Rust Bucket headaches (Now Fixed)

[campfire]

Dude, you got that packed to the gills. My mother-in-law had a Saturn wagon. Seem to remember it being a bit longer in the back - did they have a couple of diff sizes?

Yeah, I stopped packing stuff in the back because I was getting concerned about the weight distribution. With all the weight in the back, it was downright squirrely on loose gravel. And start/stop times were impacted as well. Too much heavy metal stuff, but I had a load of parts & tools to haul, and I wasn't about to leave 'em behind unless I absolutely had to.

The door sticker lists GVWR as 3260lbs, with 864lb carrying capacity (counting the 5 passengers, if I read it correctly ). I didn't get the car across the scale, but I'm pretty confident I had more than 864lbs cargo. Not counting my family of 3.

 

[campfire]

My mother-in-law had a Saturn wagon. Seem to remember it being a bit longer in the back - did they have a couple of diff sizes?

There was only one size of S-series wagon (though they did sell 2 different "models" depending on whether the car had the SOHC engine or DOHC engine). My SW1 wagon is exactly the same chassis as an SL1 sedan (and I have one of those, too), only the rear windshield-area sheet metal changed. You can see the sedan curve along the top of the rear doors. I kinda wish they would have produced a new design for the back seat mount (instead of keeping the sedan-style seat), but I do understand their commitment to simplicity and cost effectiveness. The 2-door SC1/SC2 model is also the same chassis, though most of the body panels have been stretched to give the car a different shape. The previous generation of Saturns had different styling but was not noticeably different size-wise.

After 2002, the S-series was discontinued, and Saturn briefly produced the L-series. These cars were larger in all dimensions, and may have been what your MIL had. These are more typical GM cars (2.2L or 3.0L V6) and do not have the gas-mileage cult following that the S-series has (25MPG instead of 40MPG).

 

[Justin V]

I saw MIL and thought Malfunction Indicator Lamp...

Had to think for a sec...

 

[Justin V]

Kinda the same thing right?

 

[campfire]

I saw MIL and thought Malfunction Indicator Lamp...

Had to think for a sec...

Kinda the same thing right?

It sure can be that way.

Hopefully it's not always like that, though.

 

[campfire]

For @GWeakland620. I'm changing bearings and I snapped this picture of my rusty old hardware snuggling with the shiny subframe. I call it "North meets South."

 

[GWeakland620]

The South will rise again!

 

[ktmoutfront]

The South will rise again!

That was the first thing I thought.



But then I had to go to my safe place.

 

[campfire]

The South will rise again!

That was the first thing I thought.



But then I had to go to my safe place.