2007 Saturn Vue
 

Hey everyone,

I bought 2007 Saturn Vue from a private party on Facebook. The previous owner said that he had replaced the engine with 6 cyl Honda 3.5 L engine and that was the only modifications he’s made.

After bringing it in for an alignment, the mechanic told me it was missing the sway bar and drive shaft. I had the sway bar installed but still need to get the drive shaft done and some other regular maintenance like a tune up, oil change, etc.

Before I put more money into the car I just wanted to see if it’s even worth fixing. These are the issues I’m having with it:

1) It makes a very hard noise when I start it. Once it heats up it gets quieter.

2) When I do 30 it starts to make a humming noise.

3) The check engine light isn’t coming on but when I plugged in the code checker the code for EVAP came on.

4) When I go 50-55 on the highway the car vibrates and makes a loud humming. It also seems to have a hard time shifting between 3rd gear and 4th gear (thinking possible tranny issue? Although no code is coming up for that)

5) It’s leaking gear oil in the back wheel and also leaking transmission fluid.

Did you test drive it?

The only liquid that runs to each wheel is brake fluid I do believe. Check your brake fluid reservoir immediately so you don't run out on the road and have no brakes.

Harsh starting noise might be timing chain slapping off the timing chain cover because the chain is stretched and has enough slack in it to do so. Very bad sign. This is a guess.

Codes that show up when the SES light is not on are referred to as pending codes and should have the letter p before or after on your code reader. It means that ECM is pretty sure that the particular code is going to be set but it is collecting more data in order to decide.

Pending codes also, when seen while you are evaluating a vehicle for purchase, essentially means the person selling it cleared the codes while you were driving over to see the car so the check engine light would be off. You can get away with that for codes that take a long time to set.

Vibration at 50 to 55. Check tire wear. Also check wheel balancing.

A lot of people that have issues with the transfer case on the AWD s just remove the drive shaft going to the rear and drive it as a front wheel drive vehicle. That is probably the case here. I wouldn't run out and try to replace it without having someone check the transfer case. People don't just remove drive lines for no reason.

Tranny fluid leak + tranny shifting issues....

Sell it as a running parts car.

And always have a vehicle checked by your mechanic before purchasing it.