periodically won't start

we have a 1999 Saturn...75K (new to us)we had the problem of racing engine
when removing foot from gas to shift...
a mechanic (by the dealer we purchased from) replace "the idler
motor"...the problem seemed resolved for a day or so then it started
again...In the mean time periodically it would not start at all..turned
over fine but no start..no fuel odor..nothing...a few minutes later after
several tries it would start...this past week it took 45 mins before it
would start...the dealer then had us take it to another mechanic about the
racing & the won't start problem yesterday...this mechanic put in a new
"coolant sensor" ...we brought the car home and this afternoon my daughter
had a problem starting it in our driveway but it finally started and she
took it into town...
Later she called us as it wouldn't start...My husband & son-in-law went in
and they managed to get it started by pushing it and popping the
clutch...mechanic still has no idea what is wrong...any
suggestions...we're at wits end....

 

I'm certainly no expert, but it looks like you solved your own
problem. It's probably a defect in the mechanism which prevents the
starter from starting the car in gear or without the clutch being
fully depressed (I'm just guessing). I would suggest you take it to a
proper Saturn dealer, they are a good bunch of people and I'm sure
they are familiar with the problem having seen hundreds of saturns.

 

I agree to take it to a Saturn dealer for service, I've had really good
service at the one here (Fredericton, NB). I've had them tell me what they
suspected when I took it in and when I picked it up they weren't to proud to
say it was something completely different.
As far as "without the clutch being fully depressed" I don't think that
would be it. The OP said the car would turn over but it just wouldn't start.
In my 98 SL1 if I don't press the clutch all the way it doesn't turn over at
all. This is because if it did turn over the car would jerk when you hit the
key.
Interesting sidenote, I once saw a guy in an older pickup run out of gas
less than a block from a gas station. The attendant wouldn't lend him a gas
jug to take to his truck that was in view of the station so he went back to
his truck and proceeded to drive it to the station on starter power. It was
slow but interesting to watch. He was so mad at the attendant that he only
put two dollars worth of gas in and drove another block down the street to
another station to finish filling up his truck.

 

Actually what I meant was something electrical rather than
mechanical. Whatever device senses the clutch has not been properly
depressed might be faulty, maybe even the ignition switch that does
the gas cutoff when the car thinks it's being stolen is faulty (he
might just try wiggling the key a bit). Like I say, I'm no expert, but
it seems to me that it is one of those hard to deal with intermittant
electrical problems. My mechanical expertise ended when I sold my last
Volkswagon Beetle (1974 superbeetle) in 1989. With those cars, if
something didn't work right, you hit it with a hammer and it worked
for another 30,000 miles If you had a wireing problem you just
broke out your roll of speaker wire and wired around the problem.
These new fangled Saturns are a bit of a mystery to me

I hope he got his starter replaced at that second gas station.

 

Isn't that something that should be avoided? Bad for the catalytic
converter or something....