I Rebuilt The Engine In My Wife's Winter Car In My Back Yard. (02 Saturn SL1 Ep.1)

[@thebearsden1701]

Great ...exact vid I need..have 2002 sc1...5spd...439kms ...still runs awsome....rebuilt front end twice ...but want to freshen next summer..

[@constructdestruct360]

Being a quickie "in car" engine rebuild the block didn't get decked. In general how flat do you find Saturn blocks/cylinder head mating surface to be after say 250km if they haven't had any major overheating issues?

[@differentgarage]

These are awesome little engines, even with some major overheating and high mileage the surfaces stay really flat. I have sent more than a few blocks and heads through a few different machine shops for an inspection, a quick cylinder hone and a valve grind and they have never had to deck a block or skim a head due to flatness. Sometimes there is a bit of pitting on the head surface from the coolant, but a .003 - .005 skim usually cleans that up. Other than that they usually just clean the surfaces for me. The only time I've decked a block or skimmed a head was to increase the compression.

[@ZaneofAustin]

What is the device above the ac compressor? I have a 1998 sl1 130k. It ran great until I parked it (I bought a saturn sky teehee sorry little sl1) Anyway fuel pump rotted out, slapped a new one in (carter) and it runs great now. Fuel filters for these cars are absurdly expensive. But I love this little car, I have a valve cover gasket, but like you said I wish I had just ordered the whole kit now. The real gem. Is that I still have all my side panels and fenders, scuffed, but not broken :D Also driving this car again makes you really miss drive by wire.

[@differentgarage]

That thing on the A/C compressor is the valve and solenoid for the secondary air system, which is only found in the 99 - 02 cars so your 98 won't have them.

[@giberish9]

How was oil consumption before and after? Mine is burning about a qt every 100-200 miles.

[@differentgarage]

This car had a bunch of bad vacuum leaks and was leaking oil out of everywhere possible, but it wasn't burning any more than normal. The rebuild was more or less just a reseal and some piston rings. It was leaking about a qt every 1200 miles and now it either burns or leaks 1/2 a qt every 2500 miles, which is normal.