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i have a 02 saturn sl sohc, manual with 112k miles that i picked up cheap from a friends parents. they flat out just needed to get rid of it. it had been setting for well over a year. and because they were moving they needed it gone. they claimed it really had nothing wrong with it. well i did a few dumb little things to it. battery, fixed the front bumper cover… then i was getting codes p0340- p0341. i was getting a high idle that wouldnt come down. but when it did the car would run really rough and want to quit. i did plugs, wires, cleaned the coils… that didnt fix it. i got a used ignition control module. and it seemed to fix part of the issue. now i dont have the high idle, or the rough wanting to quit stuff. but now after it runs for a couple minutes it starts to have a missfire. the check engine light has not come on though since i replaced the ignition control module (i dont drive this car. so it hasnt come on while running it in my driveway)… i took the throttle body off and cleaned it. it was horribly dirty. i also cleaned the pcv valve out. both seemed to help and make it run a little smoother. but it still has a mis. i did a compression test today and this is the result. (#1)176psi – (#2)173 – (#3)144 (#4)134. i know this isnt looking good. especially when in the repair manual it says compression should run at 190 on all cylinders. and should never run below 180. granted i didnt do the test with the engine warm. i know your supposed to but i just dont like taking plugs out of a hot engine…(but i did remove all plugs, and have the throttle open) what i wonder though is with both low cylinders next to each other. should i be thinking head gasket? i did do a wet test as well. and both high cylinders were the same. and the two low cylinders both went up. which makes me think rings. but isnt it somewhat unusual to have rings wear in only 2 cylinders? what i am really thinking is maybe i have a case of stuck rings. because of the car setting all that time (close to two years) i dont know much about saturns. and i would like to know from someone who knows them well if rings are a issue with the 1.9 or not. or if head gaskets are issues… or if rings getting stuck on them is common? i think the easiet thing would be to put something in the cylinders to try and get the rings freed up before i do anything else. i was planning on doing a leak down test tomorrow if i can. but boy is it hard to turn the engine over by hand, to get the pistons at tdc compression stroke! what would be the best thing to put in the cylinders? marvel mystery oil, transmission fluid, motor oil, diesel kleen??? all of the above mixed??? any help is appreciated!!
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Have you gotten rid of the old gas from sitting.
You can try any of the methods you mentioned for the
cylinder soak.But thats usually to free a stuck engine.
Unless alot of carbon is on the valves holding them open.old gas wouldnt have anything to do with the low compression in two cylinders… it could cause a bit of a mis though. but no i didnt get the old gas out. there was about 1/4 of a tank. i added another 1/4 or more of fresh higher octane gas, and put in some injector cleaner… didnt seem to make any difference. i think ill try some marvel mystery oil, and transmission fluid in the cylinders and let it set for a couple days. then check it all over again. also do the leak down test. i am hoping that its just a head gasket. or else possibly carbon on the valves, or rings. it just seems to me that if the rings, or valves were completely bad the compression would be alot lower. 130-140 isnt super low. for this engine its pretty low… but when you have a real problem usually redaings will be below 100. sometimes even like 40psi. and with this engine only having 112k miles it just seems weird to me that it would be rings. cause these 1.9’s are supposed to run well into 200k. so i guess we’ll see. i kinda just wanted some imput from people who have had experience with these saturns. wondered if this was a common issue for whatever reason. id love to get it on the road, drive it for a few months and then sell it. id make a killing seeing as i only paid scrap price for it. and it books at about 3 grand. id be asking about 2 for it. its a really nice car. so im hoping i wont have to put a used engine in it. truthfuly i dont even have the $500 it would take to get another engine for it…
my saturn does the high idle and rough idle thing when the intake is dirty. if the people before you ran shit gas through it all the time and never cleaned it, well it may have caused all these issues. You can try and seafoam it, it might work, but without removing the head, theres no way to tell how dirty it actually is.
