Just bought a 92 SL2 for $300

I used to have a 94 Saturn SL1 that I sold to my next door neighbors. That car now has 210,000 miles on it and it still runs great. Thats why I had no problem buying this 92 SL2 with 234,000 miles on it for only $300. It needs a right upper motor mount and possibly CV axles but thats easy stuff. The engine runs great but theres a terrible vibration from the broken motor mount. Probably the reason why the price was so cheap, they didn't know how easy it is to replace that mount.

The question I have for you Saturn experts has to do with replacing and then painting the side body panels. The rear door skin and the rear quarter skin are broken and are easily replaced but is there any special method to painting these plastic skins? Flex agent? Special primer?

Oh, yeah. Does the twin cam engine put out more power than the single cam? Does it get worse gas mileage? Are the short blocks the same?

ok power, with that 94 sl1 you had a tbi, very sluggish worthless engine. the dohc has plenty more power, but also depends on how well it was upkept. it may need a major tune up to get it back to normal. gas mileage, well with my car i see at minimum 35mpg. ive recently had 39mpg and with alot of heavy throttle action. ive got a 97 with 158,000 miles, and so far ive found mine has like the best gas mileage out of all saturn owners i know. most guys see like 32mpg.

ok now as of the body panels. im not quite sure on the paint used. ive been told normal body paint works but i wont go by their say. all i can say is maybe some kind of polyurethane. go to a ppg store or something and ask if they know.

Thanks for the response. I'm totally jazzed about this car. The motor mount will be so easy to fix and it runs great. It doesn't need CV joints, the clunking the guy was talking about is the busted motor mount. A little cleaning, a few trips to the wrecking yard and I'll have a sweet, economical ride!

I'll probably be back here often. I'm sure after the motor mount is fixed, the engine will need a bit of tweaking.

Check with the paint store for the flex agent you mentioned. They should sell the addititve. Good luck with your new project.

Check with the paint store for the flex agent you mentioned. They should sell the addititve. Good luck with your new project.



Thanks, I will have fun.

The car threw a SES light at me today. Its kind of bucks a little bit while cruising at city speeds. Anyone have any ideas what I should check out first? I havn't been on the freeway yet because I know the tires are out of balance.

Pull the codes and check back. If you need a how to to retrieve the codes just let us know.

3 very good links.
http://www.differentracing.com/tech_articles/diag_info.html
http://www.differentracing.com/tech_articles/dtc_chart.html
http://www.differentracing.com/tech_articles/ttc_chart.html

man i was going to say something probably would arise, but i didnt want to open my big mouth. but the bucking sounds like misfires. could be ects gone bad or it needs wires/plugs.

I only get a code 15 which is low tempurature or something. (Can't remember what my book said). The engine does seem to run very cool, if that has anything to do with it. The spark plugs look ok, but not sure about the wires. The car seems to have been through some very dusty conditions. I tapped the air filter on the floor and got quite a bit of dust out. Couldn't find my air nozzle.

I'll check out those links.


EDIT: DTC 15 will set if:

* The ECT reads below -35ºC (-31ºF).
* The engine has been running longer than five minutes with a temperature
less than -35ºC (-31ºF).


Ok, so this sounds like ECT is bad, giving a constant low reading? It's not even below freezing here.

yeah, that was one of my thoughts to the problem. might as well replace it. seems to be the problem.

The top 2 stickies have everything you ever wanted to know and more about ECTS replacement.
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=26

Let us know how your project turns out.

I changed the coolant temp sensor and on a whim picked up a set of premium spark plug wires. Its a good thing I did the wires, there was white powdery corrosion on the coil end of every wire. I cleaned the posts on the coil pack and installed the new wires and OMG IT RUNS GOOD! I only drove it for 10 minutes but I could sure notice a difference. I'll see if the SES light comes back on when I drive it to work tomorrow. So far I'm only into this car $490 :iceslolan :ylsuper:

nice, good to hear.

No SES today :bananasmi

There is still a little bit of that bucking while cruising at a steady speed. It's very slight and I wonder if I'm just being picky or my foot is twitchy. The car is very drivable as it is now. Now I just need to clean the interior and replace some body skins and I'll be set.

Thanks for the help!

Anyone know how to set the clock on the factory radio? :banghead:

Might try some injector cleaner (chevron with techron and/or seafoam).
What kind of plugs are in it? Plain old ACdelcos are cheap and work fine. NGKs are OEM. Can be tuff to find. Sometimes the coil and Module mounts get corroded and need to be spiffied up.

Having fun now!

Might try some injector cleaner (chevron with techron and/or seafoam).
What kind of plugs are in it? Plain old ACdelcos are cheap and work fine. NGKs are OEM. Can be tuff to find. Sometimes the coil and Module mounts get corroded and need to be spiffied up.

Having fun now!


It currently has Autolites. I'll pick up a new set of plugs in the morning and then clean up those mounts, like you said. Is there anything else I can clean while I'm at it? EGR valve or something? I wouldn't doubt that the coil mounts might be messy since the plug wires were all corroded. I'll also be hitting the wrecking yards this weekend looking for goodies to spiff up the car.

clean the throttle body, and egr might not be too bad to do.

Whoa, changed the spark plugs and for some unknown reason the ones I took out were two heat ranges colder than what's supposed to be in there! They weren't fouled, so I don't know what effect its had.

I'd say that is the source of the slight stumble you mentioned.
As Mr. 12 said cleaning the throttle body and EGR and its port, is a good idea. I like to remove the throttle body personally. Clean it with an old toothbrush. Clean the IAC valve and it's port but don't change the pintle position and don't lose the $11.00 dealer only O-ring.

