Pics And Help me FIX the saturn beater!!!! video inside!

94 Cobra 5.0 said:

good gas saver, i worked at a saturn dealer for about a year and have seen many with 200,000 mi plus on them.
now for the bad
1. manual transmissions above 60,000 mi have a nasty problem of the input shaft seal going bad and taking out the clutch. wouldnt be much of a problem if the transmission was like the t-5 except in order to change the seal you have to disassemble the trans because the seal is pressed in from the other side.
2. egr valves like to go out and they are a dealer only item and cost about $160.
3. your surging might be coming from the coolant temp sensor. check that first before getting the egr.
4. dont put any other plug except the dealer plugs in the car. sorry to say but from the things that i have seen with those cars misfire codes pop with non saturn plugs.
5. plugs wires good move for ovious reasons.
6. if your getting a hell of a vibration the upper motor mount is the likely suspect. easy to check and they cost about $70

other than that they are great cars when they are taken care of just like anything else. good luck and hope the info helps.

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Bens95cobra8594 said:

Adam -

From what I remember. , the service wrench light means something catastrophic happened (or is happening). I could be wrong about this though, I forgot what lights comes on for routine maintenance, but sort of looks scary. I thought they changed this in the 00 or 01 model year though...
My best advice would be to check with the dealer (I know, I know, grab your ankles). They would be able to tell you what the light is.
AutoZone may be able to scan the computer again and see what the dilly is though.

I am little hazy about this, but I think two misfire codes you don't really have to worry about (esp with new plugs and wires) are 340 and 341. They are real common on Saturns, esp when it's damp outside.

I am a little worried about the two black looking plugs though... that may be indicative of internal engine issues. Head gaskets are not that common on those cars, but what is common is worn piston rings and worn valve seals; especially if maintenance wasn't up to par.

On the flip side, if there is no excessive engine wear inside, those little engines are pretty darn reliable and infinitely rebuildable with a ton of parts available at cheap prices.

So for now: check what the codes are and go from there. A new EGR may possibly cause bucking, but probably not at idle, unless it is completely clogged. Even if it was clogged, the idle shouldn't jump around like that. I wouldn't dump the $93 on it just yet.

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Darkwriter77 said:

FWIW, the "Check Engine Soon" light can be set off on any '96 or newer OBD-II compliant vehicle by something as minor as leaving the gas cap loose, or if the seal on the gas cap is leaking. I wouldn't exactly define that as something "catastrophic" in nature, but it will put a frown on your face when that light comes on... And that light usually will not go out on its own unless you either reset the ECM or use an OBD-II code reader to wipe the codes from memory. (However, it'll keep coming back on until you fix what's tripping the code, of course.)

Follow every single vacuum line from end to end that you can find on the car, and verify that none of the hard lines are cracked/broken and that none of the rubber portions have dry-rotted, split, or are otherwise leaking.

I've had experiences in the past with newer GM vehicles getting fussy when the Intake Air Temperature (IAT) Sensor craps out, and it had some symptoms similar to what you're describing - crappy idle, bucking/hesitation, and occasional stalling. Our 2200-series (2.2L four-banger) 2000 Chevy S-10 delivery truck had this issue, and we took it in several times to two different commercial accounts (Goodyear and some other place I can't remember) ... places that are supposedly dealer-service-certified, basically ... and they couldn't figure it out. Never seemed to throw any specific codes, either, and never touched off the CEL. Just on a whim, we swapped the IAT sensor from our other identical truck into it, and POOF! Suddenly, it was healed and ran like new. Plugged a brand new IAT in there and never had an issue with it, afterward. Might give that a try, if all else fails. A new IAT usually doesn't cost more than $25 at most places (Autozone, Advance Auto, etc.)

And IAC valve crapping out wouldn't explain the stumbling/misfire issue, but it could be contributing to the stalling. That's kind of a pricey piece to go replacing on a whim, though. I'd look into other alternatives, first, and eliminate everything else before spending the cash on one of those. Maybe even look for one you could use out of a junkyard Saturn, perhaps...?

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