Possible Head Gasket?

The SL1s are known for having the heads crack. So, my GUESS is that you have a cracked head.

If you are a do it yourselfer, take off the head and take a look..if it is the gasket you will see it on the gasket itself! if it is not to bad then go out and invest to have it checked and get a gasket set. if not then junk it.. it does not hurt to look...

I was going to junk one of my cars but then for 90 bucks and a day later I was on the freeway with a new head gasket!

Fred

Oh man, GET the Chiltons before you try this! It's NOT hard, but it's NOT an evening job. The thing is, you have to pop the front cover off, at least on the two hamster Saturns. I think so on the one hamster ones too.

The single hamster model looks like there's more room under the hood, esp if you don't have A/C. Despite the dire warnings about getting the chain on right, it's not that hard either. Just plan and think before you act, and you're OK.

If you've got an air ratchet that can get up into tight spots, it's a breeze. The hardest part is getting that $%^&%$& front cover off. honest. The rest is easy bolt off this, move that out of the way, etc.

Oh yeah, while you're in there, if you've got a good # of miles on the car, check out the chain tensioners and chain. They're easy to replace while the motor's opened up.

If you're lucky, the head's ok. If not, it's junk. You're call on if it's worth replacing. But if you can DIY, it's not that much $$$ to do the head gasket.

Actually, your car's engine probably has a cracked head. Yours personally is probably fine.