_Obsessed

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Hey all. Last Sunday, I bought a car for my GF's kid brother, who lives with us and is car-less. Its a 2000 Saturn SL1, 223000 Miles, Auto trans, 700$. The lady who we bought it from, said she never did an oil change for the 40K plus miles she had the car. I checked the oil level and the dipstick was stained black with the oil very low. The oil fill hole had a metal cover like thingy with a small opening and you cant look inside. First time i have seen such a thing!

I bought the car anyway. it looked clean inside, outside and under the hood. And the engine seemed smooth. It was great on gas too. So, i stopped at a gas station and topped of with oil. It took 2 quarts to bring it to full mark. Came home, checked the oil, was black like tar considering it had 2 quarts fresh oil. The air filter was all clogged up, with leaves and dirt!!

Drained the oil and replaced with MC 5000 i had in my stash. The oil and air filters will be replaced as soon as i buy them. Now the engine feels smoother than before.

Anyway, he is happy. But my paranoid girl is giving me [censored] for buying her brother a "POS" car. Says I am cheap, the car is ugly and "who the [censored] buys green?". I am confident it will serve him well, but i need advise on what i should do to it to make sure it lasts a couple of years at least. Is there anything i can do to reverse the ill effects of not changing oil for too long? auto rx? mmo etc? Best oil even if affects gas mileage? Anyway i can find out how good/bad the internals are? i am soon going to flush the coolant too. The trans oil looks red - will it have to be changed too?

Thank you
 
Change all the fluids you reasonably can. It sounds like the car needs some TLC after 223k of indifference.

I'd personally change the oil and filter in 500 miles, then dump some MMO and new oil/filter in the crankcase, run that at 500 miles, change it again, and then get the Auto-RX. The new oil and MMO will get the obvious sludge, the ARX will get the stuff that's tougher. Either way, I'd be changing at least the filters every 500 miles, as there's going to be a lot of stuff coming loose.
 
I'm willing to bet you can get it back into shape.

Maybe try doing a series of 3k OCI's with the MC5000 and some MMO.

Maybe a slow, easy tranny fluid changeout over the course of a few months as well...I would throw some LubeGard in there to observe effects to help gauge tranny health.

But now I'm questioning your policy on GCI (G-friend Change Interval).............
 
Wait just a doggone minuet! OK, the girlfriend does seem way too mouthy and ungrateful, but, the car thing is just not that big of a deal in the big picture. Is the girlfriend really hott? Thats what counts.
thumbsup2.gif


Remember, she can get quieter, but her looks don't change. Post pics, we will help you decide!
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Check all the fluids yourself. If the brake fluid hasn't been changed then consider changing it (completely getting rid of air pockets and all old fluid). You don't want his brakes failing then it's sure to be blamed on you.

Consider resetting this relationship. You have your GF's kid brother living with you which is nice of you, you then help him out, and you get grief.

You have three options here

1) Don't help your GF or her kid brother out with anything again if this is how they appreciate you
2) Have a firm word with her telling her she is being unreasonable and that you're none too happy with her. Explain that you're doing a good job for HER kid brother and if she is so smart then tell her to show you and HER kid brother what car he should have bought, how he would have afforded it, and why it was a good buy.
3) Leave her

Lastly, you took a chance buying a car that hadn't been maintained in 40k, so if something happens directly related to that lack of maintenance, then it's your fault.
 
Firstly, women are never happy or satified. Don't disagree with her, there is nothing to gain by that. Let her think she was right, and you may have made a mistake. (In reality you were right, but its her perception that is all that counts.)

These cars can take a lot of abuse, and it will be fine. As mentioned some short OCI's wil help.
 
How about getting him a used bicycle from a thrift store until he earns the money for a car? That's what my parents would have done for me, except they would have made me pay for the bicycle.
 
All the above advice ++.

BTW, what is "DD" in your signature? She may have other issues as well.

"2010 GMC Acadia 6 AT - Girl Friends Car and DD".
 
Just tell her you are a stupid cheap guy. You don't know what you were thinking? From now on don't tell her about any problems with the car, just do the repairs/maintenance.

