How similar are '96 and '99 Saturns?

I've had a '96 SL-2 for a couple of years, and bought a full set of factory
service manuals for it almost immediately.

Just bought a '99 SL-2 earlier this week, which is obviously a very similar
vehicle. My question is, *how* similar? Certainly the '96 manuals will be
adequate for at least some repairs on the '99, but I don't have a feel for
whether that portion might be 5%, or 95%, of the tasks.

Any guidance would be appreciated. TIA.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug Miller wrote:
> I've had a '96 SL-2 for a couple of years, and bought a full set of factory
> service manuals for it almost immediately.
>
> Just bought a '99 SL-2 earlier this week, which is obviously a very similar
> vehicle. My question is, *how* similar? Certainly the '96 manuals will be
> adequate for at least some repairs on the '99, but I don't have a feel for
> whether that portion might be 5%, or 95%, of the tasks.

Any suggestions on where to get a set of manuals (or DVDs?) for a 98 SL-2?

Thanks
David Ross

In article >, DLR > wrote:
>Doug Miller wrote:
>> I've had a '96 SL-2 for a couple of years, and bought a full set of factory
>> service manuals for it almost immediately.
>>
>> Just bought a '99 SL-2 earlier this week, which is obviously a very similar
>> vehicle. My question is, *how* similar? Certainly the '96 manuals will be
>> adequate for at least some repairs on the '99, but I don't have a feel for
>> whether that portion might be 5%, or 95%, of the tasks.
>
>Any suggestions on where to get a set of manuals (or DVDs?) for a 98 SL-2?

I got mine on eBay. You might also be able to order them from a Saturn dealer.
IIRC, I checked into that, and went the eBay route after finding that they
were indeed available from Saturn, but at a price higher than I was able to
afford at the time. I paid about $75 for a three-volume set of printed manuals
in three-ring binders. These are Saturn factory service manuals, the same ones
used in Saturn dealership service departments, not Haynes or Chilton manuals.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

You can refer to the ultimate swap guide for engine/drivetrain differences:

http://www.saturnspot.com/performanc...hanks-tsn.html

I was in the same boat with purchasing the correct service manuals for a car
when I had some that were a few years different. I decided that no matter
how similar the cars were, it would only take one difference to potentially
mis-diagnose or fix something incorrectly. I sold my old FSMs to a friend
and bought the correct ones.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]
---
Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www.evilplastic.com


"marx404" > wrote in message
...
> they should be comparably similar, not much different at all, same 1.9L
> engine and same trannys in both..
> --
> marx404
>
> "Doug Miller" > wrote in message
> t...
>> I've had a '96 SL-2 for a couple of years, and bought a full set of
>> factory
>> service manuals for it almost immediately.
>>
>> Just bought a '99 SL-2 earlier this week, which is obviously a very
>> similar
>> vehicle. My question is, *how* similar? Certainly the '96 manuals will be
>> adequate for at least some repairs on the '99, but I don't have a feel
>> for
>> whether that portion might be 5%, or 95%, of the tasks.
>>
>> Any guidance would be appreciated. TIA.
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
>>
>> It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
>
>