Saturn S-Series

The underhood fuses boxes can be difficult to open. A person should press the wedge in at the latch and then pull the lid open.

Check the hydraulic fluid in the clutch master cylinder. It could also be a worn/warped clutch plate or a problem with the cluch hydraulic system.

follow the 2 water hoses off your radiator. one will lead to a housing containing the thermostat. usually has 2-3 bolts.

In the intake duct before the air filter

oil change is quite easy. first you need to raise your vehicle enough so you can get under it. I recommend using Jack stands for support, as jacks can sometimes fail while under load. under the vehicle there will be a large black metal pan with a bolt in the lower portion of it, faceing the rear of the vehicle. this is your oil drain plug. it uses a 14mm socket or wrench to loosen. place a catch pan under the plug and remove the plug slowly. the oil will come out with a bit of force, so position the catch pan accordingly. once the oil has come to a drip, replace the plug and tighten. If you have raised the vehicle high enough you should beable to reach the oil filter from underneith, if not you will have to go through the passanger side wheel well, and will probably have to remove the passanger tire. the oil filter is located on the back of the engine block on the passanger side, just above the drive axle. use of a oil filter band wrench, large pliers or channel locks my be necessary to losen the filter, depending on how tight the seal is. once the filter is off, check to make sure the oil filter seal is still on the oil filter! sometimes the seal will stick to the engine block, and the user will unknowingly install the new filter ontop of the old gasket. make sure the mounting plate is clean of any debris before installing a new oil filter. your most common oil filter will be a Fram PH3614. screw the oil filter on until hand tight, and give 1/4 of a turn to tighten fully. lower the car and remove the oil cap. the engine calls for 4.0 Qts of oil with a filter change. add the oil to the vehicle, replace the oil cap, start the engine and check under the car for any drips or leaks. if all is clear, turn engine off, check the oil dipstick for fullness and your done.

The engine coolant temperature sensor is usually on the front of the engine. The coolant temperature sensor will be in the vicinity of the thermostat housing.

Look at the passenger side firewall Some are accessible under the hood in that area
Some are accessible behind the glove box area inside the car

Only the serpentine belt. That's the one that drives the alternator, power steering, air conditioning... Unlike many other 4 cylinder vehicle manufacturers, the 4 cylinder Saturns did not use a timing belt; they used a timing chain which is INSIDE the engine and receives a constant oil bath while the engine is running. The Saturn timing chains did not typically need to be replaced unless rebuilding the engine.

Under the hood behind the drivers side headlight. It is a box and the cover is taken off by removing the hand screw.

99 percent sure there is NO oil reset procedure for the '97 sc models. If your oil light is on it is bc you are LOW on oil. Add oil immediately

show warning lights and what they mean on 97 Saturn

I am having the same problem, If you let it go you will chew through you clutch quick, that little grind does a lot of damage to the clutch plate i have replaced the clutch after i ran mine to long and also the master and slave cylinder with new parts it did not fix the problem the only thing i can see what is left for me is the shifter linkage. Until you find the problem try and stay out of 5th gear. if you have to go into 5th gear i have found that if you shift into neutral keep the clutch in until the RPM's are just over 1000 and you drop below 40mph then shift it will not grind. its a pain but that little grind once again does alot of damage. I found out the hard way.

For the 1996 Saturn SL1 1.9 liter 4-cylinder, the torque in sequence one is 22 ft/lbs. In step two, torque in sequence to 37 ft/lbs. In step three, turn all the bolts 90 degrees and double check the final torque in the sequence.

I have a 1998 SW2. I know Saturns do th I have a 1998 SW2. I know Saturns do this. The dealer told me what to do when this happens and I have read it a number of places. Just turn the steering wheel hard (sort of jerk it) in one direction and the other several times until it frees up. Always works for me. Doesn't hurt anything.

Lead alloy and zinc plates in a sulfuric acid bath.

Start with 4qts, but be prepared for it to take 4.25.

The Saturn SL, SL1 and SL2 all have spark plug wires. The current advice I have is to replace them one at a time, so that the timing of the engine is not changed. Changing the timing can ruin the engine. But... The wires go through two wiring holding brackets. And that back bracket is hard to get to. The following video gives some good ideas, and some good cautions, and completely fails to tell anyone how to remove those wires. http://www.youtube.com/watch?vGq5hRTjll3E This is also useful, but again, does not completely solve the problem: http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t136307 I want advice on how to get to that last pair of wires. There is a big plastic piece near the radiator.
It is held on by its shape and a small plastic thumbtack shaped 'pin'.
Remove pin with flat bladed screwdriver, remove plastic, and the spark plug wire harness is easy to get to. I am using a 7mm socket.

Sean

To the best of my knowledge, the clutch on this vehicle is hydraulic and does not need to be adjusted manually. If you are having trouble engaging the clutch or shifting you should have your clutch checked to see if it needs to be replaced. I had, what sounds like, the same problem with my clutch. I own a 1995 Saturn SL2 with a hydraulic clutch. I COULD NOT put car into gear, whether the car was running or turned off. It turned out that the hyrdaulic clutch was out of hydraulic fluid. I took it to my mechanic, (I hadn't the slightest clue what could be causing this). He took a look and filled the clutch with hydraulic fluid and said it works just fine now. He said he didn't see a leak, or any indications of a leak. So we will see. But the short of it is, your (hydraulic) clutch may just need hydraulic fluid.

The only way to truly turn it off is to fix the problem. To do that, either purchase a code reader or have a third party pull the code for you.

autozone,advance, and some others will check the trouble codes without a charge. This is a starting point on diagnosis.

On a 1999 SL2 all it takes is the correct Torx end screwdriver. 1) Open the trunk 2) Remove the 2 Torx head screws on the inside edge of the light assembly 3) Carefully lift up the assembly. Note this process is enough to expose the bulbs (which is why I know how to do it), not sure if you meant futher than this.

Other posts have suggested how to manually set the time. In my 2005 Ion 2, I have a button called 'RDS' - Radio Data System. If I can find a radio station which transmits some kind of text (ie the call letters or song name) I can hold the 'RCL' (timeset?) button and push the RDS button. It will attempt to read the time from the data stream and set the clock for you. Otherwise it will say something like 'No RDS time set'. I'm almost sure you need to tune a station with RDS - it won't scan them for you.

Also, you may want to wait a couple of minutes after tuning the station to let the head unit realize there is RDS available.

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The EGR valve is attached directly to the head, on the drivers side.

It's a round device that is bolted to the head. It's relatively simple to remove, just disconnect any wiring (there should be plugs) then remove the bolts.

I have a 96 Saturn SC2, and the seals have gone out, I use a floor mat to cover mine. But.. when you get the chance, try to take the headliner out and check the hoses. There should be drain lines. Make sure they aren't clogged. Oh, also.. check the fuses and what not to see if that is why it isn't working.

Located on the fuel rail drivers side

1. Place the car in Neutral and set the brake.

2. Remove the wire to the Clutch Safety Switch. Hint, use a small screwdriver to press the detente on the connector.

3. Use a small four inch piece of wire, stripped at both ends, and place one end in each of slot of the connector you just took apart. The car side connector, not the switch side. The wire will make a horse shoe bend.

4. Attempt to start the car. Do not forget to press in the clutch all the way in because you have just removed the clutch SAFETY switch from the system!

5. If the car starts, replace the switch with the correct part as soon as possible.

6. If the car does not start, but appears other wise normal. (power windows, lights, horn, etc..) then the starter is most likely bad.