1995 SL 1 keep or rebuild

[humbojb]

With only 65000 miles on it, we have a nice car with both the interior and exterior in good shape. But with the oil consumption and exhaust problems we're having, it's time to either sell it and buy something else or rebuild the engine. The used car market is awful so can someone tell me the approximate cost of rebuilding the engine?

[C52]

Burning a quart of oil every 400 miles is certainly no reason to rebuild the engine, my Saturn needs a quart every 200 miles or so, Oil is cheaper than major engine work for sure. I suggest Rock Auto, you can buy it in quantity and delivered to your home it is still much cheaper per quart than local flaps prices.
Adjust the quantities in your cart to get the best possible shipping rate, sometimes the addition or subtraction of a single quart can effect the shipping price a lot.

It is possible some of your oil consumption with only 65k miles could be from a leaky valve cover or other leak somewhere.

An exhaust shop where they know what they are doing should be able to find the leak in a small amount of time.

[Waiex191]

How much are you doing yourself? On our '99, machine shop and engine parts cost were $1400 in 2017. Here is my project thread:
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=230898

One of my neighbors had somebody rebuild his SL2 for him, and that was close to $5K. He did nothing but write the check.

On the far end of the spectrum, people have pulled out the pistons, cleaned up the rings & grooves, and drilled drainback holes in the oil control ring groove. Then the parts you are in for are a bunch of gaskets and some bolts. So you are talking maybe a couple hundred. You will likely find the cylinders to be in good shape. Because there are no drainback holes in that oil control ring groove, the oil cokes up and freezes the ring in place.

So I'd say the range depending upon your skills and participation would be from $200 to $5000.

[jasenpeters]

I would say under $5k for sure, and I rebuilt everything, top to bottom.
Engine only, not transmission. (blew a valve at 220k miles)
Machine shops did the valves, deck and and re-bore.
RockAuto all the way, when possible.
I bought and replaced everything else and this forum walked me through it.
OldNuc, kept me honest and on track.

It took me 5mos, from Fall to Spring, but it started up on the first try.

I bought Silvolite Pistons with drain holes. At 220k, it was all worth it.
The experience, the education, and the result....priceless.

But it's a commitment. Have another car to drive and don't rush the job.
Special tools, etc. mandatory. No short-cuts or cheap parts, best quality only.

At 65k miles, (wow, how is that possible?), I would suffer the oil consumption from a cost perspective.
Drive safely and wait until you actually "have" to do major engine work....say at about 200k, maybe longer if you change oil regularly and use higher octane (low ethanol) gas.

Document the oil consumption accurately and post here to see if is actually excessive.
Mine did the same as most Saturns from the era, but tolerable.

What exhaust issues?

[billr]

I'm going to join the "oil is cheap" crowd.