2001 "S" series?
 

I think that's what it is. 57,000 miles. Very good buy to me if I choose
to get it.

Any issues like the 1995 "oil burner" I've got now or something similar that
would make me want to avoid this car?

Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R

Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com

2001 "S" series?
 

are you buying a particular model or the whole series? PLease step out of
your mothership and go look then tell us exactly what car you are referring
to.

As far as oil burning issues, if you search this board, you will find the
answers as that is a very repetitive question.
marx404

2001 "S" series?
 

>>I think that's what it is. 57,000 miles. Very good buy to me if I
>>choose
>>to get it.
>>
>>Any issues like the 1995 "oil burner" I've got now or something similar
>>that
>>would make me want to avoid this car?
>>
> are you buying a particular model or the whole series?

Yes, but I don't have the specifics with me right now. Wagon, dual cam,
automatic. That's all I know for sure until I get a hold of more info.

> PLease step out of
> your mothership and go look then tell us exactly what car you are
> referring
> to.

Okay. Done.

> As far as oil burning issues, if you search this board, you will find the
> answers as that is a very repetitive question.
> marx404

Um... I didn't ask about the oil buring issue's specifics, I asked if it
was common to the new vehicle that I'm considering as it is with my present
vehicle. I know lots about the issue in particular, but not what years and
models it affects.

Why so abrasive with your response BTW? Was my question out of line
somehow?

Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R

Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com

2001 "S" series?
 

I didnt mean to sound abrasive, lol, but you didnt give us a whole lot to go
by there , Joe, if ya leave us guessing, youll problably get the wrong
answer. :-)

quote: Any issues like the 1995 "oil burner" I've got now or something
similar that
would make me want to avoid this car?

so, yea, you do want specific info on the oil burning issue and it is a
common question here and other Saturn boards, thats why I said to hit that
search button . Theres more info available on that than I can type.

Anyways, now that you gave me more of a clue, you are talking about (and I
still have no clue as to what you are currently driving) you are referring
to a SW2, twin cam engine 124 hp, wagon. 2001, 2002 saw a model upgrade, but
the 1.9L remains primarily the same as before.

It has been reported that some earlier 1.9L TC engines would burn oil. I
have had 3 and they never burned oil. I guess it all depends. Also find out
more about how the former owner treated his SW2, that will tell you alot.
Hope that helps, Best of luck.

marx404

2001 "S" series?
 

>I didnt mean to sound abrasive, lol, but you didnt give us a whole lot to
>go
> by there , Joe, if ya leave us guessing, youll problably get the wrong
> answer. :-)

Sorry. I'm so used to people on the newsgroups being abrasive that it's a
conditioned response from me I guess. My apologies to you.

wish I had more info to give you.

> quote: Any issues like the 1995 "oil burner" I've got now or something
> similar that
> would make me want to avoid this car?
>
> so, yea, you do want specific info on the oil burning issue and it is a
> common question here and other Saturn boards, thats why I said to hit that
> search button . Theres more info available on that than I can type.
>
> Anyways, now that you gave me more of a clue, you are talking about (and I
> still have no clue as to what you are currently driving) you are referring
> to a SW2, twin cam engine 124 hp, wagon. 2001, 2002 saw a model upgrade,
> but
> the 1.9L remains primarily the same as before.

I'm currently driving a 1995 SL1 with oil burning issues. :)

I'm currently borrowing the 2002 SW2 wagon. Definitely has more HP.
Haven't found the high MPH limit yet, but I would guess it is higher than
the 105 or 115 that the SL1 had... I doubt I'll play that wild anytime
soon.

> It has been reported that some earlier 1.9L TC engines would burn oil. I
> have had 3 and they never burned oil. I guess it all depends. Also find
> out
> more about how the former owner treated his SW2, that will tell you alot.
> Hope that helps, Best of luck.

Previous owner is family - this the great deal if I decide to go with it.
Only downsides are that my 1995 has power windows, cruise, and is a stick.
The wagon is manual everything (how the heck do they expect you to adjust
the passenger mirror!) and doesn't have cruise.

I drive EVERYWHERE on cruise so this is a real shock to me. Plus, it's a
lazy automatic. Also has less leg room which is a real bummer since I drive
70 miles a day minimum in NJ traffic.
--


Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R

Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com

2001 "S" series?
 

See comments below ... Good luck with your vehicle search. I'm not sure
what other issues you have had with your 1995 SL1 or what mileage you have
put on it either. You also give no idea of how much oil is consumed or over
what mileage so it is difficult to understand if this is a real problem or
simply a nuisance. As Marx pointed out, you really do not share much
information and appear to have come to this group with an axe of some kind
to grind.

I'm not a Saturn expert, but my son's 1996 SL1 has been a very reliable and
easily maintained vehicle. It now has over 140K miles and he is the second
owner. He purchased it at 112K miles three or so years ago. It burns about
1-1.5 quarts of oil between 3K mile changes. We found that replacing the
PCV helped some and doing the piston ring soak with Marvel Mystery Oil also
seemed to help as well.

By the way, the 1.5 quarts/3K miles includes some dripping from the oil
seals onto the drive as well. All in all, this has been a very good
investment and a very economic vehicle for us.

Bob


"Joe" > wrote in message
news:SdPBg.52069$Lh4.34977@trnddc02...
> I'm currently driving a 1995 SL1 with oil burning issues. :)
>
> I'm currently borrowing the 2002 SW2 wagon. Definitely has more HP.
> Haven't found the high MPH limit yet, but I would guess it is higher than
> the 105 or 115 that the SL1 had...

