Sc1

My sister has a SC1 with about 96k miles. The RPM'S will surge up to like 3500 RPM'S then back down to almost 200 RPM'S and almost die, if you do not hit the accelerator the car will die.

I sprayed the throttle body(not like a standard one) with throttle body cleaner.

Last problem is the car will try to take off when you at a stop light. Or it will just speed up over 20 mph from what you were driving at. One instance, she driving at 35 mph and the car just sped up to 55 mph or could have been faster, but she hit the brakes and the car finally did slow down. I am not sure where to go from here. Also there is no DTC.

Need to know the model year.

I see that I missed that detail it is a 1996.

I suspect a goofy throttle position sensor.

That is what I was thinking too. So I will get the good old multi meter out and test the TPS and see if it has a problem. I will also check the wiring while I am at it just to make sure that is not the issue causing the problem. Thanks for the info and will keep you informed.

Went to my sisters house yesterday and drove the car back to my place. It would be much easier to work on and dodge the rain. I was given the wrong info on the car It is actually a SC2. But that did not matter in the end. I still got the correct TPS for the car.

I had orginally thought that I could change the TPS without removing the TB. Boy was I wrong. It would have driven me crazy,:screwy: and in the end I would have broken something. I also found out that the TB gasket is special order. No one close to me had it in stock. So for now I had to reused the old gasket.

So yesterday I pulled the TB off of the intake manifold. The TB where it mounts to the intake manifold was so carboned up, I wondered how the car was still running. I removed the TPS and the IAC. I think that is what it is called(IAC). So I cleaned the TB and the IAC. Had to stop last night due to rain and it was too dark. I also got the wrong cleaner too. So I had to waste some more time to get the right stuff. Engine cleaner did a poor job of cleaning the TB. I forgot to mention that the IAC had a lot of carbon on the plunger. So I had to use a brass brush to get all of the carbon off. I also forgot to mention that the IAC was totally carboned up. I also had to use a brass brush to get off the reamining carbon from the plunger.
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As long as the gasket doesn't tear, it is completely re-usable.

Yes the gasket did not tear apart, so it should be ok. Just got back from the test drive. When I first started the car the RPM'S was at 1000 and at times a little higher. So during the ride around town I did notice that the RPM'S did surge some what, but not as bad as before. So when I got home I was letting the car idle and it did finally did drop down to about 850 RPM'S. But I noticed that the RPM'S started to surge again. The RPM'S surged only when the temp gage would drop down to almost zero then go back to the 1/4 mark on the gage. So replacing the TPS did help some but the problem is still there. So it is related to the temp gage going down then back up to where the temp was before it dropped. So I have no idea of where to look and how to fix the problem. I am thinking there might be an issue with the grounds to the engine and the car body. So at this point I am at a loss, of what to look at or what the problem could be. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Yes the gasket did not tear apart, so it should be ok. Just got back from the test drive. When I first started the car the RPM'S was at 1000 and at times a little higher. So during the ride around town I did notice that the RPM'S did surge some what, but not as bad as before. So when I got home I was letting the car idle and it did finally did drop down to about 850 RPM'S. But I noticed that the RPM'S started to surge again. The RPM'S surged only when the temp gage would drop down to almost zero then go back to the 1/4 mark on the gage. So replacing the TPS did help some but the problem is still there. So it is related to the temp gage going down then back up to where the temp was before it dropped. So I have no idea of where to look and how to fix the problem. I am thinking there might be an issue with the grounds to the engine and the car body. So at this point I am at a loss, of what to look at or what the problem could be. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

If that coolant temp gauge was moving like you described while driving, you definitely need to replace the engine coolant temp sensor. The original parts with the plastic tip fail the time on these cars and can cause wide a variety of symptoms like erradic idle, bad fuel economy, and rough shifting with automatic transmission. Luckily they are cheap (<$15) and easy (~15 min or less) to replace. The sensor is located on the driver's side of the cylinder head and has two wires going to it. Make sure the replacement part has a brass tip.

This car is going to drive me to drink to access.:crying::banghead:

We got a call from sis yesterday saying that the car just stopped in the middle of the road and it was dead. When we got there, I found that the battery was totally dead. No clicking from the starter, no lights no action and no camera. We towed the car with a tow strap back to my place. That was a real pain in the ass in itself. So I bought a new battery and alternator. Bought the parts at autozone, since it was just around the corner from where the car died. Installed the new battery, and the car started right up. But I hoped that I would not get the battery idiot light. But unfortunately I did get the battery light.:banghead:

First I need to know what is the bolt size(I think it is 13mm but I am not sure) that is on the belt tensioner pulley and the easiest way to get to the bolt to remove the belt. My hand and arms are big and the space is very small due to the engine mount being in the way. Also what is the best way to remove the alternator, I know that it is under the power steering pump. This car is very poor design and does not make it easy to work on.

