1995 Saturn SC2 smoking at idle and missing

[fritcr]

I still have not done anything with this car except for the MMO soak. However, I did find a complete engine for it out of the same exact car/year etc. Except the other car was an auto and mine is a 5 spd. The guy wants $250 and said it ran like a top. I'm wondering if that might be money well spent but I have never tried to put an engine in something. Is it a really hard job? I do have access to an engine stand and lots of tools. I have rebuilt the upper end of a honda and done lots of other car repairs myself. Does anyone know how different the engines might be with the auto/stick difference? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Rob

[RC1488]

Its alot easier than replacing the head i can tell you that.

I replaced my engine in my driveway with jack stands, hand tools, and an engine lift.

Overall its not that hard at all. I suggest raising the car and dropping the engine out the bottom on the subframe. Then roll the entire drive train out and youll have alot more room to remove the old engine and put the new one back.

There is no difference between an engine connected to an auto or a man. Both will interchange. however, the flywheel from your engine must go on the new engine to replace the flex plate. After that just put it back together.

[fritcr]

Ok thanks for the info...one more question! Should I take the whole engine and tranny out at the same time or unbolt the engine from the tranny in the car? My tranny works great so I don't "Need" to take it out.
Again and "as always" thanks thanks for all of the help.
Rob

[RC1488]

All depends on the method you go to remove the engine. If you pull the engine out the top, then yes its easier to pull the tranny and engine out as one.

If doing it my way, the axles stay in place, tranny stays attached to the subframe, and the engine is removed leaving the tranny in place on the subframe.

Note: If removing it from the top, the pulleys must be removed from the engine for clearance

[fritcr]

Ok, I see what your saying. I'm not sure I can get the car up high enough the garage to get it out from underneath. I will have to look into doing it that way. I have a lot of neck problems so I don't do so well under a car. Can do stuff in small sperts but it really gets me. Probalby should not be attempting this at all.
Rob

[denisond3]

I have enough arthritis in my knees that getting down and back up from under a car involves some pain, but I took the engine and tranny out of our 92 Saturn SL2 last summer. It was an automatic with a hole in the differential case, so the tranny had to be replaced; and it was an oil guzzler, so I knew it needed piston rings.
Pulling the engine using an overhead homemade A frame and a cheap chinese cable winch wasnt all that hard. It would have been easier with a cantilever hoist that I could have dragged backward to let the engine/tranny down on the ground in front of the car, but I managed with just my wooden A frame. I had the car supported on wooden 6" x 6" and 4" x 4" chunks, placed under the front sides just behind the front wheels. All of the work was done in a shady part of our gravel driveway.
The hardest part was getting the bolt loose that holds the crank damper/pulley; it must have taken 250-300 ft/lbs of torque! The next hardest thing was popping the axles out of the transaxle. Another time-consuming part is undoing a dozen or more connectors, fasteners, and clips, and remembering how they go back. I took a lot of photos with a digital camera for that reason, and I had the Saturn manual for the engine. I got that on ebay for about $20, and well worth it.
The car had 128,000 on it, and its cylinders didnt even need rehoning. The original hone marks were visible except for the last 1/4" at the top. I just used emery paper to scuff the glaze away there. There was no ridge at the rim either. So it got new piston rings on its original pistons (the old oil control rings were all stuck tight in the grooves) and new crank bearings, since it was so easy to do it.
It did have good compression and the plugs were all the same color, so I didnt do anything to the head. I did replace one of the timing chain guides, and the timing chain tensioner assembly. Also the engine's main oil seals.
I got a junkyard transmission for $200. I put the whole thing back together and lowered the engine/tranny in, and it started up on the first try (I turned on the ignition a dozen times without starting it to fill the fuel rail first).
I also replaced the radiator (it was leaking in the usual place), the water pump, thermostat, the alternator, the serpentine belt and its tensioner and idler pulleys, all of the hoses carrying coolant, the ECTS, and the brushes in the starter, and the two little hoses running between the transmission and the side of the radiator where the tranny cooler is.
If you have the resources to pull the engine, doing the work on it is simply leisure time fun, compared with doing the work on the engine in place. (I also have back problems, dont care to lean over much). If it had been a 5 speed I would have replaced the clutch, just for the peace of mind.
I would like to find another 92 SL2, but with a 5 speed, to fix up for my OWN use. (My daughter grabbed that first car and really dislikes me 'borrowing' it). Ingrate! I think I spent about $700 for everything.
The car has gone 9000 miles since last August, and seems to use less than a quart of oil each 4000 miles - which is when I change it anyway.

Let us know how it goes for you.

[fritcr]

Me and my buddy are heading to get the engine tomorrow. I don't know how soon I will get working on putting it in. From the last post it sounds like you pulled the engine from the top then? Of course...I don't need to take the tranny out really. I should probably put a clutch in it too I guess.
We will see if this old stiff guy and do it in my spare time haha. I have a boat and 2 waverunners to "winterize" this weekend. Fun fun.
Rob