SL2 makes terrible noise

Daughter's 2001 SL2 has a serious problem -- engine runs but makes terrible
& loud banging noise. A mechanic listened briefly and said it sounds like
she threw a rod. Took the valve cover off & everything looks good & clean,
plenty of oil. Just 90,000 miles on the car.

She went to the dealership (w/o the car) and a salesperson told her that
with Saturns there could be another cause for this that a mechanic not
experienced with Saturns might not think of...but she didn't catch what it
was he said, other than it might not be as serious as needing a rebuilt
engine. Any idea what he might have been talking about?

 

If I had to guess (which strangers on a message forum probably won't do well
since we haven't seen/heard the car...), I'd say either the timing chain is
on its way out, or a rod bearing is toast. The most common cause of either
is neglecting to check the oil and keep it at the proper level, or change it
at the proper interval.

I had a rod bearing fail prematurely and this is what it sounded like:
http://www.evilplastic.com/sounds/knock.wav

You can see what the guts of the motor looked like which caused this noise
in the projects section of my website.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]