Even the wife can't kill it....

[renegade_xs11g]

The Saturn, that is....
this car is impressive to say the least, its a 94 Saturn SC1 with the 1.9l SOHC and the auto trans with a pref/norm on the trans
gets 30 MPH, didn't burn very much oil
the odo reads 211,000, we bought it with 125,000, about 18 months ago

This car, which should be known as HERBIE, is my wife's,
meaning I don't drive it,
but appearently this doesn't absolve me of checking the oil even tho I am a truck driver and I'm not home, at least not much
anyway, it quit about 1 1/2 weeks before Christmas
the motor had been run dry on oil, seized it, we burned up the starter just after getting it to roll over
put a new starter in it, $175 cringed as I installed it in the seized motor, It had set back up since we freed it up

Save the details, I almost gave up....then it freed up enuf to turn without the plugs,
stuck them back in, and WELL started.....smoke finnally clear after running for about 10 min,

been 2 weeks now, still running strong, doesn't smoke except for a min or two the first time after sitting over night
doesn't knock, no ping, tick, not even a hiccup,

Now, before anyone starts, I am looking for another car for her, but I'm feeling pretty lucky at the moment

[DGXSER]

Wow, that is pretty impressive. I once had a Honda Civic Wagon with the CVCC engine. I later learned those engines were notorious for bad valve seals. Mine turned into bad rings as well. Called it my bond mobile due to the smoke screen on start up.

Well, one day I was drivin back home when the oil light came on. This was back in the days when you had to have a credit card to write a check, and I did not have a credit card. ATM cards only worked at your bank then as well. As you might have figured out, I was strapped out of cash, so I tried to make it 30 miles home. Made it 10 when the engine sounded like a diesel hammering and then, bang, and it died. Pulled off the highway and found it threw a rod through the block and what oil was left was burning inside the engine. The fire department showed up to put the engine out. towed it home. Sold it for $100 IIRC. Of course it only cost me $5 to start with, but thats another story. So don't be to hard on her. Even those of us that know better get caught sometimes.

[trbig]

gets 30 MPH

Just a touch faster than the old mopeds.. pretty impressive!

Even more impressive to get 86,000 miles on one in 18 months at that speed!

Typos are so much fun...

Tod

[prometheus578]

The engine in my older brother's '88 Thunderbird finally seized... a year and a half after he had run it out of oil. It ran pretty quiet during that time, but I knew that it's days were limited.

[trbig]

... a year and a half after he had run it out of oil.

It ran a year and a half with no oil?? I'm callin' BS on that one! lol.

Yeah I realize that isn't what you meant... but that's what it looks like!


Tod

[DGXSER]

I was also wondering how the thing ran so quiet with no oil in it!

[hamjam]

very loud stereo

[Montreux_Blue]

The engine in my older brother's '88 Thunderbird finally seized... a year and a half after he had run it out of oil. It ran pretty quiet during that time, but I knew that it's days were limited.

It was the first Slick 50 test vehicle!

[CatatonicBug]

Called it my bond mobile due to the smoke screen on start up.

When I was born, my mom had a '77 Honda CVCC wagon, and by the time I started to remember stuff, I can remember that it always had a huge smoke cloud every morning when we left to go anywhere. Now that I think about it, I'm suprised my dad let it get that bad...

[DGXSER]

Well Catatonic, mine had some help getting that way.

I owned it six weeks when a guy pulled out in front of me in a Citation and I t-boned him, his fault, his insurance totaled the car, I bought it back for $400. They were giving me $395 more than I paid for it, a $5 car. Shortly after I hit a turn way to quick, slid off the road and rolled the car onto its roof. It continued to run upside down, had to turn it off with the key. It was carburated. Also took it off roading quite a bit, abused the crap out of that car. So the end result was not to surprising.

[renegade_xs11g]

Well, ODO now reads 217k still going!!!!!!!

AND, for anyone that doesn't think clean electrical connections aren't important,
I thought that new starter that I'd put in was failing, so I yanked it.
Ran it to AutoZone where I'd bought it, tested good! 5 times!!!
I protested, knowing the caliber of kids working at the local AZ,
that's why it was tested 5 times.....
back under the damn car I looked at the battery cable, very little corrosion...
VERY LITTLE,
still wire brushed them, might know it, now it's working great

[Montreux_Blue]

Well, ODO now reads 217k still going!!!!!!!

AND, for anyone that doesn't think clean electrical connections aren't important,
I thought that new starter that I'd put in was failing, so I yanked it.
Ran it to AutoZone where I'd bought it, tested good! 5 times!!!
I protested, knowing the caliber of kids working at the local AZ,
that's why it was tested 5 times.....
back under the damn car I looked at the battery cable, very little corrosion...
VERY LITTLE,
still wire brushed them, might know it, now it's working great

I thought I had a bad starter once. Took it off and had them test it, tested good. Put it back on and it worked, for about 5 more cranks!

[renegade_xs11g]

Montreux: been there, more times than I'd care to admit,
also: bad new parts
enuf' to drive a reformed drinker off the darn wagon