11th Sep 2007, 22:57

For the wipers going by their self, check and or replace the wiper motor relay. The relay should be in the fuse under the hood by the positive point to jump the car off.

If it isn't there, then it will be in the fuse box in the car. To find this check by the center console. There should be a flat head clip that unlocks the panel.

If the fuse and relay are good, then you will need to replace the wiper motor. It's not as hard as everyone says it is. To do it you will need a clip remover and a ten mm socket and a ratchet. You will need the clip remover to take off I think five clips. After you get that off, then you will easily see the wiper motor. That is where the ten mm socket comes in to play.

Warning the timing of the new motor has to be correct or they will not work as per spec and won't work properly. If the timing is off, just move the teeth on it a little to one way, and if it is worse then move the teeth the other way. Don't listen to the crap; the motor is really easy if you have some one that works on stuff like this for a living.

Any questions email me at brnt_wade@yahoo.com and I will walk you through it. I'm giving people info on how to take care of their Saturn because I'm tired of people always blaming the car.

13th Sep 2007, 22:28

From the 1997 with 200000 miles on it I LOVE MY SATURN!!! I COULDN'T LOVE IT MORE. When you pull out into traffic wouldn't you like to hit 0 to 50 in less than five seconds manual trans only.

13th Sep 2007, 22:55

In my service manual it stats that you should check your oil every 1000 miles. If you don't do that then you warranty should be voided anyway because it states to check your owners manual to check it. if you don't believe then go to a auto center and look for a book for the 1997 Saturn SC2 coupe and you will find most of your questions answered there. You cannot always depend on the people that are always putting the car down to answer all of your questions so that book is a must!!!

25th Sep 2007, 12:48

I have a 1997 Saturn SC2, auto trans, with about 130K miles. In the past week it has started running very rough. It was time of an oil change, but that didn't help and it became progressively worse until yesterday it was undriveable. Yesterday it began misfiring at about 45-55 mph (20000 rpm) then the engine light came on. I had the guy at Auto Zone read the code and it said Misfiring on Cylinder 3. We changed the spark plug for Cylinder 3 (even though I just had all new plugs and wires installed 1 1/2 yrs ago). This did not help. The car was still misfiring (jerking, having a hard time coming to speed) and now it is letting out black smoke from the tailpipe. I added fuel injector fluid, but that was only a temporary fix, because today it started off the same way as yesterday with the misfiring and black smoke. As I drove it, the conditions improved slightly. It does not appear it is a consistent problem... something is starting to fail, but I'm not sure what. Any suggestions? Today I noticed that I am not getting the normal gas mileage, although it could be because it's working so much harder. Please help.

9th Nov 2007, 19:12

I own a 2002 Saturn SL1, bought it new, oil consumption picked up @ ~65K miles, 1 qt per 1000 miles.

11th Nov 2007, 22:04

My wife an I have had two '97 Saturns; an SW1 and an SL2. My SW1 wagon has 164K on it and it sure burns up the oil. I have change it in both cars every 3500 miles or so. I'm not sure that mine is currently worth that regular a change as it chug-a-lugs about one quart every two tanks. Wife's twin-cam has about 130k and her oil consumption isn't that bad yet, but it's deteriorating. Other than the engine wear problems, these cars are pretty good in most regards. I can attest that they are amazingly tough structurally. I have a code reader and perform most regular maintenance myself. Since I bought mine used for $4500.00 in 2001 with 80k miles, I really can't complain. I notice that my puffs of smoke occur just when the motor is cold. I'll bet that's when most of the consumption occurs. Would trying a synthetic or perhaps a heavier weight oil be a good cheapo fix? I'll try one of these ideas this week and leave another comment on this forum if and when I can measure the results. A year ago or so, I tried one of those "engine job in a can" additives and noticed no significant change in the wagon's fat intake. We've simply gotten ourselves into the habit of checking oil regularly to ensure that there won't be any unpleasant surprises. We joke that we should try adding some perfume to the oil to make it smell better to the tailgaiters in our area.

Happy trails (contrails or whatever..)

Rex.

8th Dec 2007, 11:59

I am now reporting on the use of 5w30 synthetic oil in the two 1997 Saturns from the last comment. Although it is considerably more expensive it seems to help quite a bit. The stuff doesn't seem to crud-up like the regular 5w30 that I used to use. I imagine that it behaves more like warm oil even when cold. Although after start up, I still notice a bit of blue smoke upon initial engine revs up my hill, the smoking seems to last much less than it did before. I am now burning a quart about every 700-800 miles or so-even in cold weather. This is so much better than the consumption which I reported in my last comment using regular oil. These Saturns are not bad cars as some earlier comments suggested. Just make sure that you check your oil regularly-this is the case with any internal combustion engine vehicle.

Happy trails.

Rex.

18th Dec 2007, 11:39

For the user, Angi I think, that could not change the oil because it was to hard you may want to take a look at the job again. The filter is one of the easiest filters to remove from any car. You can get your whole arm up to it and even use a oil wrench. Just slide under your car and its on the right hand side half way up the rear of the engine.

PS - If you can't get under the car use a larger jack and stands. Or do something everyone that read that was thinking.

4th Jan 2008, 17:54

These cars are crap. I have a 99 SL2. I'm on the 3rd engine. The second one was bad from the salvage yard (go figure). I've replaced the transmission because the case cracked. Saturn told me that I did not perform proper maintenance. Because I did all my own oil changes and could not provide a receipt for labor (well DUH!!!) then they said that is was never done. They are liars, and know about this problem.

If there is ever a class action lawsuit I will join it in a millisecond.