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Saturn Repair Questions and Answers

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Question: 1998 Saturn SC mileage: 100,000. Fuel pump replaced, now there is no pulse to the injectors. It has spark. Wondering if module needs to be replaced or possibly computer? There is no known engine light problem. There was no warning, just one day it would not start.

Answer:  What we would do is scan the computer data stream and read the values of all the sensors. There are some great hand held Engine Scanners you can read your own trouble codes and clear them too.

Answer: From what you have described; we would first check the fuel pump pressure when the problem is occurring. Chances are your fuel pump is faulty.

Question: 1997 Saturn sl2 mileage: 38,000. Ok experts...my serpentine belt was squealing a few weeks ago. The old handy man hubby replaced it (after much cussing and complaining about not enough room to work, blah blah blah)....well the belt is back to squealing and he has tried to tighten it, and thinks its as tight as it will get. Any suggestions...aside from trading in my hubby and car?

Answer: It is normally a good practice to replace the spring loaded tensioner pulley when replacing the serpentine belt. Also, check to see that no oil or grease has gotten on the pulleys.

Question: 1993 Saturn SC1 mileage: 98,000. Transmission fluid all over the garage floor one morning, so I took it to the mechanic who changed the filter. A month later, as I was backing out of the driveway my car suddenly refused to move! Total loss of transmission fluid again. Filter again replaced, and car running. What is making this filter go?

Answer: It is hard for us to understand why anyone would replace the filter to remedy the leak you described because the filter could not have anything to do with the leak.

Question: 1994 Saturn SL1 Automatic mileage: 137,000. Hi, This will be long, sorry! We have been having intermittent starting/stalling problems with our Saturn for the past year. January 2000, the head gasket was replaced due to a leak, new spark plugs and wires were installed, tensioner belt was replaced (needed to be - it was loose and making a noise upon cold start). Since then the car occasionally stalls at idle or will not start, and sometimes when we start the car, the dash lights come on, but no dinging noise (especially after driving short distances (~15km) and getting gas. A trip to the dealer resulted in no error codes on the computer, and they could not reproduce the problem, but they did replace the crankshaft position sensor, which did nothing but drain my wallet! Now the problem is more severe. Occasionally while driving (town or highway) the speedometer drops from current speed to ~10km then back up. After this happened a few times, I had my dealer put the car on the computer - same story - no error codes and a test drive did not reproduce the problem. Now it is getting worse and more consistent (once a day instead of once a week, sometimes more). Sometimes the car jerks/shudders, sometimes not. When it does jerk, odometer and speedometer bottom out, the air bag light flashes and then the car resumes normal operation. I do not know anything about cars, but I would like a heads up as to what may be the problem, I feel like I am being jerked around by my dealer. I have heard the phrase "no error codes were found" way too often, when something is DEFINITELY wrong.

Answer: Your car is equipped with a vehicle speed sensor and an amplifier for the signal that comes from the vehicle speed sensor. The amplifier feeds the signal to the various components that you are having problems with. We would suggest replacing both the vehicle speed sensor and the amplifier.

Question: 1994 Saturn wagon mileage: 135,000. My 1994 Saturn is missing and bucking when I give it gas. On the thruway I have to floor it for it to smooth out. I pulled out one of the plugs and saw a lot of oil on it. Its twin cam and plugs are in-between the valve cover which is one piece. Could the oil be leaking through the valve cover? Or is it a bigger problem?

Answer: If the oil on the removed spark plug was on the outside top of the plug, you probably have a leaky valve cover gasket. If your car has not been tuned up recently, you may be ready for a major tune-up and compression check. If the problems persist, scan the computer for fault codes.

