Never had a Saturn before...
 

well decided to goto Spirit Lake, Ia yesterday since for some reason I was awake at 8 am. Friend who works at car lot tried to talk me into a pontiac but i said NO! I looked at a few cars then I saw the Saturn. Nice little car. Wanted to know if it were manual, cause thats a plus for me...and it was....test drove it, liked it...although it doesnt have power anything inside...

Went back inside to start paperwork to see if was able to get this car...ended up driving it home. Boy am I happy. Traded my pos 92 chevy blazer tahoe lt, obd scanner and $200 cash for it. Only thing it really needs, are front speakers, muffler, and thermostat. Doesnt have any leaks that I have found yet.

Anyways, this is my first Saturn, and hopefully a car I can invest in...

1997 Saturn SC1, 1.9l, 5 speed, 158k miles.

Now that being said and done....where the heck do I find the thermostat on this car???? I believe I have found the housing but I have never seen a thermostat like the one napa showed me...and never had to pay $20 for one either...not that I bought it, but thats what their price is.

Also read on the saturn website, the sc1 has 100 hp. 28/mpg city and 40/mpg highway....I LIKES!

First off -- Welcome to the Forum.

With respect to your thermostat ... it is located inside the fitting where the top radiator hose connects to the engine. Granted, the "ears" on the unit look a little strange, but if you are unsure about the part, go to your local "Saturn friendly" GM dealer, and get the part from them ........

welcome.

check your oil frequently. Many are oil burners especially at that mileage.

Welcome to the Saturn Forum ......................

Thanks =)

..........................

Is the location of the thermostat under the ac pump? I cant see it being on the very top coolant hose....plus I can see what appears to be a housing, but ya never know...and since this is my first saturn, id better ask first.

Also, not related to the thermostat, im getting a thumping sound, maybe passenger side front or middle...I first thought it was only when I turned left or right in first gear, but actually in any gear...going straight, if on snow, and give throttle, something is knocking...almost like wheel hop but it wouldnt be that...ill check for broken stuff tomorrow. Any ideas?

I was told this car was taken care of. Looks like new valve cover gasket, new wires, and hopefully plugs. Coolant might need to be flushed, due to thermostat not opening properly (my guess). No leaks of any kind underneath the car...but I did see some ground cables needing attention.

That thumping may be a busted motor mount. Check them out. And welcome to the forum.

They do have a tendancy to grow on you, for sure. I bought one 16 years ago and I keep thinking I'd trade it eventually but I liked it then and like it now.
Strange thumping or knocking sounds can also be things like bad CV joints.
It would help you to purchase something like a Chiltons service manual for your car to be able to figure out how to fix things on it. $25.00 or so at O'Rielys or AutoZone. Check oil frequently until you figure out if it is using it or not and with high mileage use some thing like a 10W30 in it or something with the first number higher than 10 and the 2nd number higher than 30.

Id say it sounds like cv shaft but just want to get advise first...almost every vehicle ive owned in the state of iowa, ive had to replace axles...

Is it hard to do on this car? (if thats what it is?)

Id take it back to the dealer but it was sold as is so i dont think theres much they will do.

--I will check mounts tomorrow--

Im actually happy to have a car that isnt all covered up with wires and hoses...traded in my s10 blazer....could barely do anything with that without having to move a wire...

Just because someone took care of it (dealer will tell you anything...) doesn't mean you're not driving an oil burner. There will (of course) be no signs of external leakage -- it all goes into the cyls

thermostat is in housing off of lower rad hose

Did a lot of searching and reading of mostly youtube videos, and other car forums, and the sound is pointing more toward a broken mount.

Lets see if I can describe it a little more detailed..

Starting off in first gear (or any gear)....I get a thump thump thump then clears up. Doesnt matter if im turning the corner, its always from 0 - 10 mph that it does this.

But I will check mounts and report back what I find!

--Thanks for the thermostat location, I believe I have found the housing, with two 10mm bolts.--

That knocking noise is probly the same issue I have with mine right now, I need to replace both upper strut mounts in the front, you will notice it mostly on bumps no matter how minor the bump is, but more noticeable at lower speeds. The strut mounts are around $50 each and your probly looking at 2 hours shop labour to have them changed, due to they have to remove the strut and compress the spring to replace the mounts.

if youve got the spring compresser, do it yourself? Ill try and do like other people..somehow strap a video cam to the fender and try to get it to do it.

choover82

Add your name, location, and car to your signature

Location and car info entered...as for name...its my username, sorry.

Sorry, not looking for your full name and street address.

well i took the right front tire off to do inspection for anything broken. Nothing. The fender is kinda loose, not sure if thats whats making the noise...could be...also checked motor mount...there is play in between but is that enough to cause the noise im hearing? ill try getting a picture here today

also got the thermostat housing off, new one in housing now waiting for fingers to warm up

>also checked motor mount<
The above is a singular statement. There are a number of them. How many of them did you check?

not done checking things yet. still have tire off. i know theres on on the bottom of motor...im sure theres a wishbone somewhere in there....

Welcome to the Saturn Forum.

Got my thermostat changed, now have heat...good heat.

Car hasnt made the sound...been doing it on snow...but on dry pavement, all is well.

That's great, man! Glad you seem to have gotten it fixed and thanks for posting back and letting us all know.

Your well on your way to being a member of this place ........ keep posting.

As mentioned elsewhere this morning. There are generally about 4 motor mounts some where on the car including the one or ones bolted on to the transmission. The trickiest one to find would be the one located on what would be the front of the motor as I think of it, the opposite end of where the transmission lives, and that is the only one I have seen broken that actually caused a noise usually because that end of the motor is really close to the fenderwell.
But that has just been my experiance. I personally have never broken a motor mount but have changed more than I want to for others. Including my neighbor whose son broke every motor mount in the car. And as I remember it was a Mitsubishi and it had 5 of them. I take that back, I had a Lincoln that broke every motor mount in the damned thing fortunaly still under warrenty. That was the LAST Lincoln I ever owned. I usually do not trade or off a car until I am tired of it and that can be as high as 300,000 miles. I just have not found motor mounts to be a big cause of problems UNLESS they were physically broken. And for the most part that takes some form of abuse to break them. Except for that Lincoln. Boy I hated that car! That car broke things I did not know you could break.

I personally am on my second Saturn. Loved my 91 SL1 with a five speed but had to give it up after one of the can brackets broke and I couldn't afford to fix it. Issues with disability income and surgery losing my job. I originally picked it up for $300 from a Ford dealer in Mount Vernon, OH because the person that traded it in had hit a deer with it. The only complaint I had was on a windy day in West Michigan in the winter you occasionally find yourself changing lanes because of the wind on ice.
Bought a Vue because of the room in the back for my gear, I officiate NCAA softball, MHSAA hockey, football and baseball, and I love the sporty feel in the cockpit of the vehicle. Great vehicle for a small family.

lol hi and welcome

hasn't been here in nine months but nice gesture