im thinking about buying a 96 sc2..comments good or bad ?

neilh · 09-27-2005, 06:20 AM

the SC2 reminds me of my baby: a blue 93 Ford Probe with a DOHC 2.0 motor, 4EAT auto trans.... i have sweated hours of labor on fixing up that car... now it rides better than new...i put on new lowering springs all the way around and new gas tokico struts..that modification made a tremendous difference in the ride quality and hi speed cornering control...the body needs some repair cause i sideswiped a guardrail but the body was mint till the accident..anyways how reliable is the SC2? only thing i am a little bit concerned about is 122000 miles on the original auto. trans.... the trans seems ok... fluid looks good and no burnt smell but there was some air bubbles in the fluid on the dipstick, it may have been overfilled.... how many miles can be expected on the original auto trans? i dont know too much aboutwhat maintenance it has had done to it..also does the DOHC motor use a timing belt or a chain? my Probe has a timing belt that needs replaced every 60k miles... how about the Sc2?

PurdueGuy · 09-27-2005, 03:39 PM

The trannys last according to how they are treated. There are a number of them around with 300k+, but there are also plenty of stories of them not reaching 100K, usually because of abuse. Take care of it, and it should be fine. Also, if you get to wanting a manual tranny later, it's a relatively simple swap job from what I understand, and will look right when done.

The Saturn engine (SOHC or DOHC) is an interferance engine, so questioning the timing belt/chain is good - if it goes, the engine gets smashed up pretty badly. They use a chain, which is usually good for 150k+ easily, often much longer.

blackeagle · 09-27-2005, 05:02 PM

Oil consumption can be an issue for a Saturn of that age and miles. It is fairly common, if not typical, to use 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles or less. If you don't know the service history of the car, I would be very cautious. I bought both of mine used and the 1995 SL2 started out using 1 quart per 700 miles. After some piston soaks and oil treatments the consumption has improved to 1 quart per 1500 miles. The 1997 SC2 I bought started out using 1 quart per 100 miles and nothing I have done so far has helped. I will soon be taking the engine apart and replacing the rings and valve seals.

neilh · 09-29-2005, 09:20 AM

that was one of the questions i asked the previous owner...he said the car didnt use any oil between changes...we will see..my Probe with over 115k miles uses 1/4 of a quart every 3000 miles but that engine was very well maintained with oil changes at least every 3000 miles freeway driving or city driving..that is the key to longevity on a well designed engine or auto trans: how good was the maintenance on the car.....now those Ford Probe auto trannies are not real reliable... both the 4EAT and the CD4E are both prone to failures before 100k..(actually most of the car is built using Mazda parts)...my Probe auto. trans was rebuilt at 90k by the previous owner...the Probe 2.0 and the 2.5 motors both of them are excellent in their design..all Mazda built, the 2.0 is the DOHC ..the V6 im not that familiar with it ... Mazda builds excellent engines but are not so good on their auto trannies..alot of guys at probetalk.com have done the ATX to MTX conversion ..5 speeds are more fun to drive no doubt about that..i did buy the SC2 by the way ....great looking body... runs real strong...smoother idle than my Probe motor...does the SC2 1.9 DOHC use balance shafts? i know a lot of manufacturers use them to smooth out vibrations inherent in a 4 cylinder engine...Mazda doesnt use them

PurdueGuy · 09-29-2005, 04:13 PM

The weight of the crankshaft pulley has something to do with balancing, not sure about shafts...

neilh · 09-30-2005, 08:10 AM

yeah ive seen quite a few 4 bangers using two balance shafts... one on each side of the motor...one is usually at the top left of the block and the second one is at the bottom rite side of the block... their only purpose is to smooth engine vibrations ...they are usually chain driven with a gear pressed on the end of the shaft and they have to be aligned like a timing chain or belt because there is a balancing lobe on each shaft

PurdueGuy · 09-30-2005, 03:01 PM

Ah - I don't think the saturn engine has that.