How does the motor mounts look? They can cause a lot of vibration and damage. Radiator, timing cover, and valve cover can crack just to name a few.

How does the motor mounts look? They can cause a lot of vibration and damage. Radiator, timing cover, and valve cover can crack just to name a few.



The right side upper motor mount was the first thing I changed. It was badly worn and making alot of noise. I figure thats why the car was sold so cheap because they thought it had a much worse problem. I havn't looked at the dog bone underneath yet.

Your way ahead of me. Good luck at the salvage yards.

well im guessing the number on those autolites were 3922. rightfully they should be 3924, but the person probably bought them from wal mart and thats why. wal mart lists them at 3922 for replacement.

well im guessing the number on those autolites were 3922. rightfully they should be 3924, but the person probably bought them from wal mart and thats why. wal mart lists them at 3922 for replacement.


Thats odd. They were 3924's, the parts store lists 3926 as the correct number. Autolite's website also lists 3926 as the correct plug. Crap, now I have doubt. :screwy:

I tend to believe Autolites website.

oh yeah sorry. 3924 is whats listed at wal mart.

ive got 1 too many plugs ive dealt with and i had numbers written down for plugs for my friends eclipse. i test too many plugs, and having to find ones that will work in my friends eclipse gs with and hrc kit has been making me get numbers mixed up. 3922 was a number i had down for his eclipse as a reference

oh yeah sorry. 3924 is whats listed at wal mart.

ive got 1 too many plugs ive dealt with and i had numbers written down for plugs for my friends eclipse. i test too many plugs, and having to find ones that will work in my friends eclipse gs with and hrc kit has been making me get numbers mixed up. 3922 was a number i had down for his eclipse as a reference


Ah, Ok! It seems that the PO bought alot of stuff at Wal-mart. The battery is from there too and it still has the receipt attached.

Ok, changed the spark plugs and wires and coolant temp sensor. The car runs very good now but that mild bucking is still there while cruising at a steady speed. Someone I work with suggested testing the throttle position sensor. I'll be cleaning the coil pack mounts too. Anyone have any other suggestions while I'm at it?

The Tps is a definite possibility. The only other thing that I can think of is the crankshaft position sensor going in and out on you. Usually when they fail the engine will simply die tho.

Good hunting.

I removed and cleaned the throttle body (very dirty), IAC valve, EGR valve, coil packs and module. The surging seems to be getting better to where its almost unnoticable but I'm very picky and want all my cars to run just right. I checked the TPS with my handy dandy volt meter and I didn't see anything unusual happening. I dumped some Techron fuel injector cleaner in and filled the tank a few days ago, so that might be helping gradually as well.

So, a refresher. Replaced right side motor mount, coolant temp sensor, spark plugs, spark plug wires then counting the stuff I cleaned. No SES light anymore. Is there anything I can tweak or tune or check to make sure its running as good as it can run? The engine has great oil pressure, BTW.

One thing that may be a little off, it does seem to run really cool. I drive it to work and the gauge stays very close to cold. I got out my handy dandy IR thermometer and scanned the thermostat housing and it barely read 160 degrees. I would think it would need to run closer to 195-200 degrees. Thoughts?

Oh, yeah. Does the twin cam engine put out more power than the single cam? Does it get worse gas mileage? Are the short blocks the same?

Yes. Yes. Yes.
Refresh my memory, Standard or auto?

My 96 has a 195 degree stat. It is factory spec.
Yours might be hanging open. I used Autozone's procedure for a flush (http://www1.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/19/97/73/0900823d80199773.jsp)and was real pleased with the results. They only carry 185 degree stats tho. Went to advance and bought a stant 195.

Yes. Yes. Yes.
Refresh my memory, Standard or auto?

My 96 has a 195 degree stat. It is factory spec.
Yours might be hanging open. I used Autozone's procedure for a flush (http://www1.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/19/97/73/0900823d80199773.jsp)and was real pleased with the results. They only carry 185 degree stats tho. Went to advance and bought a stant 195.


It's a standard trans. I'll pop the thermostat off this weekend.

Here is a list of maintenece items @ the 100,000 mile interval.
You already have most covered.
100K Miles

Replace the ETCS (unless it has already been replaced with the all metal unit)
Change the coolant (Replace thermostat if heater performance is not up to par)
Change engine oil and filter
Replace AUTOMATIC transaxle fluid and filter (Mobil 1 ATF strongly recommended)
You DO NOT need to change the manual transaxle fluid
CLEAN Throttle body and IAC passage
CHECK the CV joint boots for grease leakage
CHECK the steering rack boots for leakage
CHECK the drive belt and tensioner
CLEAN the EGR valve pintle and passages
REPLACE the spark plugs (NGK CONVENTIONAL PLUGS .040 gap)
CLEAN the coilpack towers and coilpack mounting bolts
CLEAN the MAP sensor vacuum ports
REPLACE the PCV valve (SATURN ONLY PART NOT AFTERMARKET)
INSPECT vacuum lines
INSECT/ADJUST rear brake shoes
GREASE parking brake cables and linkages (especially on rear disk cars)
CHECK rear door threasholds for rust
Lubricate door hinges, latches and stops
Lubricate (silicon spray) window glass channels
CHECK tierod ends and ball joints for wear
CHECK rear suspension links for wear/damage
CHECK exhaust system for leaks/damage
REPLACE fuel filter
FLUSH out body panels with clear water
Check inflation of SPARE TIRE
Rotate tires and INSPECT front brake pads
LUBRICATE front brake lock and guide pins (And rear lock and guide pins on 4wheel disk cars)
Check cam cover gasket for leakage, replace if leaking
REPLACE the battery if over 4 years old. (CHARGE if under 4 years old)
CLEAN Battery terminals and battery cables