look ok to everyone?

 

Looks locked in there properly.

Can't say I care for the bowl but it's nice enough.

Don't touch the actual thermostat parts with your fingers. The oil from your fingers may make the thermostat malfunction. At least that is what I've read. I have no idea if it's true. I bet if you look it up, you'll find out whether it's true or not. Please let me know. Thanks

 

I've never heard that about any thermostat, derf. Someone is blowing smoke up your tail pipe. Are you sure you're not thinking of the halogen head light bulbs?

 

No I've known about that one for almost 81 years.

Thanks for getting that off my conscience.

 

You are right Derf this TAM is in pretty bad shape. New one is installed on the left with the old junky one on the right. I replaced all 4 mounts today with little difficulty thanks to your good guidance. Once again much thanks to you.

 

That t a m was shredded. I don't think I've seen one torn quite like that. What happened to it?

If you read up online, make sure when you do the upper and lower torque axis mounts, that the lower one is loosened while installing the top one. This slots the engine find its natural resting place. Some googling will prove that out

 

Wish I had an answer but I have no knowledge of the cars history. I bought it at an estate sale sitting in the garage for 6 years unmoved and unstarted. Dead battery of course and 4 flat tires and all the previous posts I made. This is why I am looking at everything closely to be sure of its mechanical condition. Do you have a preferred oil for the standard trans. gearbox ?

 

Whatever meets GM specifications. I think it is plain ATM which is good for dexron 2 or dexron 6 or some other dexron number that I just don't remember because I don't recall ever changing the tranny fluid on my manuals. They've each been done once during engine replacements but other than that. Don't know. I know it is out there on other Saturn forum sites. I stick with name brands but that's just me.

Maybe part of that damage to the mount is from simple dry rod but that's a pretty thick piece of rubber to rot through. Could have been from a previous accident that was never fixed. Is there any front end damage on the car?

 

Thanks for the quick update. So as you advised I did purchase a Haynes manual and much to my surprise it calls for Dexron which I assumed it would be a 85-90 weight gear oil like many standard gear boxes. Wow. So I looked it over closely and could not find any evidence of previous accidents. Good news. If you scroll up many earlier posts you made describing step by step part changes, which I followed, new radiator, thermostat,4 plugs, coolant temp sender, tested fan, coolant reservoir cap, O2 sensor, 4 motor mounts, cleaned throttle body both sides, and started it yesterday. Far Out Dude. My previous post about fluctuating idle, gone. Water temp. goes to just below 3/4 mark and fan comes on,Excellent! No more leakage from reservoir cap, Done. Runs quiet and smooth partly because of the new TAM and other mounts. Much thanks. Now I get to tackle brakes on all 4 wheels. What fun. Bringing this retired car back to life is a lot of fun for me. If you have any good advice on brakes for all 4 wheels please feel free to advise. Thanks again for all your input, it really is a great help.

 

Dextron is automatic transmission fluid not 80-90. Many manual transmissions use automatic transmission fluid. If your transmission is designed for Dextron it will not shift correctly with 80-90 gear oil. It is all about what the synchronizers want.