How Saturnalia helped us save $900

[JJ_Saturn]

My girlfriend and I have been using the info on this forum to help troubleshoot any problems with her '98 SL2 for some time. Recently, it's been going through a phase of needing some new parts, which is not all that surprising given the age of the car. When we took it back to a local shop after they replaced the tensioner pulley and belt a new problem arose--choking and stalling out. They wanted $1000 to fix it and said it was the fuel pump, which I was pretty sure it wasn't. That repair estimate was enough of a kick to get us back looking at this forum and resolving to do the work ourselves. I can go into the details at some other time, but the fix was a simple fuel filter replacement with an OEM part. It took a week to get, but who cares, as after spending a mere hour on my Sunday morning to replace it I had the car running tip-top again. The "check engine" light now off, and the revs back up.

I wasn't always a fan of the Saturns, but the plastic body panels were a smart idea for a climate like up here in Minnesota as they don't rust, among other things. The car keeps plugging away and runs great with keeping up on the maintenance.

I thought the long time members would like to know that a site like this is very important to the "weekend mechanic" who doesn't have a grand to drop every time something goes wrong with the car. Thanks for your help and keep up the good work.