I agree with Andy. I would have replaced the crankshaft and used new rod AND main bearings. Maybe that would do the trick, but if that one rod is not completely round on the crank and is egg shaped, then you're looking at a new crank kit, minimally.

 

Went back and read post number 7 a second time...

Investigated, as you suggested, and found a bad connecting rod bearing. While the remaining bearings appeared to look perfect, I did decide to replace all ($20). I'm fine wasting $20 and an afternoon of my personal time before carting a 19 year old car off to a shop. I went this route for a few reasons, 1. I wanted to break things down and see for myself, rather than simply rely on what a shop tells me. 2. After some inspection, I optimistically, and maybe foolishly, changed the bearings hoping that I got lucky and that the one bad bearing was the extent of the damage. It now appears its not.

That being said, I like to try and do as much as I can on my own rather than taking things in and paying an arm and a leg. It's all a learning opportunity for me. My last post was meant to be learned from as well. I thought someone may chime in and say, "Did you look at X, Y, and Z while you were in there?" or maybe "You cant just replace a rod bearing because of..." Something to help me think through the big picture and to better understand things. Replaced bearings, no knock, after a few miles, knock came back...any elaboration and discussion on that would be greatly appreciated. I may not have gone the conventional route, but again, I'm trying to learn along the way.

 

Thank you for the further elaboration. That's a little more of what I was looking for. I hope my last post didn't sound so negative, I sincerely appreciate all the replies from everyone.

 

Sorry if I was short with you. I have been a professional mechanic for the last 40 years. Anytime you loose a bearing the minimum you have to do is pull the engine and take it apart. The rod that lost the bearing may or may not be repairable at a machine shop. If the other three rods did not spin the bearing they just need to be checked at the same machine shop. The crank may or may not be able to be machined to a standard undersize. Sometimes the throw has to be welded before it can be machined. The crank then will need the appropriate undersize bearings to fit the machined crank. This repair requires a complete engine gasket kit also. S series engines have terrible rings and they are usually the reason the engine ran out of oil. I hope this gives you some kind of idea what is really involved with engine repair.

A used engine is probably cheaper than a repair, just realize you may buy another oil burner. How nice is the car?

 

If you do go the used engine route, be advised that pretty much any 1.9 dohc near 200K is likely to be an oil burner if it is the original engine for the car and has been run on 5 w 30 as recommended. As many engines have been pulled and inventoried, it makes it much harder to surmise whether the engine you are looking at is the original engine with 200k on it or a rebuilt engine with significantly fewer miles on it. Or the engine could also have been swapped in as a replacement with unknown miles on it. But all three cases will be labeled as engine has whatever the odometer says for miles on it from the car from which it was pulled. So it's a bit of a crapshoot.

Someone on The forum may be able to give you pointers to articles which indicate what to look for when shopping for a used engine. That is above my pay grade.

A used engine will not be all that expensive for that old of a vehicle. The caveat as mentioned above is that you're really not sure what you're getting. You make get very lucky or you may not but luck is not all that has to be involved if you take the time to learn what not to buy as well as what to buy. Right in line with the learning experience part of all of this which I completely understand.

And everyone here blows off steam from time to time so don't worry about it. If you are posting on this board, your vehicle is somewhere between 10 and 29 years old and you have every right to be frustrated with whatever it is you're trying to work through.

 

Agreed. But if the car is in real good shape, I'd invest in a rebuild kit for it. I've not rebuilt a Saturn engine, but have rebuilt others. I always checked for a ridge at the top of the cylinders and if it's real noticeable, I'd recommend getting the block bored or finding another without the ridge. If you have to get it bored, then you need oversized pistons and rings. In your situation, I'm pretty sure you'll just need ONE new connecting rod along with the crankshaft and new bearings. Of course a new set of rings (Andy probably knows the best) and have the head checked for warping and possibly a valve job. Depending on the mileage, a new oil pump and pickup screen MIGHT be a good idea. Just depends on how well the old ones look and clean up. I can't remember much more, but have had 2 brain surgeries and the old nogging doesn't work as well as it used to. Bottom line is, if the car is in good condition, it's worth the money invested to rebuild the engine. A grand or so is a hell of a lot cheaper than a note on a new one for 5-7 years.

 

Thanks again for the replies. I purchased the car two years ago from the original owner for $1500. It booked between $1000-2000 so we split the difference. She had a stack of maint. records when I got it. Nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly no red flags. I've not had a single issue with it since purchased, and I have taken real good care of it myself, which is why this whole issue kinda baffles me. Paint is faded and the clear coat is peeling, but the interior is 9/10. As I mentioned before, I just rolled over 100k miles, and I'd really hate to see it go and have to find something else. It's not my only vehicle, but it is my daily, and I'd love to keep her going. I've been looking at rebuild kits and parts online the past few days, and based on some lose math, I think I can get a new crank, pistons, rings, connecting rods, all the bearings, gaskets, and timing parts for around $800. The more I look at the cams, springs, etc in the top end, the more I think they are in great shape. Are there any brands, or online sites that any of you recommend staying away from?

 

Buy cloyes timing if you can. Purchase Felpro gaskets also you don’t want to do the job twice. Avoid the Chinese stuff if you can afford it. Good luck with your repairs. I have 240,000 on my L at this point so the cars will run a long time if you take care of them.

 

Gasket exception is cam cover gasket. Use ACDelco. The Fel-Pro gaskets are too large plain and simple. Some people used to get ones that are the right size but most are way too big. Some strange quality control issue or manufacturing confusion and they are going through old stock so mistakes from 10 years ago are still for sale. Make sure you order the insulators 4 the bolts that attach the cam cover. They do not come with the AC Delco gasket.

And if you have reattached the oil pan, remember to remove the bolts that go through the timing cover or you will distort it trying to get it off and by the time you realize why it won't come off, you will probably have bent it up enough that it will never seal properly. These are pretty much impossible to find except on freshly wrecked old s cars.

 

Sorry, been out of town on military duty. Just got back, planning on tearing into the car in the next few weeks. To answer your question, the exterior is about a 6/10. Clear coat is peeling all over but that's the worst of it. The interior on the other hand is a 9/10. I got it of an old lady, original owner, that just didn't drive it. When I bought it about two years ago, it had 80,000ish miles, its now at just over 100,000. I really enjoy the car and would hate to see it go. The way I drive, I'm confident I can make it last a few more years. I'm still kinda baffled though at how I spun a bearing and never saw any signs ahead of time. I change the oil every 3k miles, and I've never has reason to think there were any issues. After looking at parts prices, I have a few follow up questions...

1. If there is no visible damage to the rod, is there a way to further inspect them on my own to be sure they are still in good shape before I purchase new rods? Or should I take them in somewhere?
2. Am I correct in assuming that I can mic the crank where the bad bearing was and compare measurements to assess damage? Or should I just pull it and get a new one with a full set of bearings and skip the machine shop hassle?
3. I'm sure I have to pull the engine to do any bottom end work, so with that being said, I have a 5 speed transmission. When I pull the engine, do I pull it all as one and separate outside of the vehicle, or can I just pull the engine? I've tried looking for some videos and literature on disassembly, but I'm having trouble coming up with solid info.