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