Shipping Off Loved Ones
 

I've been absent from the threads for a week or two. I was busy helping both my brother and my girlfriend pack up and head for Kansas. Both of them signed contracts to be teachers. My brother left earlier, my girlfriend with her daughter is on her way now.

Both of them have been waiting for their big break for years. However, they leave with heavy hearts because both of them leave behind sons and daughters in complicated divorces. They also leave me alone here without them being close. I am both happy and sad to see them go. But I know eventually their situations will improve.

Anyway, I'm back now. The SC did well on it's final run to Michigan. I'm amazed that for such a plastic car it has almost no squeaks and rattles. The new suspension has broken in well. Since it's about half-way through the oil change interval, I checked the oil level and saw it was at the end of the dipstick, so I put in a quart. I'll check it again tomorrow. I'll have to put off the engine maintenance I intended for it later.

Also, how impossible is it to find a bottle of Cranberry touch-up paint? I have an area on the hood that's starting to rust.

I can relate. My youngest of my 3 sons, got married, moved to North Idaho, then recently had his first baby, a little girl.
My wife and I always new he would end up in that part of the country, and have encouraged him and supported him all the way. It's tough if you're close to your kids, but they have to do what they have to. He's landed a great job and hopes to get his own home next year. PAX

hey now I can say I know someone who is related to someone who lives in Idaho!

(How many of you could say that before?)

My GF was born in Idaho. Then lived in Michigan up until recently. My personal opinion is that Michigan is not much of an upgrade from Idaho, but maybe I had bad experiences. Then again, Kansas doesn't have much going for it either. At least Michigan had the lakes.

Dave I noticed you said you were at the end of your dipstick half way between oil changes. I always have to add a quart of oil between oil changes I passed it off as being old as I can't find any oil leaks any where. Any ideas?

I'm not a DIY oil changer, but I've heard a thing or two about oil seepage from old Saturn engines.

The first and most common cause is a slow seep around the piston rings. After 200k miles or so, they start to wear and oil begins to burn at a higher rate. Owners typically just shrug and dump more oil in as needed since a ring job is more than what they want to spend on the engine.

Another spot is gasket failure. I'm not sure about this engine's gasket, but GM had a pattern of using plastic gaskets top and bottom, especially on the Buick 3.8s. After a while they would deteriorate and blow. I haven't heard anything like that for Saturns, so maybe they paid the extra .50 cents to put a good gasket in there. However, the gasket that covers the timing chain is completely applied. Any mis-application from a shop will make oil seep from the timing cover.

Third is the driveline gasket at the bottom. I think I remember the shop that I go to say my engine is slowly leaking from this spot. Whether it's due to a weak gasket at the bottom or burn in the cylinder, my oil consumption hasn't changed since I got it off my brother, so I'm not really concerned with it.

Another spot of oil loss might be at the top with the oil cap. I've noticed a small film around the cap on the engine cover, and the inside of the cap itself is coated in oil. It wouldn't surprise me if a little oil evaporates out the top on mine.

It's an old engine, and I think if you're aware of it's aches and pains and you treat them and keep track that they don't get worse, then it should be ok for a long time yet. Hope this helps. Like I said, I'm not really a DIYer. Someone with better knowledge might add more.

I'd also say that a quart of consumption between oil changes is normal for Saturns. I check the level every 1000 miles and top it up. Keep it happy and it'll keep you on the road!

Main cause of oil "loss" is burning.
1) Oil control rings develop a varnish on them because there is no weep hole in the pistons for the oil to drain through. After time the buildup on the oil control rings causes the rings to freeze in their channels, causing them to no longer sweep the oil back down into the crankcase. Along with compression ring wear, oil finds its way into the cylinders and burns.

2) The other weak point of oil control is the valve guide seals, which wear and allow oil to pass into the cylinders.

These two "oil management" failures combined make up the vast majority of the oil that vanishes from the crankcase.
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The engines I have in my older Saturns do not burn oil.

But when the previous ones did, I never let it get more than 1/2 quart low. That may sound anal, but if you consider that the entire oil volume is 4 quarts, letting in go down a quart means you have only 75% of the recommended oil in the crankcase.
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The main cause of Saturn S car death is not paying attention to the oil level.

Thanks for the information. Last year I was experiencing an oil and coolant loss. I was constantly refilling oil and coolant. I knew when I had to refill them because I would notice a definite loss of gas mileage. I could never find where the oil loss was coming from. But, for the coolant loss, after looking at everything, I finally took the right front wheel off and the panel covering the engine, turned the engine on, and sat and watched the water pump. It was seeping coolant at the drive shaft going into the water pump. I changed the water pump. The coolant leak stopped, the engine oil loss was not near as bad, and gas mileage was back to normal. My Saturn operates best when all fluid levels are at the full line.