96 SL2 Maintenance Question

I have a low mileage 96 Saturn SL2 (23,000 miles). The belt(s) and hoses
have never been replaced. I recently read a "Click and Clack" column about
low mileage cars and they suggested that belts and hoses are some of the
items on low mileage that need to be replaced due to possible ozone damage.
Anybody agree, disagree? Any ideas of how much replacing the timing belt
would cost if I brought the car in? Thanks.

 

I've got an '96 SL with 140K miles on it and it still has all the
original hoses. This car has spent its whole life in the extreme heat
of the Arizona desert. Don't waste your money, just inspect them
regularly. The original hoses seem to be very high quality.

The Saturn does not have a timing belt, it has a chain that does not
need replacement. The only belt is the serpentine belt that drives
the water pump, alternator, A/C, etc. I replaced it at 100K, although
it looked fine.

 

imho,

Having had a 96 Saturn, and now a 97 Saturn, I would only replace
items like belts and hoses as they need it. Meaning when I've
identified a problem, like worn parts, or soft spots on the hoses.

Just what I do...

later,

tom @ www.BlankHelp.com

 

While it is true that it has a chain, they can indeed wear out and/or
have tensioners go bad and if it does it is a interferance engine and
you will have a very bad day when it fails. No proble with one at 23K
but with 140K, I would at least inspect it soon.

 

True, I didn't mean the chain would last forever, just a lot longer
than a belt. Thats one of the reasons I chose the Saturn over Toyota
or Nissan.

I'm at a quandry now on the '96 coming up on 150K. The car is worth
maybe a grand and a half at best, even though it runs great. I
wonder if I should just keed doing my oil changes and nothing else
until something major lets go, and then scrap it.

If I spend a hundred here and a few hundred there for things like
timing chain inspection, I wonder if the extra miles it may get me
would be worth it. If my luck holds out, I may get 200K without any
expense other than basic maint.

.. At this point, I'm not going to do any major work myself. I'll
change a radiator, water pump, or alternator, but not a clutch or
timing chain.

With what shops charge for work and parts now, I could see a repair
costing half the value of the car, and with no guarentee something
else won't let go soon after that.

Damn, and they don't make new ones like this
anymore.......................................

 

Some of those older Saturns are really tuff cookies and 200K is
nothing on them. If it runs welll I would keep maintainance up and
change tranny every 30K (now if never done) and change engine oil
every 3K or less now too. It is no hard to pull upper cover to see if
chain is still in good shape. ALso for what it is worth, I got 190K
out of the original timing belt on a toyota once and it did not break
either and would ahve gone a bit longer and timing belts generally are
a lot easiier and cheaper to change too. Gear drive cam shaft is the
best if you can find them but not in a OHC engine.