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#1
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Are saturns notorious for burning oil?
I have a '97 Saturn SL1, that I have not had any major problems with since I
purchased it. I have noticed, however, that if I do an oil change myself or take it to a shop to do it, there always appears to be a bit less than what I would normally expect to see. One tech said that Saturns are notorious for burning oil. Is this true? If it is, no big deal, I still like my car, but I wanted to make sure that there might not be something else wrong. The engine never overheats (at least as far as the gauges are concerned) I never run OUT of oil, and I have yet to see any leaking anywhere from the engine or on the ground underneath. I've never noticed this on other vehicles (ruling out a normal allowance of burned oil) Any ideas? |
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#2
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On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 15:59:32 -0700, "CuriousOnly" > wrote:
>I have a '97 Saturn SL1, that I have not had any major problems with since I >purchased it. I have noticed, however, that if I do an oil change myself or >take it to a shop to do it, there always appears to be a bit less than what >I would normally expect to see. One tech said that Saturns are notorious >for burning oil. Is this true? If it is, no big deal, I still like my car, >but I wanted to make sure that there might not be something else wrong. The >engine never overheats (at least as far as the gauges are concerned) I never >run OUT of oil, and I have yet to see any leaking anywhere from the engine >or on the ground underneath. I've never noticed this on other vehicles >(ruling out a normal allowance of burned oil) > >Any ideas? I have two Saturns, 97 & 99. Both use a little oil. I think most here will agree that the majority of the SL's use oil in varying amounts and a few lucky ones don't. It isn't a big deal. To keep from adding between changes, I have started putting in a can of Restore. All of my miles are hwy. and I change around 6k miles. There is a fix listed below that someone in the group posted awhile back and has had some good reports. I just haven't had time to do it, but it's worth a try. Instead of using the GM cleaner, some have had good luck using Marvel Mystery Oil. MR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Engine - Excessive Oil Consumption BULLETIN NO.: 94-T-59A ISSUE DATE: February, 2003 CATEGORY TYPE: Engine-16 CATEGORY: General CORPORATION NO.: 03-06-01-001R SUBJECT: Oil Consumption Concern (Diagnosis/Service Procedure) Due to the addition of a new internal engine cleaning procedure, this bulletin has been revised and supersedes bulletin 94-T-59, which should be discarded. MODELS AFFECTED: All 1991 - 1997 Saturn S-Series Vehicles CONDITION: Some customers may comment that the engine is using 1 quart (0.951 liter) or more of oil every 3000 mi. (4827 km). CAUSE: Engine oil consumption greater than 1 quart (0.951 liter) in 3000 mi. (4827 km) may be caused by stuck/sticking oil control and/or compression rings. Engine deposits may build up on and around the oil control ring(s), compression ring(s) and piston ring land(s) causing the ring(s) to stick and become less effective. CORRECTION: Perform internal engine cleaning procedure or engine repair procedure depending on amount of oil consumption. IF engine uses 1 quart (0.951 liter) of oil in: 1500 mi. - 3000 mi. (2414 km - 4827 km), perform Procedure-1: Internal Engine Cleaning 1499 mi. (2414 km) or less, perform Procedure-2: Engine Repair While Saturn still considers oil consumption of 1 quart (0.951 liter) in 2000 mi. (3218 km) to be an acceptable level, the engine cleaning procedure contained in this bulletin may improve oil consumption performance to an even more acceptable level. ================================================== ========================== =========== Bottom line: If your engine consumes less than one quart every 1,500 miles, you should buy a bottle of GM Piston and Ring Cleaner (part nr 12378549) and put 3 ounces of it into each of the four cylinders. Make sure that the piston is half way up on all four cylinders (engine at 90 degrees before or after top dead center). Then, blow it out the plug holes by cranking the engine with rags over it. Do an oil change and replace the oil with Mobil 1 (yup, the TSB says to use Mobil 1) for one 3,000 mile oil change. It looks like it's official - the oil consumption is due to ring sticking. |
#3
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I'd strongly encourage you to check your oil more frequently. A good
practice is to check it every 500 miles or so, especially if you know you consume oil or are going to be taking a long trip. Also, as you already likely know, you don't have to wait till the oil level gets below the fill line or the oil pressure light is illuminated to add. By that time it is already at least a quart low, and since there are only 4 quarts in the system when full, it could easily result in a major (and very expensive) mechanical problem. You should still keep track of what you add between changes since this provides some indication of the overall health of the engine. Our '96 SL1 with 120K (mostly highway) miles goes through a little over a quart between changes (every 3K miles), but a small portion of this leaks onto our driveway so the amount burned is probably 3/4 of the total loss. By the way, I use 10W30 in the summer and the manufacturer recommended 5W30 in the winter. I only mention this since the heavier oil helps increase the oil pressure and reduce consumption (at the price of slightly reduced fuel economy.) Bob "CuriousOnly" > wrote in message ... > I have a '97 Saturn SL1, that I have not had any major problems with since I > purchased it. I have noticed, however, that if I do an oil change myself or > take it to a shop to do it, there always appears to be a bit less than what > I would normally expect to see. One tech said that Saturns are notorious > for burning oil. Is this true? If it is, no big deal, I still like my car, > but I wanted to make sure that there might not be something else wrong. The > engine never overheats (at least as far as the gauges are concerned) I never > run OUT of oil, and I have yet to see any leaking anywhere from the engine > or on the ground underneath. I've never noticed this on other vehicles > (ruling out a normal allowance of burned oil) > > Any ideas? |
#4
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Hmm, if the car burns 4 quarts of oil every 3000mi, and I add a quart every 800 miles or so, then I should never have to change the oil, right? -rj 98SL2 ps. j/k |
#5
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On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 22:28:37 -0400, richard hornsby
> wrote: > >Hmm, if the car burns 4 quarts of oil every 3000mi, and I add a quart >every 800 miles or so, then I should never have to change the oil, >right? More or less, but you would still have some crud drop-out in your oil pan which could pile up if not drained. MR |
#6
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"CuriousOnly" > wrote in message >...
> I have a '97 Saturn SL1, that I have not had any major problems with since I > purchased it. I have noticed, however, that if I do an oil change myself or <snip> You can read a good post about this at: "http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&selm=358F1405.F6EA4E9F%40exit109.com" |
#7
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I have 2 Saturns-a 1993 SL2 and a 1999 SW2. The 99 doesnt use any oil.
The 93 goes through a quart of Mobile 1 every 500 miles. Compression check done several years ago was fine. No smoke, and only 68k miles. There is some oil around the oil pan, and I will look into it. But both cars runs great. |
#8
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I have 2 Saturns-a 1993 SL2 and a 1999 SW2. The 99 doesnt use any oil.
The 93 goes through a quart of Mobile 1 every 500 miles. Compression check done several years ago was fine. No smoke, and only 68k miles. There is some oil around the oil pan, and I will look into it. But both cars runs great. |
#9
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"Lee3333" > wrote in message lkaboutautos.com... > I have 2 Saturns-a 1993 SL2 and a 1999 SW2. The 99 doesnt use any oil. > The 93 goes through a quart of Mobile 1 every 500 miles. Compression > check done several years ago was fine. No smoke, and only 68k miles. > There is some oil around the oil pan, and I will look into it. But both > cars runs great. > The catalytic converter eats a lot of the smoke from oil burning. |
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