Hi I'm new to the forums and could use a little help with my Saturn.
I bought this car a month ago for 2,200 and the next day it went in to the shop to have the heater core replaced. I got the car back and on the way home the heater still was not getting warm. I immediately took it back to the shop and they noticed the coolant turned to sludge due to the oil cooler busting. /sigh Long story short..... $1,700 and three weeks later I get the car back. The heater warms up fine now :-). On the way home though the car started to "cut out" and is gradually getting worse. It is not throwing any codes. Anyone that knows about changing pretty much anything on this car knows that you have to take the whole dang intake off to get to it lol. Well I changed the fuel filter today and the issue is still going on. I want to clean the egr valve but I'm not 100% sure where it is located on my car. It does have the 3.0. I think I found it........ passenger side of engine bay, closer to the firewall. It has a plug on top. I attached a pic. Is this the egr valve? Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

Here's a link to the one that Autozone sells. Check the link and you'll see a picture. That should help you. ww.autozone.com/autozone/parts/2000-Saturn-LS2-6-cyl/EGR-Valve/_/N-je1mpZ93xpy?filterByKeyWord=EGR+Valve&fromString=s earch

 

Well I cleaned the egr valve and still the same issue. Any ideas? I would normally take it to a shop but after sinking 1700 in it I cant afford labor fees anymore lol. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I'm not at all familiar with the V-6 engine, but have you tried cleaning the throttle body? Go to your favorite auto parts store and get a can of throttle body cleaner and follow the directions. Don't use regular carburetor cleaner because it can strip the coating off the throttle body. Did you check the EGR valve and see if the diaphragm is okay? You can do this by removing the vacuum line to it and either suck on the hose or blow on it and see if it moves. You may have to remove it from the engine in order to do this. I don't know for sure. If the diaphragm seems okay, maybe it's a loose connection in the harness. Unplug and replug any and all connectors that you can find. Do each one five or six times in order to "sweep" the contacts clean. After you do each one, start the engine and see how it runs. If you do them all and then try it and it runs okay, you won't know which one it was.

 

so I tried the connectors and no results, I did check the egr valve again and it seemed in good working order. I never got around to cleaning the throttle body but I did buy some gumout..... which from my experience NEVER does anything but I figured hey what the heck. I put enough to treat 42 gallons of gas in my little ol' (maybe 18 gallon) tank..... and at about half a tank it started running much much better. Every now and then it will cut out once under real heavy acceleration but for the most part its running great. still have 1/4 tank left. I may run another two bottles through, change spark plugs and see how it goes. This is my wifes car so I'm anxious to get hers goin good so I can start on my actual project car LOL. Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it. I will post any updates as events happen if needed.

 

Try a bottle of Techron in your tank. That's some of the best fuel injector/fuel system cleaner on the market. I've used it for years and have NEVER had to replace a fuel injector on any of my vehicles. And at 56 years old, I've owned a LOT of vehicles. I started using Techron in 1990. I put a bottle in my gas tanks about once every 10,000 miles or so.

 

Well.... she's back at it in full force..... lol. The good news is, the check engine light came on so I finally got Autozone to run the test.
1. Losing connection with ECM..... hmmmm
2. Air/Fuel mixture running rich (can't remember if thats air or fuel)
3. Mass Airflow Sensor Low
4. Torque converter.... somethin or another.... transmission runs strong lol not worried about this one so much.

Going to replace the ECM first. I have been looking for one for sale and if I understand right, there are two in this car? Body control and chassis ecm?
Which one do I need and where is it located?

 

whoa Nelly.

Go back, get the codes read and post the actual codes (Pxxx, Bxxx, etc) and we'll try to go from there.

 

I agree with derf about posting the actual code numbers. Neither the body nor chassis control units should have anything to do with your car running rough. As far as I know, anyway.

 

so now I can't get them to run a diag lol. the check engine light went back off. I hate autozone AND oreilly's here in wichita. I did however go check out a chilton's from the library. the car is going to the dealership for diagnostics today.

So.... I have been reading this here bible (Chilton's) and it says one of the causes could be the intake gaskets.... well I remember while it was at the shop the mechanic mentioning that he had to re-seat the intake gasket because it slipped on him..... hmmmm

I pulled the pcv hose off of the throttle body last night and the intake duct and low and behold, the pcv hose is spitting nasty yellow/green/white liquid into my throttle body now...... hmmmm

anyhow, im anxious to see what the dealership tells me. Ill spend the $75 if they will give me the low down and save me hundreds later down the road in random parts lol. I'll keep ya posted and I'll make sure they give me the codes it spits out.