92 SL2 - Broken Odometer/Trip Meter

My odometer & trip meter are broken on my '92 SL2. Otherwise the car's running fine.

The situation is: I brought it to my local mechanic and while it was at the shop, he called and told me that he contacted a Saturn dealership and they have a replacement odometer, but that it costs $600 (!) But he looked at a used parts source and found one for $80, and he told me to pick up my car and bring it back in when he orders the part.

After I picked it up, he then told me that it needed a new dashboard (?!?) which was another $80. Hmmm. The dashboard I have is fine. He then upped the cost of parts to $160. He also said that my speedometer is broken - but I insisted it wasn't. And after I picked my car up, the speedometer was working just fine.

Has anyone here broken their odometer? Is it a simple fix, or is it a complex one? Is my mechanic trying to rip me off like every other mechanic?

On a tangent: The next day I noticed a loud gushing air sound coming from my hood while driving. I thought it was weather-related but it was going on as long as the car was starting. I pulled over, opened the hood and noticed the air filter cover was missing! I rushed back to the mechanic and told him the deal with the air filter. Eventually he found the cover and replaced it back. Ugh. Dunno if I'm coming back to him.

Any reliable, (relatively) honest mechanics in the Los Angeles area?

Reply to
Elson Trinidad
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I wouldn't go back again.

Reply to
James1549

The trip/odo gear are one and the same; unfortunately a very small fragile plastic gear which in the 1st gen. saturns has a known habit of breaking. The part can be found online by itself and definately does not require a new gauge cluster.

It seems obvious that your "mechanic" does not know what he is doing and may have damaged your dash and or odo in the process, as is easy to do with such old plastic if you are not very careful.

You can get a new dash and other parts from your local junkyard or where I got mine at

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Definately get another mechanic or consider letting Saturn do some of the work. Yea, I know they can be expensive, but if you have a good reputable shop with good mechanics, they will do the job right - the 1st time, thus saving you money and time in the long run.

marx404

Reply to
marx404

I got the replacement odometer gear for just under $30 with shipping at:

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Put it in myself. Took out the cluster and very carefully figured out how to get to the odemeter assembly. Make sure you pay attention to which screws and bulbs go where. Mark them!

Reply to
Mike

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