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Sorry to take so long to reply; I've had a very hectic week.
I really appreciate the favor!
Well, I went ahead and bought the car; $1400 as promised.
I probably could have gotten it for a bit less, but the seller is a retired Veteran with a disability, and really needs the money (I'm also a disabled Vet).
I gave the car a more thorough going-over just before writing the check, and I'm convinced it's never had a significant impact, and the paint is all original (looks surprisingly fresh BTW!).
In addition to everything to everything I mentioned above, it also has all new hoses (at least everything I could find and feel) - radiator, power steering, power brakes, vacuum lines - EVERYTHING!
Also new ignition wires, coils, and presumably spark plugs as well.
It feels very much like it has at least new brake pads/shoes - The brakes are excellent; they stop hard with a firm pedal and minimal pedal travel.
The air filter is clearly brand new (white as snow!).
I also measured the tires' tread depth - 9/32's - basically brand new as the seller promised (Yokohama AVID Touring - Perfect for this car).
It really does appear to have had a recent & complete tune-up, although the serpentine accessory belt appears to be reaching the end of it's life (that's a fairly easy fix that I can do in my parking lot).
** Does the 1.9 DOHC have a timing chain? Or belt? :confuse:
I'm also planning a complete back-flush of the coolant, along with a coolant system cleaning chemical beforehand (another simple, if tedious, task).
** Can anyone tell me where the engine block coolant drain is? :confuse:
I can't afford a shop manual / Chilton's etc. right now.
I've now driven it about 150 miles, of all sorts of mixed urban & freeway (up to 85mph).
It really runs and drives very well, although the brake pedal pulsing seems more apparent after a few hard stops - Clear the rotors need to be turned, or possibly the rotors & drums need to be replaced.
As far as I can tell right now, it seems to be getting about 30mpg, in mixed, moderately aggressive driving.
MUCH better than the Forester XT's 17-19!
I'll have an accurate figure when I refill the tank again.
** Anyone know of a decent Saturn warehouse or some-such, with good prices?:confuse:
When it comes to brakes I'd really prefer the best quality replacement parts I can get at a low price (I generally don't trust used brake parts).
I'm really impressed with the engine. As stated above, it has 250,000 miles.
It runs very, very well!
Starts pefectly/instantly from dead cold, with no use of the throttle and minimal cranking (3-4 revolutions as far as I can tell; 1-2 revs when warm).
Plenty of power at all RPM; Enough to spin the front tires unintentionally on a wet road with a moderate take-off; Also chirped several times accidently on drive pavement (I know, the AVID Touring's are hardly the grippiest tire...).
I run it up close to redline (out of respect for a 250k engine, I stopped at about 5700rpm) and it is very smooth and sounds like it's happy at higher revs - No apparent strain; The higher it revs the smoother and sweeter-sounding it gets!
(Reminds me of the engine in a Fiat X1/9 I had a few years back - It thought it was a Ferrari and would happily rev almost a thousand rpm past redline! - Except the Saturn has a lot more power!).
While it's certainly not even close to my modified Forester XT's 250-260 or so HP, this little wagon can definitely get out of it's own way! (& achieve 30-odd mpg doing it!).
Well, that's pretty much my update.
It'll need the brakes dialed-in, and a complete flush and refill, as well as the coolant system cleaning/flush/refill, and the serpentine belt.
Otherwise, just some interior cosmetics & a few missing small panels.
All in all, I'm satisfied with the purchase and price; It's evident that a lot of money was recently put into the car in all the important places.
Maybe I will be able to boast about 350,000 miles! (500k? )
ps - Thanks in advance for anyone's help with my new questions! :shades:
Thank you,
Randi
any and all help would be appreciated.
Still...the vehicle overheats.
Marked and observed the radiator cooling fan function (or not) in a controlled "overheating" condition. THE FAN NEVER CAME ON.
Then...I replaced the coolant fan swith/sensor on the side of the engine block under the plug wires. Still....the vehicle overheats. ONLY THIS TIME...the temp gauge indicator on the dash shows no active registration of the thermal state of the engine...zip...still...no cooling fan ON and the vehicle overheats.
Help....Help...Help!
signed:
an "overheated" Saturn owner
You might have a look at our Maintenance & Repair board - there may be a discussion there which will help you. I hope so and do keep us posted here. That will help others.
99-P-01 JAN 05
Campaign Cylinder Head Cracking/Warranty Extension
It stalls at intersections or when you have to slow down to turn actually when it drops down under 1000 rpm's.The service engine soon light comes on right before the car starts to act up..we have had it put on a computer check and it said the EGR valve but we would like to know if there could be something else that could be giving us problems...the car also revs up to almost 5000 RPM' on it own sometimes.
state. Also if I turn the car off and attempt to turn it back on it has a hard time achieving an idle state with out some major pumping of the accellerator to get it to a point where the car can be safely shifted into the automatic gear needed.
**Now heres what I got from my local Saturn dealer**
Today I picked up my 1992 LKO 1.9LL4 Saturn SL1 Sedan from my local Saturn dealer and was told it seems my problem is the Fuel Presure Regulator. Great to know ... now for the bad part they (Saturn) no longer carry the part and know of no third party mfg. that makes it.
So here's what I'm thinking: One I posted this message to see if anyone has any recommendations and secondly I figured possibly start looking at auto salvage places.
Well thats my delema... Any better ideas are welcomed...
