1997 SL2 rumble problem
 

Greetings! Might someone have some insights for me? They would be much
appreciated!

I’m the original owner of a 1997 Saturn SL2 with about 54K miles on
it. For a number of years I have had a problem with a rumbling sound
under the front of the car, which I’m not sure how to fully describe,
but which makes the car very unpleasant to drive as the sound
continually comes and goes and is quite loud. The car runs very rough
and at 25 mph or below, there is a deep persistent rumble under the
front of the car. It comes and goes based on the tilt of the vehicle,
yet this is not always predictable. It is VERY common and evident
when driving downhill; not as much on the flat or uphill, but it does
occur then as well. I can be coasting on a flat road with my foot on
neither the brake nor the accelerator and it makes the noise. The
steering wheel is not much affected by the rumble; I don't feel
excessive vibration there, or so it seems. The noise appears to have
gotten worse when I got new tires last fall, which might just be
coincidence. At faster speeds the noise diminishes and, on the
highway, the car still runs like a champ -- and I’m thinking the road
noise drowns out the rumble so it only seems like it less?

What else might be helpful for folks to know? I have had oil changes
roughly every 2,500 miles from Day 1 (Aprils and Novembers). I just
had a motor mount replaced (the transmission one if I have that
correct). The one on the top left of the engine was replaced a while
ago and still passes whatever test they use. I’m on my fourth
catalytic converter, this one being an original Saturn ($$$) as the
aftermarkets pooped out after a year each time (I am accustomed to
exhaust system problems in all my prior vehicles due to my low annual
mileage, so this was no big surprise to me.) I've heard something
about Saturn engines getting out of balance over time and, while the
car is safe to drive, at some point the noise will get too annoying
and it’ll be time for a new car? Naively, I keep thinking a car
should function well for more than 54K miles? But perhaps in Saturns
“It’s not the mileage -- it’s the years?” (apologies to Indiana
Jones).

I just thought I’d run this past some Saturn folks to see if there
were some possibilities I wasn't considering in trying to solve this
problem, because, while I would like to keep the car longer, I think
I'm about ready to trade away the noise problem for a new 2011/2012
vehicle. Thanks much!

1997 SL2 rumble problem
 

Well... There is still one more motor mount to check!

Fred
94 SC2

MMoniker wrote:
> Greetings! Might someone have some insights for me? They would be much
> appreciated!
>
> I’m the original owner of a 1997 Saturn SL2 with about 54K miles on
> it. For a number of years I have had a problem with a rumbling sound
> under the front of the car, which I’m not sure how to fully describe,
> but which makes the car very unpleasant to drive as the sound
> continually comes and goes and is quite loud. The car runs very rough
> and at 25 mph or below, there is a deep persistent rumble under the
> front of the car. It comes and goes based on the tilt of the vehicle,
> yet this is not always predictable. It is VERY common and evident
> when driving downhill; not as much on the flat or uphill, but it does
> occur then as well. I can be coasting on a flat road with my foot on
> neither the brake nor the accelerator and it makes the noise. The
> steering wheel is not much affected by the rumble; I don't feel
> excessive vibration there, or so it seems. The noise appears to have
> gotten worse when I got new tires last fall, which might just be
> coincidence. At faster speeds the noise diminishes and, on the
> highway, the car still runs like a champ -- and I’m thinking the road
> noise drowns out the rumble so it only seems like it less?
>
> What else might be helpful for folks to know? I have had oil changes
> roughly every 2,500 miles from Day 1 (Aprils and Novembers). I just
> had a motor mount replaced (the transmission one if I have that
> correct). The one on the top left of the engine was replaced a while
> ago and still passes whatever test they use. I’m on my fourth
> catalytic converter, this one being an original Saturn ($$$) as the
> aftermarkets pooped out after a year each time (I am accustomed to
> exhaust system problems in all my prior vehicles due to my low annual
> mileage, so this was no big surprise to me.) I've heard something
> about Saturn engines getting out of balance over time and, while the
> car is safe to drive, at some point the noise will get too annoying
> and it’ll be time for a new car? Naively, I keep thinking a car
> should function well for more than 54K miles? But perhaps in Saturns
> “It’s not the mileage -- it’s the years?” (apologies to Indiana
> Jones).
>
> I just thought I’d run this past some Saturn folks to see if there
> were some possibilities I wasn't considering in trying to solve this
> problem, because, while I would like to keep the car longer, I think
> I'm about ready to trade away the noise problem for a new 2011/2012
> vehicle. Thanks much!

1997 SL2 rumble problem
 

On Mar 24, 7:01*pm, Fred > wrote:
> Well... *There is still one more motor mount to check!
>
> Fred
> 94 SC2
>
>
I'll need to check this with my mechanic then to make sure he changed
all three and not just the two. (I'm not the mechanic in this
situation!) Thanks!

1997 SL2 rumble problem
 

In article >, MMoniker > wrote:
>
>I'm the original owner of a 1997 Saturn SL2 with about 54K miles on
>it. For a number of years I have had a problem with a rumbling sound
>under the front of the car [...]
>What else might be helpful for folks to know? I have had oil changes
>roughly every 2,500 miles from Day 1 (Aprils and Novembers). I just
>had a motor mount replaced (the transmission one if I have that
>correct). The one on the top left of the engine was replaced a while
>ago and still passes whatever test they use.[...]

There's still one more, at the bottom of the engine. I think that's your
problem.

> I've heard something
>about Saturn engines getting out of balance over time and, while the
>car is safe to drive, at some point the noise will get too annoying
>and it'll be time for a new car?

That's nonsense.

>Naively, I keep thinking a car
>should function well for more than 54K miles?

Nothing naive about that expectation. My 99 SL2 has just short of 130K miles
on it, and my wife's 96 SL2 has about 148K -- and neither one of them has the
problem you describe. Neither one has "gone out of balance" either...

>But perhaps in Saturns
>"It's not the mileage -- it's the years?" (apologies to Indiana
>Jones).

Not quite. With some *components* it's the age, not the mileage, that counts.
This is especially true of anything rubber: the compounds that make rubber
flexible and pliable are volatile, and eventually evaporate, causing the
rubber to become stiff and brittle. The rubber in that last motor mount you
haven't replaced yet is 17 years old.