Cracked Cylinder Head on 1994 SL1

My SL1 has a cracked cylinder head at 73,000 miles. The repair will
cost over $2000! This problem occurs often in 1994 - 1996 Saturns and
the warranty was extended by Saturn because of the defect. However, my
car is 10 years old and out of the extended 6 yr. warranty. Has anyone
had Saturn pay for some of these costly repairs even though the car is
out of warranty?

 

Effects the cheaper SOHC engines only, not the Twincams. Stop going to
the dealer for price quotes. They, as in all dealers, always charge at
least twice the amount of a what a reputable shop would. (a new create
motor would be just over 2 grand) If you hit the right repo auction you
can buy a 96 or so SL2 Twincam for less than $2000 with about the same
amount of miles.

 

There are a lot of SOHC heads on eBay as well.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

Here's my experience from a previous post in this ng:

Similar experience, here.
To be more specific (skip to next paragraph if you don't care <grin>): the
coolant low pressure light came on. I checked the coolant reservoir and it
was low. I bought the appropriate coolant (with DEX cool) per the owner's
manual and added about a 2 cup mixture of coolant and water. After about
five days, the coolant low pressure light again came on. I added another 2
cup mixture and scheduled an appointment with my Saturn dealer service
department. They found and fixed a low pressure condition but no oil in
coolant or coolant in oil. Another four or five days and the low coolant
light returned. Scheduled another appointment; this time they found coolant
in the oil. Service Manager and I discussed and decided to do nothing
further, since the recommended engine teardown and fix would likely cost in
excess of $2000, probably not worth my spending for a 64,000 mile-old car.
Finding this and other favorable postings in USENet, I decided to
escalate. Before doing so, I advised the dealer service manager, who
suggested I contact Saturn Customer Service. I did so, and within 24 hours
was phoned by an Area Manager from Spring Hill offering to pay for parts if
I paid for labor to fix the engine. The dealer service department did so,
charging me $1025.49 ($936.00 for labor and the rest for various parts, such
as the torque axis mount, not related to the cylinder head problem and about
which the service manager discussed with me ahead of time). The invoice
shows $960.10 in engine parts for which I was not charged.
While not pleased about having to pay anything to fix an engine problem
that should not have occurred so early in the engine's life, I'm much
happier than if I had to pay 11 times that amount for a new car. The engine
seems to be running very well.

 

My SL1 96 had this problem at 90Kmiles/7yr... total cost: 2200$CAN,
but arguing with the district manager, and showing all service records
from this car got them to pay 75% of the cost of a rebuilt head
(around 475$CAN)...

The car is now running OK, but transformed into an oil drinking
addict... 1 quart/2500Km. Not excessive, but was only 1/2 Quart/5000Km
before.

 

Sure! And don't be surprised if that one has a casting flaw and cracks also!