Learn me older Saturns

What about running some MMO in it and changing the oil again to see what happens?

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: What about running some MMO in it and changing the oil again to see what happens?

Could certainly do that. Is MMO 'the ticket'? Anything work better?

If it is the tensioner replace the chain also.

Out of curiosity, does the noise go away when you press the clutch in? Its not uncommon for the input shaft to make a rattle noise, especially when warm.

MMO is basically ATF / PS fluid AFAIK (but significantly more pricey). If you are getting some smoke at start-up you can also do the "MMO Soak" before the next oil change as well.

I will double-check--but I think the noise is constant.

MMO Soak? I am guessing pouring MMO down the sparkplug holes???

Yeah. It'll free up/unclog the oil control rings.

If it is a tensioner, and we treat it like it was a lifter (MMO in oil)...will a 15-20 mile drive be risky (chain-wise)?

HappyJack wrote: I had a 95 SL1 given to me with over 400,000 kms on it. It was the single cam engine with a 5 speed. I used it in an enduro race, not expecting much. It surprised the hell out of me. It wouldn't die. I ended up using the car the whole season, and won the 4/6 cylinder championship with it. I won 2 of the 6 races with it (2 races were rained out) One was a class win, and one was an over all win. Only bad thing was the front sub frame was pretty rotted. We had to weld it up a couple times. Took a bad hit in the last race that bent that sub frame and decided to retire the car. But after that, I would definately buy a Saturn. Just check the sub frame first.

Congrats Jack! I didn't get to socialize much! (The crutches were really hampering my travel!)

ST_ZX2 wrote: If it is a tensioner, and we treat it like it was a lifter (MMO in oil)...will a 15-20 mile drive be risky (chain-wise)?

We drove the lemons car at full throttle for many hours with a mostly-coolant oil mixture. Did the entire 14 hour race on a blown HG. You won't hurt it.

LOL. Drove it to my "wrench's" house this morning...don't have the time or place to work on the car now...not to mention that even if I did that it's getting damn cold in cheeseland.

Put the MMO in the oil and the rest in the gas. Made a pretty big racket when under anything but a small load. It rattled pretty good at startup, and then I turned on the defrosters and fan, and with the load on the alternator it actually quieted down a lot at idle. Was definately noticable when driving it though--like I said, anything north of about 2000 RPM and it got louder with revs. Never went past low-mid 3's on the tach.

Elwood: Oh No! Jake: What the berkeley was that? Elwood: We've thrown a rod. Jake: Is that serious. Elwood: Yep.

Well sports fans, with less than 60 miles after picking the car up, it looks like the Saturn spun a rod. We're going back to the dealership this morning to see what they say.

Dan the mechanic said that there was evidence of the motor already being apart. The oil has metal in it too. And upon further inspection if you look closely at the tip of the dipstick, you can see that is is "blued". The motor was definitely run low on oil before.

The car was sold "as-is" and "as-shown"...but really, after a few dozen miles? We'll see how they handle it and go from there. I have a solution in mind...

Ouch. You didn't spin the rod - it was already spun. Common problem with these cars - they burn oil, neglectful owners don't check or fill, rods starve of oil. Owners refill when oil-pressure light comes on, but damage has already been done.

Hopefully the dealer can help you out. If not, there are many very cheap options for getting it running again - but all of them involve doing some work yourself. Keep us updated.

Hope the dealer does right for you. The car is worth fixing, I'd go for a good used motor.

ProDarwin wrote: Ouch. You didn't spin the rod - it was already spun. Common problem with these cars - they burn oil, neglectful owners don't check or fill, rods starve of oil. Owners refill when oil-pressure light comes on, but damage has already been done. Hopefully the dealer can help you out. If not, there are many very cheap options for getting it running again - but all of them involve doing some work yourself. Keep us updated.

The dealer appears to be checking their options on finding a motor--they have not offered anything specifically/monitarily so we are waiting for their first offer to make things right. They definately did NOT tell us to pound sand.

I was looking around the interwebz, and it seems that motors go from 700-1000, which seems quite high. Thoughts on what is fair?

Would it make sense to throw a crank (or regrind) and new bearings and maybe take a cash "settlement"? Can you expand on the "cheap options" that you referenced?

Cheap option = crank + bearings + timing kit (optional, but recommended rings+HG). Should be able to get all that from adv. auto for like $500 for the works. You'll have to pull the motor to work on it though. Cheap option 2 = You can get a junkyard motor for very little at almost any yard. I would've guessed $100 from a you pull it, $300 from another yard. Cheap option 3 (probably too late for this) = Just get bearings, drop the pan and install.

Option 2 is by far the easiest.

Yeah I was expecting 400-450. I will wait on the dealer, and then call around if necessary.