I picked up a 2002 SL2 two years ago with 75k miles. It is the basic of basic models. Manual trans and hand cranks for the windows. Had to rebuild the top half of the engine. I had help with that but I did replace the fuel pump, filter and fix a linkage in the shifter myself. It recently passed smog and decided it deserved to have a little cosmetics. I picked up 1998 hood and L fender. But those do not work on a 2002. I bought a warranty for the fender but not the hood. Live and learn. I will give the hood to a good home. It includes hinges. Silver, straight and even has a shine to the paint. Also it has insulation in good shape. I live in San Diego, CA and I can deliver. It is great to be vaccinated and eager to get out. My car runs great but I have two small issues. There is a small oil leak toward the front of the engine. I am thinking a seal needs replacing and I was told I have positive pressure coming from the crankcase. I am also thinking of adding a turbo any suggestions. Thanks! Joy C

Free to good home. S
shine to the paint. Also it has insulation in fairly good shape. I live in San Diego, CA. I will even deliver. It is great to be vaccinated and eager to get out. My car runs great but I have two small issues. There is a small oil leak toward the front of the engine. I am thinking a seal needs replacing and I was told I have positive pressure coming from the crankcase. I am also thinking of adding a turbo any suggestions. Thanks! Joy C

 

PCV = positive crankcase ventilation. No surprise there unless it is excessive. Have you changed your PCV valve lately? If the pressure in the crankcase is too high it will start pushing oil past the seals.

How many miles on the car?

How's the compression?

If the engine has more than 100,000 miles on it, I probably would recommend not going the turbo route unless you are going to run a very low level of boost. Tired Saturn engines with no internal modifications are not good turbo candidates in general. Doesn't mean it won't run. Simply means it's life expectancy will be significantly shorter in all likelihood. If I remember correctly you can run six to eight pounds of boost with the stock internals in the engine but I would not go to the limit on an older engine. There is also in general a lot of custom fabrication even with a kid because nothing fits perfectly in every car.
It will be a standalone unit controlling turbo behavior as you cannot hack into the PCM on these cars.

That said, do your research regarding costs, fabrication, additional parts. It adds up. If you have oil consumption issues, I would not bother unless you are going to re-ring the engine including the oil control rings and redo the valve guide seals

 

Thank you for the advice. The car only has 77k miles. I am planning on moving out of state in the next two years and I will not take this car with me so a shorter engine life is not an issue. I just want a little more boost when going up steep hills. Compression is good. PCV valve was changed with the upper motor rebuild. Any other options to reduce crankcase pressure? I installed an oil catch can. The engine is not using oil just a slow leak. I would say about 1/2 quart over the last couple months. Car runs great. No smoke. Idles around 600 rpm. Thanks again, Joy C

 

Normal RPM for a dohc s car is 800 to 850 RPM. Your needle on the tag is probably off a bit.

The vast vast majority of turbo Saturns use manual transmissions with a welded differential pin and some variation of a performance clutch because the stock clutch cannot handle the additional torque from the turbo. Again it matters how much boost you are going for as to whether or not you need to go that route.

It's difficult to answer your question about positive crankcase pressure because there are no numerical values attached to our discussion. By definition there will be positive pressure.

If the issue is that you are getting oil pushed through the PCV into the intake, get a hold of a genuine AC Delco PCV for the vehicle. The aftermarket ones are known to pass way too much oil. It's been a very long time since I've even thought about this, so I unfortunately cannot tell you which brands are better than others if you are stuck with aftermarket. If you can find the AC Delco professional Series, they are what AC Delco considers acceptable per OEM specs. Even though the parts may be aftermarket parts. Sometimes this is good and addresses the issue. Sometimes the lowest bidder got the contract and the part in the box is a cheap piece of **** that costs half as much if you buy it under its own brand name..

What is the compression across the cylinders at operating temperature?

I'm trying to make sure you don't spend a lot of time and money on an engine with tired rings. Trust me, it is worth the 15 minutes to measure.

What prompted someone to mention that you had high crankcase pressure? Just trying to figure out the context.

Also, if you are looking for more detailed guidance on turboing your Saturn, visit www.sixthsphere.com

These people know their ****. Be polite and you will be treated fine. The form itself doesn't seem to get much response from the members but there is a 6S Facebook group where it appears most of the discussion now occurs. You'll see the name of the Facebook group on the whole page of the website as one of the forum categories.

 

Thank you for your time and the details derf. I need an education. Not just a newbie at Saturn, cars in general. A friend of the family who was getting his certification in auto repair mentioned he noticed the air was blowing not suc=ing at idle. I do not recall exactly how he did this. He also said it was probably the cause of the oil leak. I am ready for an oil change anyway and I will go to a trusted mechanic and get the compression checked. This car runs amazingly well.

My car is the single cam 1.9 engine. I will accept any other options for boosting power without blowing up the engine and without worsening the oil leak. I definitely would like to stop the leak if it can be done without removing the engine. So far all I tried was a stop leak additive (Lucas).

My son who has a form of autism has taken an interest in cars. This little car is something we can work on together. He would prefer to have a 350z but you have to start somewhere.

Joy C.

 

If you want an education on cars, do a loan tool at AutoZone or similar and learn how to do a compression test on your own.

There are loads of explanations of how to do a compression test properly. Just remember remove fuel injector fuse, do at operating temperature, wide open throttle meaning hold gas pedal down.

It is probably covered somewhere on this site but it's definitely covered on other sites. You can get the compression tool as a loan a tool from AutoZone or similar. You put down a deposit, use the tool, bring it back, get your deposit back.

Just be gentle with the spark plugs while the engine is hot. Do not over tighten them and do not cross thread them. A bit past hand tight snug is perfect.

Go for it!

 

https://itstillruns.com/can-high-cra...-12162215.html

This is a very easy to understand explanation of a potential cause for excessive crankcase pressure, which assumes your PCV valve is functioning.

A compression test will demonstrate the approximate health of your engine.