First Time Saturn Owner
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 2
From: Derby, CT
First Time Saturn Owner
I am a first time Saturn owner.
I just bought a 2000 Saturn SL2 gray/Bronze
You know that car you hear about? the one driven by the little old lady to church and the grocery store? Yeah, I just bought that one.... She was 88 years old, hit someone in the parking lot, knocked off her drivers mirror, and fled the scene. People got her plate, called the police, police talked to her and her family, and they took her licence. kind of sad, but I ended up with her car. It sat for a year by the time they decided to sell, but it took a good charge, runs like new. Put a new mirror on her. I hate to tell ya, I paid 800 bucks, and it has 39,000 miles. I didnt cheat her, thats what her and her son were selling it for.
Anybody have tips or advise for this model I need to know? so far, I love it!
I dont know if the image link will load....
thanks
Terry
I just bought a 2000 Saturn SL2 gray/Bronze
You know that car you hear about? the one driven by the little old lady to church and the grocery store? Yeah, I just bought that one.... She was 88 years old, hit someone in the parking lot, knocked off her drivers mirror, and fled the scene. People got her plate, called the police, police talked to her and her family, and they took her licence. kind of sad, but I ended up with her car. It sat for a year by the time they decided to sell, but it took a good charge, runs like new. Put a new mirror on her. I hate to tell ya, I paid 800 bucks, and it has 39,000 miles. I didnt cheat her, thats what her and her son were selling it for.
Anybody have tips or advise for this model I need to know? so far, I love it!
I dont know if the image link will load....
thanks
Terry
Last edited by Terry Snell; Mar 20, 2017 at 10:23 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 145
From: Nashville
Awesome find! We liked ours too, just make sure you check oil level often.
Ours had a little more miles than yours but, they do consume oil. No leaks or burning out of the tailpipe, just consumes.
Also, if you get an engine vibration that rattles the dash, you'll need the upper mount on the passenger side.
Ours had a little more miles than yours but, they do consume oil. No leaks or burning out of the tailpipe, just consumes.
Also, if you get an engine vibration that rattles the dash, you'll need the upper mount on the passenger side.
Last edited by tooter1; Mar 22, 2017 at 07:19 PM.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,316
From: Slightly off center
Change out your ECTS (Electronic Coolant Temp Sensor). And possibly its pigtail connector. Do NOT cheap out on this part (read on). Use only GM Parts from a dealer or AC Delco parts from RockAuto. It used to be that only GM dealers had the connector. Not sure if that is true today.
This is arguably the most important sensor on the S car and the best $40 you'll spend on it during its lifetime.
The original design was resin tipped and had a pretty much 100% failure rate (eventually). Resin would rupture, coolant would get onto the connector contacts and screw up the V drop reading across it. This tended to make the ECTS circuit have a higher resistance than it otherwise would. At operating temps, we are talking normal readings of hundreds of ohms, so anything messing with that circuit resistance usually INCREASES the resistance, corresponding to a falsely LOWER interpreted Coolant Temperature.
(The part was redesigned in the mid 90's to be all brass, and was available as a replacement part, but Saturn must have had a huge bin of the originals sitting at the factory, because they kept installing the original design in new S series on the production line until mid 2001.)
Do NOT go cheap on the ECTS. Aftermarket ones are generic and have a different Resistance vs Temp behavior. This may not sound earth shattering, but improper ECTS behavior can lead to
Use at least 10-30W oil in the warmer months and 5W-30 in the winter if temps get cold enough. This will help slow down the engine wear etc that leads to your Saturn burning oil.
Search user Uncljohn and keyword viscosity (i think it will reject oil as too common a word)
Yes, fellow members, I have hypocritically broken the "no tech in new member area rule". Once the OPP reads it I will extract it and sticky it in the s subforums and remove any duplicates. Because that's what Moderators do. Break their own rules, then fix stuff however they see fit. And everything they write is always better than others' stuff.
Except Andy's and Alpha's. I kneel in their presence.
Should probably go take my morning pills.
This is arguably the most important sensor on the S car and the best $40 you'll spend on it during its lifetime.
The original design was resin tipped and had a pretty much 100% failure rate (eventually). Resin would rupture, coolant would get onto the connector contacts and screw up the V drop reading across it. This tended to make the ECTS circuit have a higher resistance than it otherwise would. At operating temps, we are talking normal readings of hundreds of ohms, so anything messing with that circuit resistance usually INCREASES the resistance, corresponding to a falsely LOWER interpreted Coolant Temperature.
(The part was redesigned in the mid 90's to be all brass, and was available as a replacement part, but Saturn must have had a huge bin of the originals sitting at the factory, because they kept installing the original design in new S series on the production line until mid 2001.)
Do NOT go cheap on the ECTS. Aftermarket ones are generic and have a different Resistance vs Temp behavior. This may not sound earth shattering, but improper ECTS behavior can lead to
- hard starting while warm
- hard starting when cold
- no start condition (mixture way too rich)
- hesitations around 2200 rpm (Air fuel ratio off)
- poor gas mileage (car consistently runs too rich because PCM thinks the engine is cooler than it is
- higher than normal idle (again, PCM thinks engine is cooler than it is and commands richer mixture
- incorrect air/fuel mixtures at pretty much all temperatures, leaning towards rich
- OVERHEATING: The falsely low coolant temp calc'd by the PCM often fails to reach the pre-programmed temp which turns on the AUX cooling fan. If you are sitting in a traffic jam on a summer day and your AC is not on (this automatically kicks the fan on), the engine may overheat and the temp gauge will never indicate it is immininet until it is too late to do anything about it
- other things I've quoted so many times I don't even remember
Use at least 10-30W oil in the warmer months and 5W-30 in the winter if temps get cold enough. This will help slow down the engine wear etc that leads to your Saturn burning oil.
Search user Uncljohn and keyword viscosity (i think it will reject oil as too common a word)
Yes, fellow members, I have hypocritically broken the "no tech in new member area rule". Once the OPP reads it I will extract it and sticky it in the s subforums and remove any duplicates. Because that's what Moderators do. Break their own rules, then fix stuff however they see fit. And everything they write is always better than others' stuff.
Except Andy's and Alpha's. I kneel in their presence.
Should probably go take my morning pills.
Last edited by derf; Mar 23, 2017 at 07:11 AM.
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