98 Saturn SL2 Problems

Check that the spark plug wires are routed correctly. There should be a sticker in the engine compartment describing the correct wiring (among other things) but in case you don't find it or it's missing, the wires on the coils should connect to cylinders 4123, in that order from left to right, facing the front of the car. The wires to the left coil, connected to cylinders 4 and 1, should cross over each other to connect in that order.

The reason is that the Saturn doesn't use a cam position sensor. It instead senses the voltages on those two cylinders to figure out whether a cylinder is on firing stroke or exhaust stroke. If it gets it backwards because the wires are crossed, then the injectors will be trying to squirt gas at a closed intake valve. The engine idles too fast on startup and stumbles on driveaway, though it might run ok on the highway. In that case just swap the lead at the coils for cylinders 4 and 1.

I like Rislone. I've used it for years on various cars and I started putting it on my Saturn soon after I bought the car used. Now that I've switched to Mobil-1, I don't bother with Rislone but I've found that Rislone really helps clean out gunked-up engines. It might help, though by the time an engine starts using significant oil it probably requires a rebuild. Sometimes when you clean out the gunk you find that the gunk was the only thing keeping the engine sealed. On my SL2 (1997, 91,000 miles) I change the oil with Mobil-1 when it gets down a quart, though this last time I changed it a little early at 5,000 miles, before it was down a full quart.

When treating an old engine with Rislone, I like to cut the old oil filter open with tinsnips (I learned this trick at the airport) to examine what it has been filtered out. If the Rislone is doing its job, the filter may be stuffed with "coffee grounds" (bits of carbon). This filter contamination dictates that the oil be changed more frequently during such treatment. Of course finding bits of metal in the filter may have more a more sinister portent, which is why they inspect the oil filter on airplanes.

RK Henry

Were they Saturn Dealers? Or Saturn mechanics?

There are some quirks with the Saturns that independent mechanics might not be aware of.

For example, the first sign of a failing alternator can be the symptoms that you describe.

As the alternator diodes fail, they cause strong noise on the electrical system of the car. This confuses the transmission computer.

Also, the engine computer notices that the voltage is low, and tries to increase the idle to get the Voltage up.

I would suggest that you check the alternator and battery. Make sure they're OK.

If not, replace BOTH. You might find that this fixes the problem.

If this fails, take it to someone who is familiar with Saturns.

RK Henry:

Thanks for your response.

My husband went out there, and made sure they were in that order. They were. He detached them and reattched everything. We started the car. Turned on the Air Conditioner, and it died. Any other ideas?

Yes Saturns do burn oil even before 100K miles. I have a Saturn SL2 with 119K miles and it burns over 1 quart per 1,000 miles, no leaking. I was told by a couple of reliable mechanics that if your adding a quart for every 500 miles, then its time or a new engine. I use engine oils made for cars with over 75,000 miles (Quaker State Higher Mileage) and use a product called Restore, which cuts down on your engine burning oil. I think its helping, but these are my suggestions.

Sorry. It worked for me and I was hoping it might be a cheap solution for you.

Before you changed the plugs and wires, did the car run normally? If the car ran ok before and the only change was plugs and wires, I'd first suspect the one thing that had been changed. If you 've checked that out then I don't have any other suggestions.

When I was researching my problem I also ran across a note about a buildup of deposits in the throttle body causing some of those problems. Carbon deposits build up a little ridge behind the throttle valve and the disruption of airflow allegedly makes it act funny at low throttle openings. You take off the air intake and clean it with carburetor cleaner. There was a note about avoiding cleaning products containing methyl ethyl ketone and avoiding getting it on the TPS and IAC, which are plastic. Something else to try if you're desperate, I guess. That could account for stumbling but it doesn't address the A/C killing the engine or the high idle.

One other thing that I'd consider is that an engine that's using a lot of oil may have mechanical problems that could cause performance problems. Worn rings make any engine run badly. Since simply turning on the A/C kills the engine, I doubt it's the transmission. Don't let the "parts changers" run up a big bill for you. Find someone with the tools and the brains to puzzle out the problem and figure out what's wrong before spending big bucks trying to find a solution by process of elimination.

RK Henry

What you said is mostly right but it doesn't use the data in order to not squirt gas at a closed intake valve.......

Use an aerosol can of a good throttle body cleaner (as opposed to carburetor cleaner) as this is what it is intended for and based on my first hand experience does a much better job!

Bob

What brand of spark plugs did your husband use?

This is a long shot, and not to question your husband's ability to change the spark plugs, but:

- Was the gap set properly with the proper tool? - What about the resistance of the plug wires?

Previous threads or a Haynes/Chilton manual will tell you what the gap and wire resistance should be. Many people have mentioned that they have found one of the wires in a new set to be bad. Granted, this doesn't explain the racing, but it could explain the engine misfiring.

Like others have said, unless you have strong evidence that there is another problem, I would work with the plugs and wires since those appear to have precipitated these issues until you're sure you've eliminated those two things as the culprits. Did you purchase some kind of special plugs or wires? Did the mechanic(s) you took the car to check the plugs and wires?

-rj

Shanyeah wrote:

These are good sugestions, but the mechanic changed to a new set of plugs and wires, and this did not fix the problem. The gap in the plug my husband said was set by the NAPA place when he told them the type of car. As far as the oild, it is doing a quart ever 700 miles or so.