If I were her Brother I would be ecstatic that you did that for me.

I would run RX, then when done run whatever you want. I helped my Dad get a van that was very neglected on the engine as well. I Did not know the engine was sludged up as bad as it was. But we got it for real cheap, so I can't complain. I have been doing RX runs for 2 years and the filters are still getting dirty.
I should have replaced the filters as per the sludge instructions at the RX site. That's what set me back. It did not appear sludged up by any means. Just make sure you inspect the filter after about 1500 miles just to be sure they are not clogging. Might want to check them all? Don't know if those engines have a cartridge filter?

I think you are doing them both a big favor and don't get why your getting grief. I hope shes hot and you are getting lot's of loving otherwise.
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If oil killed something and you haven't spun a bearing yet you can go through this motor yourself with the block in the car with common sockets, no special tools, for $300, do piston rings, valve seals, gaskets, timing chain, tensioner, etc.

You will soon find out if it burns oil. If it does, it's been topped off, a slightly less evil. The 2000+ model year should burn less oil than the 90s versions. If it doesn't, leave well enough alone, it's a $700 car, don't let it keep you up nights.

You may also find some complications in the triangular relationship between you, GF, and the gift recipient. He'll either be a cool guy or an ingrate. She sounds like she's upset by the distraction of attention elsewhere... my wife adores me when I hook her brothers up with cars/jobs etc. If you can't network within the family where can you?
 
Saturns of that vintage are known to use oil in the range of 1 Qt. per 500 to 1000 miles. For that reason a lot of owners just add oil as needed and don't change the oil. That could be the case here, but who knows. I'd change every fluid the car has with fresh.

I'd also have a serious chat with the kid bro about the pedimetric exercise option that shoe-leather express will provide as a penalty for dogging a 10 year old car with 223K miles on it! He needs to drive that car like his grandma probably drives hers--slow and steady!

GF proves the point that no good deed goes unpunished, especially if that $700 investment in her brother was your money.

Take away message for GF: As Archie Bunker would say, "Stifle yourself Edith!"
 
In order of priority:

Agree with her that it was a mistake.

Keep the car yourself and make it a project/test platform for hobby rehab project and contribute to the board.

Tell gf to find worthless brother another place to leech/sponge off of.


I hope that she's currently worth it. She might not always be. This would appear to have all the ingredients for a really bad never ending dysfunctional story.

Good luck!!
 
My girl is pretty sweet though and it wouldn't take much to please her and really appreciates the fact that i took her brother under my wing. The kid is really happy and was with me when we picked up the car.
She is just [censored] that i didn't ask her before we bought it, so she can tell us what to do and feel like the alpha in the house!!
If we can get 15K to 20K miles out of it with just routine maintenance is all we care about. He is 20 and will be tough for him to not hoon the living daylights out of it. My first priority gonna be to change the brakes and head lamps. Then follow your recommendations.
OC & Filter every 500 miles for 3 times, arx and mmo. Getting to the filter is a PITA in this car.
Then maybe 3000 K mile OC on dino
Will keep you posted, Thanks for your advice.
DD in my signatre is not what you think! I wish though, LOL. It stands for daily driver.
I thought of keeping it and letting him drive the focus, the problem is he hates driving stick & I hate auto. We will figure something out.
Thanks again for yor advice,. This board is great,
 
Originally Posted By: modularv8
All the above advice ++.

BTW, what is "DD" in your signature? She may have other issues as well.

"2010 GMC Acadia 6 AT - Girl Friends Car and DD".


So I've figured out that DD = Daily Driver, but I think drawing attention to this is priceless.

I can't edit my previous post but out of the 3 choices I gave, I now recommend "leave her" simply on the basis that a GMC Acadia is a daily driver. Here is something from GMC's website on it's fuel economy:

Acadia has better fuel economy than any competitive 8-passenger SUV

So your GF drives an 8 passenger SUV to work, has her kid brother living with you, and criticizes you for choosing "green". And she also calls you "cheap". Did she buy her Acadia in cash or on credit?
 
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