After I am done with this mess, I will replace the ECT sensor. I did notice that it is still bouncing around, but not as much as it did before. At least that will be easy to replace the ECT I hope. :runaround:

I would like to say thanks to the people have answered this post.

The easiest way to access the tensioner by far is by removing front right wheel and plastic fender liner.

I haven't had to replace my alternator (yet) so I can't say for sure what the best method is. I know a lot of people recommend unbolting the power steering pump for easier access from the top. IIRC the tensioner pulley bolt is 14mm. However, I recently replaced the belt tensioner assembly on a friend's Saturn SL and a 15mm worked (albeit loosely) on it.

The easiest way to access the tensioner by far is by removing front right wheel and plastic fender liner.

I haven't had to replace my alternator (yet) so I can't say for sure what the best method is. I know a lot of people recommend unbolting the power steering pump for easier access from the top. IIRC the tensioner pulley bolt is 14mm. However, I recently replaced the belt tensioner assembly on a friend's Saturn SL and a 15mm worked (albeit loosely) on it.

Thanks for the quick response, I thought that might be the easiest way to get the belt off.

Im fairly sure the alternator comes out of the car through the opening into the passenger side wheel well. But you need to unbolt one of the motor mounts to let the engine tilt forward a bit I recall. Getting the power steering pump unbolted is bad enough, and I dont think it helps in getting the alternator out - though having access to the top of the alternator may help in getting it unbolted. Also, when you remove the top motor mounts (passenger side), you will be able to raise the engine - having a jack under the engine oil pan. Be sure to use a block of wood so the jack doesnt distort the oil pan.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, it looks like I have a long day a head of me. Thanks for the info, I knew just looking at the engine compartment it was going to be a big huge pain in the ass.

Im fairly sure the alternator comes out of the car through the opening into the passenger side wheel well. But you need to unbolt one of the motor mounts to let the engine tilt forward a bit I recall. Getting the power steering pump unbolted is bad enough, and I dont think it helps in getting the alternator out - though having access to the top of the alternator may help in getting it unbolted. Also, when you remove the top motor mounts (passenger side), you will be able to raise the engine - having a jack under the engine oil pan. Be sure to use a block of wood so the jack doesnt distort the oil pan.

I strongly advise against removing the upper mount (the one with three studs going into the timing cover) unless absolutely necessary because of the chance of a stud breaking or stripping out the timing cover.

I checked Mitchell On Demand for the heck of it. It only says to remove the front right wheel and fender liner and to remove the alternator through this opening. It calls for 1.1 hours of labor.

Breaking off a stud/bolt or having it strip the threads out of the aluminum seems to be a danger in many places. Today Im going to try unscrewing the bolts that hold the antisway bar onto the subframe of the SL1, and hope the captive nut inside wont be cracking loose. Any time I work on one of these cars in good weather I try to remove a few bolts/nuts, treat the threads (with grease, silicone, or even thread-locker) and put them back. It helps a lot when I have to work on the car the next time. Having an oxy-acetylene torch helps a lot for rusted bolts too.

I have the acetylene torch ready in the basement. So at least I have that base covered. I am going out in a few, to tackle that pig. Then it is on to the Silverado and change the half shafts and it is going to be another hot one. I tried to work on the cars yesterday and we got slammed with heavy rain storms. So I best get my *** in gear and get out into the heat and humidity. Thanks on the tips for working on the car and I also have a small bottle of lock tight and it is medium duty strength.

Taking off the passenger tire and the wheel well plastic liners off. That made it so much easier to get the belt off. I see no other way to get the alternator off with out taking off the power steering pump.:banghead: But I had to stop in the middle, and had to work on the wifes Silverado. I am replacing the front short shafts. The passenger side came off with out pulling the hub assy. But the driver side is being a real pain in the back side.:banghead: :confused: Looks like I will have to pull the hub assy in order to get the short shaft off.:crying: I wish I had a lift, it would make jobs like these much easier. Thanks for all the good suggestions, it made it much easier to get to the point where I am now on the Saturn.:smile:

Well I did finally got the alternator out and replaced. The one thing I did not put back on the new alternator was the plastic shield. It made it so much easier to get the alternator back in. Is it really necessary to have that plastic shield on the alternator.:banghead:

The plastic shield on your Saturn alternator is probably meant to keep oil from the power steering pump or the leaky cam cover gasket from peeing onto the alternator. That oil would cause dust to collect on and in the alternator, eventually clogging up the air moving through the alternator for cooling. So it might take a few years to happen, especially if you replace the cam cover gasket and clean the back of the head as much as you can with some de-greaser.

The shields that are really vital are the metal shields that go between an alternator and the exhaust manifold - to keep the radiant heat from the exhaust system from baking the alternator. Not a problem with the layouts of Saturn "S" series cars.