Hi,
My wife had our 97 Saturn SL2 give her problems on the way back from work lately. She drives home about 30 miles and the car would start losing power and then rev up to 6000 rpm but act like transmission was slipping then lose power then when she pulled over it would die and crank but not start. Then after she called me to come get her she thought she would try starting it again and it started and ran fine home. I thought maybe a catalytic converter might be plugged or an obstruction in the exhaust but that was all ok. I was having a hard time trying to figure out what was going on as it would not act up when I was driving it.
It did it again in town finally when I was driving it but we were at a stop light and then took off at a green light and hit started stumbling and died. I tried to listen and could not hear the fuel pump try to power up at all when would shut off the key and let it sit and turn it back on. I thought ok it was just the fuel pump. We towed it home and the pump would not turn on after letting it sit for a few hours or after swapping out a fuel relay.
I ordered a fuel pump and after a week I had a day off today and thought would try to get it pushed into the garage to get it changed out and just for the heck of it thought would try to start it and it started! I put it in reverse and it was cold and sometimes you have to keep your foot on the brake a few seconds and let it lock up otherwise it seems like the transmission is slipping but only when it is cold out. Anyway, I did that and was ok but then when I put it in drive it was slipping and not locking up and I was revving the engine up and it was barely moving forward. It was kind of acting like what my wife was trying to describe when going up a hill and it would rev up to 6000 and act like the transmission was not working.
I tried searching the forums but could not find anything that described the same problem we were having. Are these 2 things connected some how? It is not throwing any codes except for a few months ago it was showing that wrench and service soon light sometimes but has not done it for a long time and when I would check it had no codes. Any ideas or is the transmission going out and the fuel pump going out at the same time?
I would really appreciate any help you can give me. Do you think the transmission will need replaced? I hate to get rid of the car if I can fix it but it is old enough and has high enough miles that I can't afford to put a lot of money into it. Even if you are not sure what is going on let me know what your gut instinct is. I really need some guidance. thanks again

 

How many miles are on the car?
Transmission transmission fluid level check?

Does does transmission fluid smell burnt? Is it the normal red or is it red Brown? Have you ever changed the transmission fluid or had it changed?

What happens if you lock the transmission in low? I don't mean to drive it at highway speeds in low, I mean on the cold start example you gave us. Does it slip?

As for stumbling, not restarting while hot but restarting when cold: this is often caused by an intermittently failing crankshaft position sensor CKP. If there is no ckp signal then the PCM kills spark and fuel injectors. I do not believe that it kills fuel pump.

When you do not hear the fuel pump priming, check to see if the dome light turns on and the chime that goes off when you leave your headlights on and open the door is functional. Also, do you have an aftermarket stereo in the vehicle?

These questions are all related to a power distribution issue that can affect the s cars depending on what types of loads are placed on certain circuits. I'll bore you with it only if it becomes relevant.

 

I'm in agreement with derf. After all, he does a LOT of research trying to help people out. My first instinct is that the transmission fluid and filter probably need changing. I'm betting you've NEVER done that. One of the most often overlooked items on a cars maintenance.

 

Hi, Sorry I have not been able to get back to you sooner. The car has 220,000 miles on it. I have changed the trans fluid and filter every 25,000 miles since we got it used and I had put a used engine in it. The fluid looks/smells ok. It acted the same no matter what I did. It has slipped some when it was cold in reverse on some cold days if you just jumped in and started it up and tried to take off but seemed ok if you would put it in gear with your foot on the brake and wait a few seconds until you could feel it lock up. We have talked about it and are just planning on parting it out as our son has our 97 SC Saturn and there are parts etc that he can use. I was kind of hoping there was something I might have been missing that connected the two things but am thinking the transmission is just going out and it is what it is. Thanks again for your time and knowledge and help. I really appreciate folks like you who are willing to share.

 

Hey, sorry your post got hung up in the site auto filter. Along with three of my posts from last month (???)
Indeed, if it is a 97 SC2 pretty much the entire engine bay swaps over.
Most of the suspension should also swap, though I'm not positive when the coupe and sedan ended up using the same frame.
And with that mileage, must of the bushings are likely worn out. But if a trailing arm rusts through I believe you have one.

Use th4e site gmpartsdirect.co (*not com) as they still list most of the discontinued parts and their fitment across multiple vehicles.