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.