Derf, you nailed. As soon as I put in about 1/4 of a can of refrigerant, the AC clutch kicked on and the cooling fan kicked on as well.

As for the cooling fan kicking on based on engine temp.... well we've been accustom to seeing the temp gauge always just under the 1/2 way mark and we recall that the heater never put out very warm air in the winter. So I'm guessing that the thermostat must have been stuck open and the coolant never actually made it up past the 1/2 way mark and therefore the fan was never needed other then when we had the AC on. So it looks like the fan and the AC are both good. All I need to do is go buy another can of refrigerant and top off the AC system. I'll also have to look into the dye and see if I can tell where the leak is.

I got the center console back together today along with the plastic shields in the right wheel well so this project is officially DONE! I just need to put some miles on the engine to break it in. Hopefully all is good on this car now for awhile.

I'll work on that engine rebuild for the sticky now in all this free time i'll have - ha ha.

 

Glad to be of service.

Many owners of Saturns that are "new to them" who have never owned an S car freak out when they are sitting in summer traffic and see the temp gauge move above 3/4 with no fan on. The only way to get over the "will it turn on" fear is to get it real hot in the driveway and watch the temp gauge and listen for the fan to kick in, note where that point is on the gauge, and then move on with life.

 

Well it's been awhile since I've been on the forum....been really busy.

Happy to report that we have over 4000 miles on the rebuild 1.9 SOHC engine and everything is running exceptionally well. (I hope I didn't just jinx myself). Oil change at about 1000 miles and the oil was still clean and a full 4 quarts drained out of the engine. Before the rebuild, I was lucky to drain a 1/2 quart of oil at 3000 miles.

Now I need another project. My hot tub needs some work but I prefer to work on a car or an engine.

Oh well, car mechanic one day, plumber the next. Off to the hot tub.

 

It is good to hear how well your overhaul is working. Thanks for checking in.