Open the hood, look down. The engine is on the passenger side, the transmission (trans-axle) is on the drivers side.
The starter on a 2000 Saturn SL is located on the bottom, left side of the engine. It is powered directly by the vehicle's battery.
It's called a "maintenance free" transmission. No dipstick.
An alternator in a 2000 model year Saturn LS1 is located in the engine compartment. It is on the lower left of the passenger side of the car.
The Saturn L series transaxle is in front of the driver, connected to the engine.
There is no vacuum canister on this vehicle.
It is located inside of the gas tank.
under the battery tray
Inside the fuel tank.
My Saturn isn't neccesarily noisy but i can hear it chugging a long saturns don't accelerate very well unfortunately. but they get the job done
If you are talking about the engine pcm, is located on top of the engine on the driver side.
The transmission shift solenoid on a 2000 Saturn 2L is located inside the transmission. It is typically located on the valve body, which is inside the transmission case. To access and replace the shift solenoid, the transmission will likely need to be partially disassembled.
Going from a manual to an automatic is not that hard but going from automatic to manual is a not easy. This will be a very expensive conversion unless you buy a donor car to get parts from. From my experience I suggest if you want a Saturn with a manual transmission then sell the one you have and go buy one with a manual. You will be money ahead.