Question: 1993 Saturn SL2 1.9 DOHC mileage: 110,000. I have a car problem that's just about to drive me nuts and I'm hoping you can help. I've found similar questions in your archives, but none that help. Recently my clutch pedal began losing resistance. It slowly worsened until eventually I couldn't even change gears while the car was running. Mistakenly thinking it was the clutch, I pulled the motor and trans and installed a new clutch kit--disc, pressure plate, and throw out bearing (even though the old assembly appeared to be in good shape). I reinstalled everything only to find the pedal still didn't have pressure. After rereading the appropriate chapter in my manual, I attempted to bleed the master and slave cylinders. Still getting no result, I bought the new hydraulic assembly from Saturn-all the pieces, lines, etc. Now I have great pressure, but I still can't get the car into any gear while it's running. If it's off, however, I can get it into any gear and turn the car on; when I turn the car on, it immediately begins driving slowly (like it normally would with the clutch half-depressed, similar to when you ride a clutch at a red light on a hill). When I let out on the clutch, it takes off like it normally would, but I can't get it out of gear--I have to turn the car off. I've looked for adjustments, but there are none. I took the motor back out to see that everything had been assembled properly (clutch facing proper side, etc.), and it had. It seems that if the push rod off the slave cylinder was a bit longer it would work fine, but I've examined it side by side with the original, and both rods are the same length. Please help me--I'm running out of answers (as have all the parts store people and Saturn technicians I've talked to!)! Cory

Answer: Your problem may be a bent clutch disk. It is easy to do when reinstalling a transmission.

Question: 1998 Saturn sedan mileage: 90,000. My friend's Saturn apparently has an oil leak, so before and after every long car trip she refills the oil. As I was driving home today, the RPM meter started bouncing up and down and the car made knocking motions after switching gears. When the "service engine soon" light came on, I stopped the car and found the oil very low, so I refilled that. Twenty minutes later, the car started fine and ran for about 4 minutes before it resumed the previous behavior. I got it home and now it won't start again. What does fixing this entail?

Answer: Judging by the oil leak, the check engine light, engine knock and low oil, we would say you are looking at buying a new or rebuilt engine. Not good news we know.

Question: 1992 Saturn sl1 1.9 mileage: 155,000. All new brakes. Rotors machined, new pads. After a few days of driving, there is a loud thumping when the brakes are applied after about an hour driving. This does not happen when car is cold. By the way, the noise is coming from front passenger side. I have a good brake it is only the noise that is a problem. Nobody can pinpoint this problem. Mechanic says defiantly brake problem but what? This car had the problem with brakes repaired in the U.S. but as you see, I am back in Canada. Appreciate any advice. John

Answer: Check the caliper slide-pins and bushings for wear. Also, check the front suspension for loose components. If all checks okay, try a different manufacturer for brake pads.

Question: 1993 Saturn SL2 DOHC 1.9 mileage: 120,000. The electric cooling fan is not engaging. The fuse is ok, the relay works fine, and the temperature gauge is measuring the coolant temperature correctly. I assume there is a sensor somewhere that is not working but I cannot locate it.

Answer: Test the fan itself to verify that the motor is not burned out.

Question: 1994 Saturn 1.9 mileage: 123,000. Car smokes and uses oil. Blow-by on upper portion, no pressure on lower portion through dip stick. #1 and #3 cyl have 80 lbs, #2 and #4 have 150 lbs. Added oil to #1 and # 3 cyl and pressure on both went to 118 lbs, spark plugs are in very good condition with no trace of oil, 20000 miles since plugs were changed, no oil comes out of exhaust pipe.

Answer: With a compression of 80 pounds in cylinders 1 and 3 and 123,000, it appears you have a tired engine that probably needs to be rebuilt.

Question:  1996 Saturn sc2  mileage: 49,500.   How can I find out the rotor specifications for my car to determine whether they need to be turned or replaced?  Also, what mileage are they normally replaced at?

Answer:  The minimum thickness should be stamped on the rotor itself.  There is no mileage requirement just when they get to the minimum thickness, they must be replaced.

Question:  1991 Saturn SC2  mileage: 128,000.   Do you have a diagram to install the serpentine drive belt?  It broke and I don't have a diagram to install the new one.

Answer:  We wish we could help you here.  However, it is almost impossible to describe how the belt should be installed.  We suggest you find another vehicle like yours and check it for belt placement.