Oh, and can some one describe where the Fuel Presure Regulator is located on this car... I just want to be sure of what I am looking for when I start my Salvage hunting...
Thank you much folks...
Pat thanks for the heads up for the need to repost this message...
-Charlie
hope that helps.
Good luck - hope we can help.
High speed it start to accelerate in a jerking fashion so I have to pump the gas as I encounter this to over come the jerking. Once underway at high speeds it does not happen but if I come to a full stop it will reoccur when I take off again.
I’ve changed the following items: ERG valve, oxygen sensor, and FPR.
But the problem continues Any recommendation will come in handy.
-Charlie
Why don't you hop over to our Transmission Traumas? discussion and ask there.
Only thing is you need to tell the whole story instead of asking people to look at previous posts so that all of the information is in one place.
Meanwhile maybe someone will chime in here.
Good luck!
Sorry for my delayed response I’ve been off the computer working on my Bike
Anyway, sorry to say I’m glad someone else is encountering this darn problem maybe we can figure it out together for our benefit. It has been eating me up too I think your brother has the right idea start with the small stuff but I don’t think the plugs are going to have any effect You see I already did the same and the problem continued. Here’s a list of the things I did so far on my car
I changed the plugs, air filter, PVC valve, fuel filter and used Premium gas with top grade injector cleaners for a month and the problem continued.
I then took the car to Saturn (I had no check engine light lit) explained the problem and after performing a diagnostics test they said the fuel pump was working fine and the item they recommended to replace the Diaphragm in the Fuel Pressure Regulator a part by the way they no longer stock is item for my 92 SL1 so I had to order one through a local Strauss Discount Auto and then take the car and the part back to them which they gladly installed at no charge and the tech at Saturn commented on the Throttle body looking a bit beat after the installation.
While driving home I encountered the same problem so sorry to say this still didn’t remedy the problem.
Anyway here’s where I am at now after doing some research on the web and some mechanic documentation I believe this problem to be a Fuel system problem not timing chain related. The problem could frankly be the Throttle Body. Now it looks like the Throttle Body is made up of 2 sections the top half or (fuel meter body) and it contains the Fuel injector and the Fuel Pressure Regulator. The bottom Piece or the Throttle body, and contains the throttle valve, IAC valve, TPS and the vacuum manifold or tubes which supply manifold vacuum to various engine control solenoids.
Since I know my fuel pump and FPR to be working I would say I need to address replacing the Fuel injector for the top piece or find out if replacing the whole bottom piece (throttle body) will it contain with the new replacement a new throttle valve, IAC valve, TPS if yes then I would think replacing the bottom half to be the most focused on resolving the problem. If I get a chance tomorrow I’ll be calling Saturn to ask for a price on the replacement and installation of the throttle body. Heck let’s see if they even stock the part otherwise I’ll have to order it from somewhere else.
I’ll keep you all posted Paul run my thoughts on the possible solution and let me know what he thinks. If you try something else and find the problem let us all know.
Hope some of this helps... Keep me posted... I'll do the same...
-Charlie
I thought the idea was to post a message as it relates to the problem and field it out in that created forum... Instead of taking a Fuel related acceleration problem discussions to a Transmission Forum???
-Charlie
But I was going on the little information that was presented in the one post and particularly the fact that the person was concerned that he/she had not gotten a reply. My intent was to get the person somewhere where people know more about those things than I do. And in fact to a place where more folks hang than here.
Thanks for your reply. Hope it helps both members.
Thanks for the response. I had a code 34 MAP sensor error. I don't see how that was causing my problem though. I've changed the following and may have a fix. O2 sensor (no fix), MAP sensor seems to have fixed it (crazy) but it's cold here this morning and I want to test it some more. My SL1 has gotten to the point that when it warms to operating temperature it dies and will not start again until it cools. It's not running hot. I put the MAP sensor in this morning let it warm up at idle for about 45 minutes and then went and drove it --- no problems. Yesterday, after the O2 sensor I did the same and it died within 5 minutes of driving. But yesterday is was warm (upper 70's) and today it's in the 40's and rainy. Anyway, I hope the MAP sensor takes care of it but if not the research I've been doing also may point to a crankshaft position sensor. When it stops running it doesn't seem to even try to start (fire) although I haven't checked to see if there is spark yet. One thing at a time.
It's all good...
When I commented I didn't realize you were the Host of this forum...You are right the idea is to help folks get to an area if needed that can generate them some feedback about their car problem.
Thanks and keep up the great work...
-Charlie
Question(S):
1)is this normal
2)Any user with suggestions
3)any suggestions as to synthetic vs standard oil
4)what weight of oil for temperate summer conditions?
Since my last posting I disassembled the Throttle body and cleaned it out with carburetor cleaner. After which I reassembled and re-installed the throttle body. The car seemed to accelerate fine for a day but started up again the next day. At this point I don’t really know if the cleaning really had an impact because my acceleration problem has been an intermittent problem to begin with so it may have seemed like it worked but in fact it may just have been masked. I really don’t think any of the throttle body sensors are defective because I don’t get a check engine light. So now I’m thinking timing belt after all this car does have 144K and I don’t know if it has ever been changed.
Does anyone know if a bad time belt would result in poor starting acceleration with infrequent throttle hesitations?
Oh, and how much does a timing belt change on a Saturn SL1 typically go for???
-Charlie