new sl2 owner, need some help
 

Hello fellow Saturn enthusiasts, I have recently become the proud owner of a 1992 sl2 and have a few questions. It's manual, 182k miles and I have no idea about the previous ownership. I do know it has a new head gasket and motor mount. I tried searching and didn't see anything so sorry in advance if I missed something. Going to preface this with I don't know a whole lot about cars or engines in general but have been trying to learn more in the past six months.

1. There is a hollowish grinding sound that can be heard when letting it coast in any gear, particularly around 2-3k rpm. As soon as I touch the clutch it disappears. I can also hear it faintly when accelerating.

2. When accelerating and most often after the car has been sitting I hear a sloshing/water draining noise in the dashboard, from what I've read I may have air trapped in the coolant system? The coolant is at the correct level.

3. The color of the coolant in the radiator is darkish green. I have no idea when it was last changed. I recently topped it off with 50/50 because it was was slightly below the minimum, I will be flushing the coolant system tomorrow. My question is, what color coolant is best to put in? The manual states orange dex-cool is appropriate but I've seen others say conventional green is fine. The "enthusiastic" guy at Autozone told me green coolant would destroy my entire coolant system within a few days. Also, what coolant to water ratio is best? I've read 50/50 and 67/33 but I've never changed coolant before and really have no idea.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

1992 ?

Dex Cool was not even put in to GM vehicles until starting in 1995 and was in Saturn s cars by 97. 96? Not sure. I have a 95 + 97 SC2 so I know what goes in them.

95 and earlier take the traditional old style green. It is usually labeled as for older vehicles.

Not sure what manual you are looking at it cannot be the owner's manual because DexCool didn't exist in 92. Stop by a Napa and pick some up. They tend not to be clueless.

If your car is not a 1992 please correct the year.. check the sticker on the driver's door jamb four correct model and year info.

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Have you done a compression check on this engine? If it is a 1992 with 180k on it, I'm not terribly optimistic that it has decent compression. The very early s cars especially the dohc burnt oil quickly and the compression rings wore prematurely unless you were running at least 10 W 30 back then which most people did not know to do for this engine.

I think the service limit is 170. The fact that it has a new head gasket means that it blew a head gasket.
That is never fun and often allows oil to mix with the coolant and vice versa. Does the coolant look like a chocolate milkshake? How about the oil on the dipstick? The previous owner may have fixed the head gasket but not flushed the cooling system.

Please do a loan a tool for a compression tester from AutoZone or equivalent. If you are not sure of the correct way to perform a wet and dry compression test, please research it on the internet. There are many different wrong ways to do it that give you bogus information.

Please list the compression of each cylinder in your next response.

It's not that I don't want to answer your questions; I don't want this to be a case where you are sinking $$ into a vehicle that is simply not worth it based on my answers

I'm such a dummy, its a 1999. My apologies! The oil on the dipstick looks fine to me. Also, I may have been wrong about the head gasket. I think the valve cover gasket was replaced, not the head gasket. I had a car buddy of mine come take a look, the coolant is still a nice bright green (we used something to pull tiny bit out. However, we think that coolant might be leaking as the level is lower than when I topped it off a few days ago. You can also see vapor coming off the engine near the upper driver side and it smells sweet/like coolant. My next step is to check the compression this Sunday!

99 should have the orange coolant, NOT the old fashioned green. Ask the prev owner what the f he put in there.
I believe the orange for GM then was / is dexCool. NOT compatible with the old fashioned green stuff.
Most universal antifreezes are not green (in my personal experience.

Nixing the two types will usually create sludge which then coats everything and can create blockages.

1) Check the petcock at the bottom of the radiator. Takes less than 1/4 rotation for it to pass coolant. Mine got knocked by some road debris.

2) IF not petcock, your radiator likely has a hairline crack in the plastic end tank near the top corner, nearest the radiator mount, driver's side.
3) IF not there, the 2nd most popular location is where the end tanks are glued on to the fins; sealant eventually gives out.
Diag soon. You do NOT want to be overheating these engines; warped heads are a possible outcome, especially if you don't shut it down once it begins overheating.

If it's new to you, replace the PCV with an AC Delco.
When it's due for O2 sensors, stick with densos -- they are the OEMs
NGK Copper plugs as well.

Are you SURE the engine in this vehicle is original and not a reman from another year?
Most people don't screw up coolant choices that bad. Maybe it's prestone multi everything......

Valve cover and head gasket are rather different............

The grinding noise can be anything from wheel bearings to half shafts to a bad tranny mount passing vibration, to....???
upload a video and point to where the sound seems to be coming from......