Question:  1997 Saturn SL2 1.9 4-cyl mileage: 118,000.  If I change the O� sensor (on the exhaust manifold), how can I re-set the diagnostic computer codes so the "Check Engine" light will go off?  Also, the J.C. Whitney catalog lists a universal 'one-wire' oxygen sensor; will this work on my Saturn?  Thanks!

Answer:  The check engine light on your car must be reset with a computer scanner.  In addition, if your car is equipped with a one-wire oxygen sensor, then the one-wire sensor should work.  However, we are pretty sure your car has a two-wire sensor.

Question:  1998 Saturn SL2 1.8 mileage: 30,000.  I could not start the engine this morning. It acted like it was flooded or the starter was stuck.  Therefore, I waited awhile and tried again - same thing happened.  I just had a complete 30000-mileage service done.  I had it towed to a dealer and they said it was fine.  It started for them.  It seems strange that it would be flooded.  Is it possible that could have been the problem? 

Answer: A fuel pump that is starting to go bad may cause the problems you are having.  Check the fuel pump electrical draw, it should be 6 to 9 amps.  If it is high than that, replace the pump.

Question:  1998 Saturn SL2 1.9l mileage: 48,000.  After only a few months of owning this vehicle, it started leaking water in the foot well/floorboard on the passenger side of our car.  It leaked so much water that it soaked the entire carpet in the car and had water standing on the floorboard.  I took it to the dealer where I purchased it and the service department said that the A/C line had clogged up and needed to be cleaned out.  We have had this problem several times and had the carpet replaced twice (under warranty) and we have been told it will continue to happen as long as the line keeps plugging, is this normal?  None of my other cars have had this problem before.  Why this one?  We have also noticed in the winter that same area has a bad air leak and cold air is pouring in the floorboard on the passenger side, could those two problems be related?   I am taking my car in later next week to have the cold air leak addressed, but I wanted to get your take on the situation.

Answer:   First of all, you need to find out what is plugging the drain line to find the source of the problem.  We doubt seriously that the cold air is related to the plugging of the drain.

Question:  1985 Saturn 1.8 mileage: 100,032.  Check engine light comes on every 2.0 miles, shut off engine and shuts off till you drive the next two miles. Is it a mileage setting sensor that is setting it off and for what?   It just started doing it after 100,000 miles, pretty sure but still could use advice.

Answer:  The “check engine” light will “light” when there is a malfunction in the engine management system.  The fault code is then stored in the computer.  The computer must be scanned to retrieve these stored faults to pinpoint the malfunctioning component.

Question:  1993 Saturn Sl2 twin cam mileage: 94,000.  I have to know what a water pump does? The service department says it is leaking.   Also, how do I know when to get a new muffler?

Answer:    A water pump “pumps” or circulates the coolant through the engine and radiator.  Have the muffler inspected for leaks.  Replace it when it fails.

Question:  1995 Saturn mileage: 39,000.  I recently had to have my EGR valve and map sensory replaced on my car.  When I bought the parts the man at the parts store told me that there was a government regulation that required an EGR valve to be guaranteed for 5 years or 50,000.  Do you know if this is true, and if so where can I find this type of information?

Answer:   The owner's manual should have the information you need or check with your local Saturn dealer.

Question:  1994 Saturn SC2 1.9L mileage: 40,500.  While driving, I did not notice the alternator idiot light being on and continued driving until the battery went nearly dead.  When I discovered the alternator light being on, I attempted to park the car.   Upon stopping, the engine was really revved up and would not "kick down".  I proceeded to shift the automatic transmission into reverse to back into a parking spot.  I then had to pull forward, meanwhile the engine was still revving.  Both times, I shifted the transmission made a load clunking sound.  The next day I had the alternator replaced, but now upon shifting into reverse, every time, I hear a clunk and feel a jerk and a kind of a growling sound.  I know I broke something, but what?  I presume whatever is broken is internal to the transmission.  Would this be an expensive repair?  Does it hurt to continue to drive it?  Forward works fine.   Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:   From what you describe, you probably did do damage to the transmission.  Have a transmission repair center inspect it as soon as possible.

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