In article . com>,
says...
Setting the record straight once AGAIN!


Ok first off you have a DOHC ENGINE! NOT A SOHC engine. DOHC engines are
NOT I repeat NOT susceptible to any cracking any more than any other
average cylinderhead. Meaning you have to abuse the holy hell out of the
DOHC engine to break it. Most likely you pulled this information from
one idiots post who refuses to post actual "FACTS" because he is a
clueless irate idiot to say the very least...

Ok there are 2 common areas that you could be loosing oil.

One is very common on all four bangers and that is the PCV Valve. There
is no "oil valley" for oil to retreat to for drain off like on a V
engine. So as the valve cover builds up oil the pcv valve is almost
right in the mix. If it is faulty you can suck a lotta oil out of the
engine right quick! Cleaning it with brake clean or replacing it with an
OEM are you only 2 options.

The next area of consumtion on 1.9's are the Oil rings. They tend to
stick from oil varnish and sludge. There are ways of cleaning the oil
rings with a soak and that very often works. The entire howto can be
found at saturnfans.com forum.


> I was wondering if anyone could help me with this...
> 1) I want to make sure that it is indeed a cracked cylinder...is this
> possible without pulling the engine out entirely?

Pressure test the cooling system. A cylinder leak down test will also
expose things like a bad head gasket. You will end up with coolant in
your oil not vice versa with a cracked cylinder head. You are likely
seeing something eles in your coolant.

> 2) What exactly should I tell the service people so that they dont try
> to charge me for some extraneous costs and/or fix the proper thing?

Go elsewhere...

> 3)I've heard that Saturn's Customer Service can be finaggled into
> paying for some of the bill for this, since its was *almost* a recall.
> Is this true? and how can I pull it off?

This is not a SOHC engine and at 100k + miles? Car companies wont hold
peoples hands for ever nor should they. Facts of life...

> 4) Is there anywhere, perhaps other than a commercial repair manual,
> that I might be able to find more information about this problem with
> the engine? Ive seen the words "cylinder head" and "head gasket" used
> almost interchangably when talking of this problem, and Id like to know
> what the difference is, if any.

The head gasket goes under the head and above the cylinder block,
inbetween to create a seal. Both oil and coolent flow through it and it
also keeps the high pressures created by the cylinders contained. The
gasket will likely go before the head on this engine.