late 90s Saturn, what to look for.

Told a family friend I'd help him shop for his first car. Yesterday he called me to see when I could go look at a car for him, him and his mom were on their way to look at it when they called me. I had him call me when they got there to tell me what it was. It was a 97 Saturn SL1 I'm assuming auto since he doesn't know how to drive a manual to my knowledge. I realized the only thing I know about them is they tend to blow oil smoke at an alarming rate, and the valve cover gaskets leak. Anything I need to look for? He said the car had ~120K on it.

Oh BTW I searched for a similar thread I remember seeing, but couldn't find it.

.They do burn oil, they rarely smoke while doing it.

There's no major weaknesses to a 97 SL1. Not to say it cant be broken, report back any unusual behavior and we can tell you what it is.

they'll look clean because of the plastic panels but i've seen them completely rot away in bottom of the rear door frame area.

GM sells something that owners have poured into the cylinders and let soak to release the gummed up oil control rings and after an oil change getting all that crap out i've heard of good results in reduced oil consumption.

moparman76_69 wrote: Oh BTW I searched for a similar thread I remember seeing, but couldn't find it.

Here's a semi-recent thread. Lots of good info in here: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/so-saturn/53516/page1/

They also tend to foul EGR valves which turns on the CEL. I think this is due to the oil burning. It is an ultra simple replacement with two bolts that are both on top and easy to see and reach. Any novice with a basic socket set can replace it.

Keep oil in it and they run forever. The auto trans is serviced with a spin on oil filter. Why can't every car company do that? Replace the upper motor mount if there is a lot of noise/vibration. It's super easy and about $25.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Keep oil in it and they run forever. The auto trans is serviced with a spin on oil filter. Why can't every car company do that?

amen. VAG i'm looking at you

I have a 96 SW1 with 314,000 miles. Original clutch and struts.

It used to burn massive amounts of oil until I rebuilt the engine at 235K miles. I did a targeted in frame rebuild and did piston rings, valve guide seals and timing chain. I modified the pistons for proper oil drainage so the oil burning problem is effectively eliminated forever. My cost was just under $700.00 for the rebuild. I did 100% of the work.

Unfortunately it is looking like this car really will last forever and I'm getting bored of it.

Rust on the space frame is an issue. Open the doors and look at the where the B pillar meets the rocker panel.

Also the front sub frame has been known to rust out.

Two different types of saturns "S" series cars. The single cam and the double cam.

I prefer the single cam because it has a bunch or torque at low RPM and is great for pulling a trailer. The single cam with a 5 spd will also get 40+ MPG in the summer.

Overall, all Saturns burn oil. If the owner says it dosnt then they are full of crap. 2-3 qts per 5000 miles is about normal for a car with over 150K miles.

I'm not sure of the engine probably a sohc. The prospective buyer is not car guy and probably doesn't know what a wrench is. If the car has 120k on it what kind of maintenance is coming up? Basically he'll end up have to pay to have things done, and anything that need to be done needs to be factored into the cost of buying it.

nothing in particular.

a fuel filter, if it hasn't been done. i see a lot of them still on the original plug wires, which were probably arcing way back at 50k miles.

Engine coolant sensor (ECT) should be replaced if it is plastic. The new design is a brass. All plastic units are faulty and give a false reading to the ECM.

All the plastic units crack. guaranteed!

Only costs $20.00 or less to fix.

if the body is rusty... walk away.

First, look for the badge. This is the easiest way to identify a Saturn. It is a rectangle with red and silver and some lines. I think it is a map to Springhill TN.

You can also look for body panels that are plastic. You may also be looking at a Pontiac or Corvette, but if it has 4 doors or is a wagon, chances are that it is a Saturn.

Next, look at the price. If it is more than $1500, it is not a Saturn.

Finally, check the interior. If it is a Saturn, the inside will be grey, boring, dated and ugly.

There you go, that's what to look for when looking for a Saturn!

^ did you sneak up and take a pic of my car? That's exactly what it looks like!

(and the 500 million identical twins it seems to have)

fujioko wrote: I have a 96 SW1 with 314,000 miles. Original clutch and struts. It used to burn massive amounts of oil until I rebuilt the engine at 235K miles. I did a targeted in frame rebuild and did piston rings, valve guide seals and timing chain. I modified the pistons for proper oil drainage so the oil burning problem is effectively eliminated forever. My cost was just under $700.00 for the rebuild. I did 100% of the work. Unfortunately it is looking like this car really will last forever and I'm getting bored of it. Rust on the space frame is an issue. Open the doors and look at the where the B pillar meets the rocker panel. Also the front sub frame has been known to rust out. Two different types of saturns "S" series cars. The single cam and the double cam. I prefer the single cam because it has a bunch or torque at low RPM and is great for pulling a trailer. The single cam with a 5 spd will also get 40+ MPG in the summer. Overall, all Saturns burn oil. If the owner says it dosnt then they are full of crap. 2-3 qts per 5000 miles is about normal for a car with over 150K miles.

Can you tell me more about your piston mod? I'm at 185K and burning oil. Debating on selling or fixing. Twin cam 1997. The 98 pistons and rods are different, can they swap into the 97 block? Did you re-use your existing pistons?

In reply to Gearheadotaku:

Hi 'ya,

The piston mod is simple and can be done on a drill press.

The original pistons have groves for oil drainage. These groves quickly get clogged and make the oil control rings stick.

You want to clean up the pistons as best as you can. Drill six evenly spaced holes in the oil control ring grove.

For a daily driver type engine, the work doesn't need to be too precise. In other words, you don't need a machine shop to do this mod.

Ok, so I should do this then?

A) confirm it's a saturn (thanks pinchvalve, that's a very informative post, a real life saver)

B) look for rust around the b-pillar/rocker area and around the front subframe

C) figure out how bad it's using oil?

D) standard tires/brakes/tune up stuff.

The guy is asking 800, I of course will try and get it down lower than that if possible.

Basically.

If its an auto, once it gets hot (end of test drive), shift from D to R and feel how long it takes for the trans to do so. If it takes 2+ seconds instead of being relatively instant, the valve body is probably getting clogged. Usually they aren't bad by 120k, unless it has never had the fluid changed.

fujioko wrote: I prefer the single cam because it has a bunch or torque at low RPM and is great for pulling a trailer. The single cam with a 5 spd will also get 40+ MPG in the summer. Overall, all Saturns burn oil. If the owner says it dosnt then they are full of crap. 2-3 qts per 5000 miles is about normal for a car with over 150K miles.

1) The DOHC has more power/tq at every point in the powerband than the SOHC - it just carries it out 1500rpm further. The gearing on the SOHC is pretty sweet for mileage though.

2) I've had 2 Saturns that didn't burn oil (out of 9 of them :( ). My current DD doesn't burn, surprisingly (although its only got ~130k on it right now). Its on a 5000 mile oil-change plan with synthetic. I really think how the first owner (0-70k or so) takes care of the oil makes a world of difference.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Can you tell me more about your piston mod? I'm at 185K and burning oil. Debating on selling or fixing. Twin cam 1997. The 98 pistons and rods are different, can they swap into the 97 block? Did you re-use your existing pistons?

99.5+ rods and pistons are different. 94-98 (dished) and 91-93 (flat w/ valve reliefs) are the same pistons, all 91-98 rods are the same.

If you are lazy, the sealed power OE style replacement pistons (cheap) already have drainback holes in them.

While you are in there, if you snag a set of 99+ rods and attach your 97 pistons, but mill a little off the top, you can build an 11:1 (ish) compression motor for just the cost of spare rods.