I had to disassemble my intake last month for the high idle thing. I dont know what it is with these cars but it seems to foul out about once every other year, and thats with running chevron or shell not some random 40 cents cheaper a gallon gas. happens more often if the air filter is dirty. theres a sensor on the back of the intake manifold, held on with 2 8mm (i think) screws, take that off and use some carb clean on the sensor bit and in the hole too if you havent. if you need a picture i can get one but not right now as its raining like hell out.
when i had the throttle body off it did seem like the intake was pretty dirty. but that still isnt gonna make compression go down. and where i live there isnt crappy gas and better gas. its all the same everywhere you go. and all the same price… its made right local too. in warren pa. from 100% north american oil. we probabaly only have like 10 gas stations within 15 miles. and they all get the stuff from the same distributor. so in bigger cities there is actually gas that is 40 cents cheaper per gallon? im suprised anyone buys the more expensive stuff. i guess i would only if it was 100% gasoline. our area has had 10% ethanol for over 2 years now. my carbureted cars dont like it much.
and the high idle problem went away after i replaced my ignition module. and so did the real low chuggy gonna quit stuff. now im just left with a slight mis. and it appears its being caused by the low compression. i put some marvel mystery oil and transmission fluid in the cylinders. and im gonna let it set a few days. then run the engine for awhile. hopefully it will free up anything that may be sticking. then ill recheck the compression. hopefully it improves. if not i may be looking at a scrap yard motor for $500…
we have that ethanol crap too. maybe thats what gums up these cars. lost 3 mpg on my truck and 5 on my saturn when they went to an ethanol blend. AND we pay more per gallon for the crap. as for prices, Chevron is 3.899 gallon, AMA is 3.699 gallon. Mom and pop texaco (not owned by a distributorship) is 3.789 i get fuel there.
Have you checked the new plugs you installed for a weird corrosion/firing pattern? what plugs did you use? I once read on a forum that saturns do some strange things with plugs and they miss if they dont ‘like’ the ones you installed.
If a valve was sticking you would probably hear it, but that doesnt mean the valve isnt not seating properly. Before you condemn the engine take the head off (its not that hard to do on SOHC) and give them an inspection. might be some stubborn carbon build up that can be resolved by a stiff brush and some solvent.
Personally i hate my saturn, it doesnt get good enough gas mileage for how slow and gutless it is. and theres no aftermarket available for it to make it my own.
did u change the oil? low oil can cause rough idle so can a timing belt. id forget it Saturns the SL series in particular are total pieces of shit Saturns nothing but money pits and you end up dumping more money into the damn thing than its even worth just put a 3800 Series II V6 in it in the long run itll pay off
SL saturns dont have timing belts. and ive put NOTHING into mine but gas and oil since i ‘bought’ it. and putting a 3.8 in a SL saturn is a major undertaking. might as well make it rear wheel drive and shove a v8 under the hood.
wait a minute now…. *eyes the 5 litre chevy he has under a tarp in the back yard…
[quote=”Lord Ihcalam” post=55954]SL saturns dont have timing belts. and ive put NOTHING into mine but gas and oil since i ‘bought’ it. and putting a 3.8 in a SL saturn is a major undertaking. might as well make it rear wheel drive and shove a v8 under the hood.
wait a minute now…. *eyes the 5 litre chevy he has under a tarp in the back yard…[/quote]
SLs have 4 banger engines a 3800 Series 2 V6 would really be a power boost for it. hell a SL engine in my Daewoo would probably be a power boost i dunno what the HP torque or Litre size it is but im sure it beats 105HP 105 ft lbs torque and 1.6 litre.
I want to put a 3800 Series II in my car ive been told it should bolt right in imagine that world’s 1st V6 Daewoo :S my sister had a 02 SL1 any one i have known with a saturn of any kind always said its in the shop all the time (every month or so) because SOMETHING always needed repair. My sister’s SL1 needed over $2000 in repairs on a car only worth $1600 in best condition not worth the fix. it needed a water pump amoung the 4 page long list of work needing done.
saturn SOHC have a whopping 1.9 litre and 100hp at the engine. DOHC are about 25 more. u figure a 20-30% loss to the wheels if you run a AT and well dog slow. I got passed by a 93 fiesta and can pull a mountain pass at MAYBE 45mph
its not just a bolt in. its modifying for space, cutting and welding and fabricating axles that will fit, along with rewiring the entire car and changing the computer systems. forget about using a saturn trans you better get one with your 6. And i dunno about a daewoo the only place ive ever seen one is on the bed to the grinder getting ready to be turned into next year’s license plates. what year was her SL, cause 13 years after manufacture mine still runs as its supposed to. but then i maintain it even though i hate it.
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