How many miles

i 'am new to the world of saturns i bought a sl about two months ago real good deal and since then i have put almost 3k miles in 2 and half months ( 84 K total ) my question is how many miles can i expect to get out of the sohc it runs cool burns no oil and shifts smooth and runs great down the highway ?

i have heard of 1.9L saturns near 400K miles!!! without rebuilds! more DOHC then SOHC, but there are a few up there. realisticilly, take good care of it and you should get past 150K without problems.

but the one thing i have learned about saturns is that they are backwards servicewise then any other car. there are some parts (like the alternator) that go bad three times as fast as on other cars, but there are other parts (like the exhaust system) that will last three times long that on other cars.

if you are planning to own you saturn for a long time, i suggest checking out the forum on saturnfans.com.

BTW what year and type of gas mileage do you get?

its a 98 sl plain no power any thing and i get with the air like 31 without 34 on the highway . and high 20's in town . i plan on keeping this car a long time

Should get better mileage. I get 32 or so city and 40+ highway. Manual should do 45 highway.
98 is good. 94-96 are not so good due to the head cracking problem. Yours should last a long time. I have 188,000 on my 94. Dealer fixed head for free at 115,000.
Auto tranny is still good.

well i don't expect you to get 45MPG. the 91-94 SOHC got better gas mileage. yours is a little low. i would look in to getting a new ECTS, $15 peice, the old design cracked over time, making the computer think the engine was too cold, and dumping in extra fuel. it been redesigned that should last forever(its all brass)

what does ECTS stand and where is at exactly

engine coolant temperature sensor.
From personal experience with both a 94 manual and a 99 manual the 99 gets 45 on highway at speeds of 70+.
The 94 would get slightly less 42-44.
My automatic 94 gets over 40 on highway.
Not to say that your driving habits or conditions will allow that though.
The 94 manual I spoke of had the exact problem you speak of with the ECTS. The 99 had reverse. Would not easily start cold. Too lean. Both fixed with new sensor ~$8.

engine coolant temperature sensor.
From personal experience with both a 94 manual and a 99 manual the 99 gets 45 on highway at speeds of 70+.
The 94 would get slightly less 42-44.
My automatic 94 gets over 40 on highway.
Not to say that your driving habits or conditions will allow that though.
The 94 manual I spoke of had the exact problem you speak of with the ECTS. The 99 had reverse. Would not easily start cold. Too lean. Both fixed with new sensor ~$8.


$8? thats the cheapest i've ever heard, was it from the saturn dealership?

the 91-94 SOHC had TBI(throddle body fuel injection). the 95+ SOHC and all DOHC had MPFI(multi-port fuel injection). the TBI had better fuel mileage, but less horsepower. besides that, i don't know the numbers, but i find the driver is the big factor(more-so with manual)

Yea the 8 dollar one was from a dealer, go figure. Advance is $12.89 for a saturn. I got one for my lumina at advance for $7.88. Its all mark up and if you get the discounted price or not.
I still think even the EPA numbers are higher on the newer (SOHC) saturns with port injection. They were as follows
1999
MPG (city)
29
MPG (highway)
40

1994
MPG (city)
26

MPG (highway)
35

thats strange, i was sure it was the other way around... but i have been wrong before

They drop after 01, I think, and obviously the Ion is lower.

i have a 97 sl2 5 spd now 190000 miles i commute 150 miles per day 36 mpg city and highway combined vey great car now probs im starting to burn oil now how ever i put in some engine stop smoke and it seems to be doing me well.. all though it never seen smoke that i can see i was just lossing oil so im sure it was burning it!

mike, be sure your PCV valve is the OEM peice from saturn, aftermarket ones don't work. if that doesn't help, you should do a ring cleaning.

I used to own a Saturn (95 SL1 - 5 speed) and have since become a VW owner. I have no doubt in my mind that I put more miles on my Saturn than I will ever put on my VW. I had almost 175k, and I think the only thing I replaced was the front break pads and a new muffler. I was miticulous about changing the oil, and the engine ran perfectly. Regardless of what Saturn says or recommends, I also used 93 octane fuel, it made a world of difference, especially living in the south and using the A/C all the time. The old joke goes "if your brakes ever stop working on your Saturn, just turn the A/C on". The 93 octane made it much less noticeable, and made the engine run smoother.