2002 Saturn Runs Hot At Idle Only (AC Worsens It) (gasket, alarm, sedan)
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We have a 2002 Saturn SL1 4 cylinder sedan with about 130,000 miles on it. It works fine except lately it will run hot when you're idling for more than 3-odd minutes or so. It's never gone all the way to "full hot" but it has gone up to 5/8th or 3/4rds a few times when it normally resides just shy of the halfway mark (around 3/8th or so).
I've noticed that if you run the A/C it does it even quicker, perhaps within a single minute or so. I've also noticed recently the A/C making a loud grinding sound or such from underneath the hood, but it still blows cold (except at idle when the car starts getting hot) and cools very well, last year even when it was 100'F and sunny it was still cool in the car (neither of the 2 issues were around then as they are now, but the A/C still gets real cold). Regardless, A/C or not, once you're moving, even at 20 mph or so, the car cools down, and never runs hot.
What could be the cause of the run-hot behavior? Why would the A/C be making that noise yet still cool well, and could there be any link between that & the running hot at idle behavior?
This is normal with Saturns. The fan doesn't kick on until the temperature gauge gets real high. I was alarmed at first, but it seems to be an intentional design. Although for me, turning on the AC causes it to go down.
This is normal with Saturns. The fan doesn't kick on until the temperature gauge gets real high. I was alarmed at first, but it seems to be an intentional design. Although for me, turning on the AC causes it to go down.
That's because the fan comes on automatically when the a/c is on (or at least it's supposed to).
Put it on Max AC and look to see if the fan is spinning and loud. If its not its a problem with the fan itself or the relay for it. A more likely problem is the relay.
To test the relay: find the relay fro the fan and see if any other non-essential items for idling the car use the same relay and swap them. If the fan works normal then, go get a new relay. If not, then its the fan itself.
Edit: I just re-read your post. If its making a grinding sound when the AC is on but it cools fine when moving I would say the fan itslef had a bad motor. You can usually get them pretty cheap a junk yard (sorry, "automaitive recycling center").
Some of these guys touched on the most likely culprit - the AC/Auxiliary Cooling Fan. Kinda sounds like you might have something wedged into it. It could also be a bearing in the fan itself, and it needs to be replaced.
Here's some food for thought for ya Larry, the Saturn 4 banger was prone to head gasket failures. It's only going to get HOT one time and it's gonna be expensive. I would strongly suggest getting the issue fixed and unload the car. Probabilities are extremely high that this next Texas summer will see the head gasket give up. With the over heating fixed right now the car will probably bring a couple of grand. With a blown head gasket, it's a pile of worthless junk that nobody will want. Fix it, unload it, or expect to spend a bunch of money on it this summer. Google
Here's some food for thought for ya Larry, the Saturn 4 banger was prone to head gasket failures. It's only going to get HOT one time and it's gonna be expensive. I would strongly suggest getting the issue fixed and unload the car. Probabilities are extremely high that this next Texas summer will see the head gasket give up. With the over heating fixed right now the car will probably bring a couple of grand. With a blown head gasket, it's a pile of worthless junk that nobody will want. Fix it, unload it, or expect to spend a bunch of money on it this summer. Google
They were no more prone to head gasket problems than any other 4-cylinder with an aluminum head.
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