Leaving here the 25th. I am so excited! Sad I wont see my son for 3 weeks but im doing whats best for us.

 

You gotta do what you gotta do, Mandee. Just make sure you have warm clothes for the both of you, because it does get chilly in that area.

 

Yea I use to live there. so ready for the rodeo in March!!!

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm pretty new here (not a new Saturn owner, however) and reading all that you folks talked about before I was made aware of the site.

uncljohn (and any other southwesterners who want to "weigh in")

I see that you are in the southwest, as am I. The temps in Las Vegas are usually a little bit lower than where you are but still seldom get really cold (<30° F) always get really hot (>100° F) at some point. The only time it ever gets cold is late at night in the winter when I wouldn't be driving, anyhow.

My 1996 SW2 has 5W-30 inscribed on the oil fiiler cap. In this climate should I be using a thicker formulation (and will that make a difference in oil usage...no leaks, must be blow by).

Thanks

 

You should at least bump it up to 10W-30 Jerry.

 

I always carry a couple of spare quarts in the car (I DO drive a Saturn, after all lol) and those I have now are 5W-30.From now on I'll "bump" it to 10W-30.

Thanks

 

Some where in the late 1980's or early 1990's marketing got a big bug about advertising gasoline mileage in order to sell cars. (and still does) and found that if they pushed the fuel economy button people responded.
The fact is that if an engine has been run on a light weight oil, it does get fractionally better fuel economy if you are able to measure it in a very controlled environment.
The part IGNORED simply is, an engine run on a steady diet of a light weigh oil, also wears out faster.
Some times significantly so.
But and there always is a but, the factory warranties are generally 30,000 miles and also generally the car is traded off by that time and it is the second owner that gets to deal with it.
Not the factory, they sold cars.
Oil weight is determined by the two numbers in identification. The first number represents the lowest temperature nominally seen where it is driven. The second is the highest temperature the oil will perform satisfactorily at. Thus if you are a winter state, you might see temperatures below zero with summers in the odd high 90's. so a 5W30 might be appropriate.
But in a desert environment it might be lows of 35 and highs of 115 or so.
And the weight of the oil used is designed to protect the engine in those extremes. And historically it might even be changed by the owner for winter and summer usage.
But for marketing purposes, who cares, the engine will last long enough to get through warrenty and sold off to next owner.
And as it happens, when that marketing started, fast forward 10 years and 2nd and 3rd owners are complaining their used cars guzzle oil like a drunken sailor. Fast forward 30 years and it is a way of life and cars are lasting almost as long as they did in 1930 before oil filters became some what standard and you used 20 weight in the winter, 30 or 40 weight in the summer and owners actually checked their oil
And yes I am being sarcastic because reality is, that is what happened. Saturns have developed a reputation of guzzling oil and blowing up
The oil companies used to have an oil weight vs viscosity chart with recommended oil weight and you will find one too in your owners manual if your used car has one.
Saturns are not the only car that has developed that reputation, the internet is full of people concerned about it. Detroit and others are driven by marketing, The oil companies have finally responded by selling "High Mileage" labeled oils. Which are (surprise) higher viscosity. But if they has been used in the first place there would be no need for them.
I use 20W50 because I can with the temperature extremes that exist where I live. In every where except places like Montana or Wisconsin where there are only two seasons, winter and roads under construction something like a 10 w 30 or a 20 w 30 or even a 20 W 40 are a far better year around oil to use. And face it, gas stations used to maintain your cars , now they sell candy and cigarettes and maybe even lunch.
Claims of light weight oil improving fuel economy is true, but only marginally. Claims of light weight oil IS destroying engines but who cares, it is off warrenty.
My 1994 Saturn does not use a drop of oil. Nor does any of the other 5 cars I own. (Yes I have a weak spot on this). And the week after I bought my new 2007 Chrysler I started using 15W50 Mobile 1 synthetic and the dealer had a conniption. But that is the correct oil for my environment. And the dealer is after me to buy a new car before mine wears out.
Funny how things work that way isn't it.
The Chevy dealer wants me to buy a new car because they don't make Saturns any more.
The trouble is I lke my Coupe, it has 2 doors. And they don't make those any more either.
I think I'll keep both of them and paint the Saturn again. It is a 94, I screwed up the last paint job and it only has 110,000 miles on it.

 

"The Chevy dealer wants me to buy a new car because they don't make Saturns any more".

I don't know about your part of the world (although it's only about 5 hours away from me) but I've noticed the local Chevy ads aimed directly at Saturn owners to try and get them out of their Saturns and into a new Chevy. (They advertise that they'll give me an entire $500 extra (Wheeee!) if I trade in my Saturn. Ain't gonna happen.

I realize that dealerships need sales but that pushy attitude is the opposite of what initially attracted me to Saturn when I was in the market for a new vehicle.

As I think I mentioned, previously, I aim to stay away from Authorized Saturn Service Centers around here because:

1) They either don't know the vehicle or are deliberately misleading (they told me both front and rear brakes needed attention when the rears were still 70% good).

2) They are expensive (their $600+ brake job estimate turned out to cost me $180 elsewhere).

and

3) They give off the distinct impression (at least they could try to be subtle about it) that their shop is only there to place people in proximity to their the showroom because they'd rather sell a new car than work on an old one.

 

Add to that bs, that they still tell people they need to bring their cars in every 3,000 miles for an oil change. I told my Chrysler dealer that they'd see me every 7,500 miles and the service manager just about crapped his pants. I showed him my owners manual and it CLEARLY states an oil change once per year or every 10,000 miles. Which ever occurs first. He said he'd see me when I felt I needed that next oil change! LMAO

 

There is story after story of dealers or service organizations charging exorbitant prices for routine service. It used to be (in my memory) the dealer was a viable option for repairs and service. But that also was when the corner gas station serviced your car.
I deal at a certain chain store for alignment an tires. I went there to have a flat fixed and listened to the counter man explain why a $600.00 brake job was the "Best" she could get knowing full well that I can do the same job my self for about $130.00 per side in new parts and ceramic brake pads and about $20.00 min in time which included moving the jack. I am not a big fan of getting jerked around. I like many people am a fairly decent back yard wrench even on the new cars out there. Saturns were designed with service in mind and their few jobs that actually stretch your intelligence. My T&C new in 2007 was used on a 10 stop and hour delivery route and "went" through brakes. Changing to ceramics slowed that down but tore up the rotors to the point I bought new ones and pulled and rotated them out and had them re-surfaced and installed on the next set. I got it down to 30K/ set, Since I stopped running deliveries, the re-surfaced rotors now sit on the bench labeled as to where they belong. And I am well over double the 30K with no sign if needing brakes. The moral of the story? The front rotors cast about $110 a piece, the rears about $30.
A box of pads about $60.00 if Ceramics. that is an average of $130-40/wheel plus labor and a fairy tale from the counter man.
A Customer does not need to be told fairy tales I think. But maybe I am wrong. Have a good evening, '