Driving a 2000 Saturn L200 5 spd for a bit

[MetroMPG]

Are you going to have it next week too? Now that you've got your horrible baseline, it'd be nice to see what you can do with a tiny bit of effort.

[Daox]

Yeah, I might have it for most of next week too. It sounds like there is a stuck lifter that needs fixing, possibly a shot belt tensioner. Also, the starter isn't retracting like it should so that is going to have to come apart and be lubed up. And, I need to check the driveshaft seals as well. I think they were leaking when I looked at it last.

[spacemanspif]

I didn't think the L-series did that well on gas considering the bigger engine (ecotec?). Are you sure it's not reading high due to being calibrated for the Poncho? Has the friend ever mentioned what MPG he usually gets; if he tracks it at all? If they get that good of MPG I need to expand my search from just a manual S-series wagon to maybe a L-series wagon as well...

[Daox]

I'm really not sure. That is what the SG is reading on me. It is not calibrated. Both the Sunfire and the L200 have a 2.2L. The L200 does have an ecotec.

The friend hasn't mentioned mileage. I don't think he tracks it.

[Daox]

I started the work on the A/C system this weekend. There was a leaking A/C line that needed fixing. The new lines are $80 and the owner didn't want to spend money on the fix, so we're going for a JB weld fix! Here are some pictures.

Here is the line still bolted down to the car.





Here is the p-clamp. It has yellow/green corrosion on it.





I cleaned up the line. You can see the pitting from all the corrosion. The hole is on the bottom, so you can't see it.





And here we have the JB weld repair job.





This afternoon I think I'll go pickup the vacuum pump from the autoparts store. I'll pull a vacuum and see if it holds.

[Daox]

I pumped it down last night... and it seems there is still a leak... in both sides. I also found out that hole was on the hot side, so I'm not sure the JB weld would even hold up to the abuse it would see.

Here is the pump I used. It is a rental from autozone.





Here we have it all hooked up. I pumped it down for about 20 minutes. I didn't bother putting in new vacuum pump oil because this was just a leak test. I figured that is okay.





The pump ran probably 25 minutes. It doesn't look like it in the pic, but the needles on both gauges were pinned at their lowest setting for at least 15 minutes.





And, here we have a picture of the gauges roughly 15 minutes after closing the manifold valves and shutting off the pump. The cold side has a fairly substantial leak, and the hot side is also leaking.

[spacemanspif]

Just delete the A/C it's nothing but dead weight up there anyway lol. Have you had to fill the tank yet to compare mileage with the scangauge?

[Daox]

Nah, I've only driven it a few times. After I started on the A/C I stopped driving it.

If it were mine I'd just say heck with it, but its not.

[Daox]

Blah, I'm getting nowhere with this car lately, despite putting a bunch of time into it. Last night I buttoned up the A/C system, and reinstalled the air box so its driveable again. I then proceeded to remove the starter to fix what I thought was a sticky starter issue. So, I got it all taken apart, I lubed it up real good and reinstalled it. If it was sticking before, it isn't anymore. But, I still have odd start up noises. It sounds like a diesel for a second or two right when you start up... very odd.

I'll be ordering a new A/C line today, but it'll be a week before that gets here.

Here are the starter pics for those who ever want to rebuild/fix/lube a starter:

Here is the starter. First I removed the long bolts on the sides.





That split the starter up into 3 sections.





I then removed the solenoid and lubed up the slide on it.





That brings us to the gear reduction section. I lubed up the gears and all the sliding surfaces. After that its just reassembly. The brushes were a pain to get back on, but it all went eventually.

[MetroMPG]

Did you drive it to work today? MPG?