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'02 SL2 DOHC Proactive Maintenance
Greetings. I just purchased a 2002 SL2 DOHC with 158,000 miles. Had the car inspected and most everything checks out. Mechanic said the front struts need to be replaced, the belt tensioner needs to be replaced, and idle speed is too high. He didn't diagnose further but I did some research and, based on the symptoms, I'm guessing it's the Throttle Position Sensor. Other than that, there were no other issues found. There are no maintenance records whatsoever for this car so my questions for the forum are this:
1) With 158k miles I assume most components are nearing the end of the expected lifespan. Are there particular components that could fail suddenly leaving me stranded?
2) Should I take a proactive approach and replace those components now or would you recommend that I just wait until they fail?
3) Given the above, are there particular repairs that I should piggyback together? For example, I'm already considering replacing the TPS so I might as well remove the entire throttle body and follow the cleaning procedure described in other posts. Are there other repairs that make sense to group together and perform all at the same time?
As a new Saturn owner, I REALLY appreciate your advice. Thanks!