Behold: The Daily Planet
 

Here it is. A photo of my new daily driver. A '96. I don't know if it's an SL1 or SL2.

Attachment 1695

I am starting to get into fixing the little issues. I tried charging the AC today but stopped when I noticed evidence of a leak at the high pressure fitting on the compressor.

There's a rumble that peaks at about ten mph. I think the cheap all season tires may be the cause of that. They hold air, so I'll live with it.

Temp gauge does not seem to be functioning. The service light is on, the power locks and mirror don't work. A bunch of other stuff needs attention. A little old lady car that was driven and neglected for ten years.

Any advice will be tried and appreciated. Thanks!

Bill

Open the hood and take a picture of the engine, we can tell you which engine it is from that.

Sometimes the schrader valve in the fittings can leak. You can get new valves and the tool for less than $5 at most parts stores. There is an overpressure valve on most compressors, if you are leaking from this, then your system is overcharged or has been overcharged in the past.

You need to determine if the thermostat is bad or the ECTS (engine coolant temp sensor) is bad. After ten minutes of running, turn the heater on high and see if you get heat. If you get plenty of heat, its the ECTS, a common problem in Saturn's. You want to get the brass tipped replacement available at any GM dealer or rockauto.com.

Power doors and windows, you are on your own. Too hard to troubleshoot electrical issues over the internet.

Run the codes on it first, Bill. If you can't do it, any of your local chain auto parts stores (ie Autozone, Advance) should do it for free. If they can't figure it out, you can do it yourself with a paperclip. Just do a search here and you should find it. If not, I can tell you how to do it.

This car has the DOHC engine. I don't know if there were variations on that engine.

The intake and exhaust manifolds seem quite nice, almost Japanese in their execution. Much nicer than what came on the Chrysler 2.2 back in my car salesman days. That said, the manifolds on my 2000 Neon 2.0 looked quite good.

Checked the heat/defrost on the way home. Seems good. They get little use here in FL!

2:30 am, just in from work and had enough for the night!

dohc= sl2
run those codes

I tackled the AC today. The first attempt at charging the system showed evidence of a leak near the discharge hose fitting. I opened that, removed the o-ring and wiped the fitting clean. I installed a new o-ring, lubed it with a bit of AC oil, tightened it back in place and added a can of refrigerant. Nice cold air for now. If it holds, I'll get the system evacuated and recharged.