Our Community is 940,000 Strong. Join Us.


98 saturn sl2 hard to start and get running from acelleration to first gear


tmclaren
12-05-2004, 05:26 AM
hello
im having a problem with my 1998 saturn sl2 ...i had recentley replaced my valve cover gasket along with the gasket and silicone ...i had one fouled plug because of it leaking previously...i replaced the plugs and gasket and it doesnt seem to leak anymore but since i did that my car is hard to start and dosent acellerate easily into first gear it sputters and stalls sometimes ..all other gears are fine and the car seems to be running better when it is at normal temperature..could anyone give me any advice ,thank you for your time

sierrap615
12-05-2004, 03:58 PM
what brand of plugs did you use? what gap?

tmclaren
12-05-2004, 04:05 PM
what brand of plugs did you use? what gap?
hello thanks for your reply ..i used champion brand plugs and was told they were pre gapped so im unsure of the gap,do you happen to know what the actuall gap is supposed to be ,and could the parts store be wrong?

sierrap615
12-05-2004, 05:18 PM
the gap should be 0.040 inch

i haven't heard anything on champions in saturns(every car reacts differently to each brand) in my general knowage for saturns NGKs are the best and anything platium is horrible.

right now i don't know the exact problem but a few ideas are coming to mind.

you replaced the plugs and gasket at the same time right? how long did you have the valve cover off? did you replace the wires? how old is the oil?

tmclaren
12-05-2004, 06:24 PM
hi ...the valve cover was off for aprox...three hours it was enough time for the silicone to set .i used brake parts cleaner to clean the parts ...the wires are almost a year old ...and the oil is due for a change in thext 800 miles...i was thinking it may be the fuel filter ..that hasnt been changed since i bought the car in 2001 ive put about 46,000 miles on it since from driving off the lot at saturn it had about 55,000 when it was purchased,but if it was the fuel filter wouldnt it be hesitating on every gear shift instead of just acceleration into first?...the first plug chamber on the overhead cam had a bit of oil in it from the fouled plug..would that affect it ?i sprayed the cleaner down into that chamber to get rid of it ..hmmm maybe that was bad?

sierrap615
12-05-2004, 08:48 PM
the can of brake cleaner most likey says "do not use on plastics" i don't know if it would damage the rings/piston or not. i think it would at least knock some of the carbon on the pision off, which may or maynot be a bad thing, but if you sprayed enough to soak past the rings and into the oil that may also lead to problems(the thing i don't know is how much cleaner it takes to distroy plastic and how long it takes). at the same time plastic is made in part from oil, and i use brake cleaner to clean up oil, so i doubt its helping anything

if i were you i would be safe and get oil changed, you may also want to do this how-to before changing it: http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23676

for the filter it sounds like its time to change it anyway, also make sure the plug wire is clean too(double check the inside of the boot where the contact is)

if no inprovement is seen soon, i suggest posting on the same site that the how-to is on, the techs there make me look like a 20-year old kid with a half filled toolbox, wait a minute.......i am 20-year old kid with a half filled toolbox ;)

Add your comment to this topic!