Gee, I wonder why it burns oil? Only had it up to 115 MPH, huh? I'd be
scared to death to get a SL up over 80-90 MPH! They were not designed to
cruise evewn for short period of time at this type of speed!

> Previous owner is family - this the great deal if I decide to go with it.
> Only downsides are that my 1995 has power windows, cruise, and is a stick.

Comment: Sounds like your 1995 SL is either a SL2 or was ordered with a lot
of options by the original buyer. Most SL1s come bare bones without options
since they were more inexpensive. If it is indeed a SL1, then it is a bit
unique from my perspective.

> The wagon is manual everything (how the heck do they expect you to adjust
> the passenger mirror!) and doesn't have cruise.
>
> I drive EVERYWHERE on cruise so this is a real shock to me. Plus, it's a
> lazy automatic.

I thought you said it had "manual everything" ... but now you say that it
has an automatic transmission?

> Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
>
> Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"

Out of curiosity, just what exactly does this signature line mean? What is
a mother ship?
>
> Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
> http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
> http://www.youthelate.com
>

2001 "S" series?
 

Joe, I have ben running Mobil1 Synthetic oil in my cars since forever. :-)
Some claim that it may help prevent oil burning. I use the same viscosity as
OEM 5w30, yet I still religiously change my oil every 3000 miles to keep the
engine happy.

Twin cams were notorious for burning oil but not everyone had that problem.
It is not a very common problem with single cam engines.

Also check out www.saturnfans.com, lots of nice helpful ppl there too, some
of whom are here too.

marx404

2001 "S" series?
 

> See comments below ... Good luck with your vehicle search. I'm not sure
> what other issues you have had with your 1995 SL1 or what mileage you have
> put on it either.

I've posted here on and off for a while now. Problems have included two
alternators (always right after a rev-limiter mistake in neutral) and the
oil. 158,000 miles. Last time I posted was probably at 156-157,000.

> You also give no idea of how much oil is consumed or over what mileage so
> it is difficult to understand if this is a real problem or simply a
> nuisance.

..5 to 1 qt every 500 miles.

> As Marx pointed out, you really do not share much information and appear
> to have come to this group with an axe of some kind to grind.

No axe. Just a mistake on my part with that one post. I frequent a bunch
of other newsgroups which seem to be falling apart. You post a legitimate
question and all of a sudden, folks are on your back about this or that. It
was 100% my mistake to respond to Marx that way and I apologize.

Now... About sharing. I'm simply curious if the 2002 SW2 has any ghosts I
should be aware of. I only mentioned the oil burn because it is such a well
known, widespread problem that affects almost everyone. I'm simply curious
if the car I'm considering has any problems of the same scale and used that
as an example. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the problem and the
focus of this group, the very mention of the oil burn problem took us off
track from the moment I posted it.

> I'm not a Saturn expert, but my son's 1996 SL1 has been a very reliable
> and easily maintained vehicle. It now has over 140K miles and he is the
> second owner. He purchased it at 112K miles three or so years ago. It
> burns about 1-1.5 quarts of oil between 3K mile changes. We found that
> replacing the PCV helped some and doing the piston ring soak with Marvel
> Mystery Oil also seemed to help as well.

I've done the PVC - right after I fouled Plug #3 (see archives for
everything I've tried - from heavy oil to SeaFoam which is rated better than
Marvel, etc.)

> By the way, the 1.5 quarts/3K miles includes some dripping from the oil
> seals onto the drive as well. All in all, this has been a very good
> investment and a very economic vehicle for us.

I could live with 1.5 qts per 3,000 miles as I change it religiously.
However, I've been known to forget to check the oil and on my second tank of
gas been almost 2 qts low and in total horror! I'm simply amazed that the
oil pressure light didn't come on.

But... Back to the real topic... Anything I should know about the SW2
before acquiring it?
--


Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R

Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
http://www.youthelate.com

2001 "S" series?
 

"Joe" > wrote in message
news:vRQBg.54586$Lh4.35331@trnddc02...
snip
> However, I've been known to forget to check the oil and on my second tank
> of gas been almost 2 qts low and in total horror! I'm simply amazed that
> the oil pressure light didn't come on.
>

CAUTION - THE LOW OIL PRESSURE LIGHT IS NOT AN OIL LEVEL GAUGE.

While the pressure switch setting of the (well named) idiot light varies, in
most cases it is much lower than the engine requires for extended life.
When the oil level gets low, vehicle motion causes the oil to slosh away
from the pump pickup and the pump can suck up a lot of air and frothy oil.
This air and frothy oil will be compressed and while an oil pressure gauge
may show pressure fluctuations and lower pressure, an idiot light will not
light. As the engine speed increases more oil is pumped to the valve cover
area and drain back slowly allowing the oil level to drop just when the
engine needs it most. Compressed air will keep the idiot light off but is
not an effective lubricant. Low oil quantity will also tend to cause the
oil temp to rise and this will cause rapid oil and viscosity breakdown which
will both cause increased consumption and make the problem worse.

There is only one reliable oil level gauge, it is called a dipstick and it
should be used frequently. I check the oil level at every fueling AND
before AND after any long trip. I have never seen any engine damage or
dipstick failure caused by overuse. Opening the hood will also reveal
unusual oil or coolant blowing around or leaking, and the visible reservoirs
for coolant and other fluids make it easy to check those levels frequently
as well.

YMMV