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Help. 2002 Saturn L200 slipping gears
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GrilledCS
New User
Mar 3, 2010, 5:22 PM
Post #1 of 4
(5065 views)
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Help. 2002 Saturn L200 slipping gears
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Hello,
2002 Saturn L200 automatic 4 cyl. 2.5l app. 110,000 miles
On Monday, driving to work, I noticed my car was slipping gears and when I would push on the gas at around 50MPH I would have to floor it to get up to 60MPH. I pulled off and went to the same repair shop I've been using for years.
I was told that I needed a new catalytic converter because mine was clogged. So, I got the new cat converter and new 02 sensors. ($1000). The next day (yesterday) the car isn't driving very well thudding when I put it into drive and still slipping gears. Then my battery and check engine light come on. I go back to the repair shop. My serpentine belt had broken and some wires were damaged as well The shop replaced the serpentine belt, pulley, etc and wires free of charge. But the car is still slamming into drive and slipping gears. The mechanic checked my transmission fluid and it wasn't too dirty. Also, he didn't get any codes for the transmission on the code reader, but the check engine light won't go off. At this point, the shop was closing for the day and I was told to try back with them at my next availability.
I've used this shop for some time and believe them to be honest and they've been cooperative about helping me. I asked them if they were sure it was the catalytic converter initially and they said it was because they had checked the exhaust flow. The garage doesn't seem to know what the problem is.
How can a catalytic converter, a serpentine belt and (possibly, let's hope not) a transmission all go south on the very same day?
From doing my own research (and I'm not a mechanic, even in the driveway sense), I'm wondering if the real culprit is the throttle position sensor (TPS). Anyway, anyone who can lend some insight, it would be appreciated.
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Mar 3, 2010, 9:07 PM
Post #2 of 4
(5056 views)
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Re: Help. 2002 Saturn L200 slipping gears
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Some things are easier than others to nail down online..... This problem is tough with out being able to drive it.
As far as the problems, it sounds like they had slowly be going out for a while and are starting to fail now.... The belt breaking had probably be cracking for a while before breaking. Converters are the same, unless you have a severe drivability problem, it takes a little while to take them out.
Sounds like you have a good shop for most of you needs but some shops don't cover every area. If they don't do tranny work you may want to take it to a tranny shop and get a second opinion. From what you posted, it sounds like you may have a tranny problem & mechanical problems won't show up on a scanner but I can't drive this car so I don't want to start 2nd guessing your tech.....
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GrilledCS
New User
Mar 3, 2010, 11:13 PM
Post #3 of 4
(5054 views)
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Re: Help. 2002 Saturn L200 slipping gears
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Thank you very much for your reply.
You're correct on the serpentine belt. I'd gone to the same shop regarding a squealing only four months ago. As I mentioned, my impression is that this shop is sympathetic to its customers. They told me in September that they were going to replace the serpentine belt, the pulley, and the tensioner. When they told me the price, I guess they noticed that I winced at the cost.
From there, I think they said to themselves "This guy's a regular customer. Let's try and help him out". The mechanic then re-emerged from the garage and said, basically, "From what I can tell, you just need the tensioner." So, they replaced that.
The squealing recently returned. Because I'd just replaced the tensioner, I chalked it up to wet winter conditions. I then started noticing a difference in power. The car just didn't feel right. So, I said to myself, "Okay. I'll have it checked it when I get a chance." The car was not slamming into drive or slipping gears at that point, which was only a few days ago.
Since all of these things are going wrong within 36 hours, I have to conclude that they're all somehow related. It's simply too unlikely that a serpentine belt would break, the catalytic converter would get clogged, and the transmission would start having problems all in less than 36 hours.
Since I now know that the first problem was the serpentine belt, I'm led to believe that this was somehow the major culprit regarding the other problems. Since wires were damaged by the serpentine belt, I'm thinking that other components may have been harmed by the serpentine belt failure. I've read that parts of the serpentine belt can fly off and cause engine damage before the belt actually breaks.
I'm currently driving the car. Between gears, it now drives beautifully. Also, the transmission doesn't slam when I put it into reverse. It only slams when I put it into drive. If I ensure that I'm at a full stop and gently shift into drive, it won't slam at all. But it still slips gears, except when I'm in (I believe) fifth gear and going over 45 or 50 mph. Then it drives smoothly.
I asked my garage how they determined that the catalytic converter failed, and they told me immediately and sincerely that they checked the exhaust flow. However, I don't think that anyone ever actually eye-balled the cat converter itself. Also, I don't think the check engine light came on when I was having the acceleration problems that caused me to go to the garage, but it might have without me noticing it. (Nonetheless, I've learned not to have great faith in "check engine" lights)
I'm not a mechanic, but I'm trying to be logical about the whole thing.
Whatcha think?
(This post was edited by GrilledCS on Mar 3, 2010, 11:23 PM)
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nickwarner
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Mar 4, 2010, 10:15 PM
Post #4 of 4
(5041 views)
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Re: Help. 2002 Saturn L200 slipping gears
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first off, thank you for trying to look at this problem informed and not blame the last guy who worked on your car. You are rare in this world and us mechanics appreciate you. It does seem unusual that all these items happened in a very short time, but you haven't had reason to doubt this shop before. Honestly, an exhaust flow test is more accurate than an eyeball at a cat any day. If you had replaced the tensioner, belt and idler pulley together you could've saved the belt snapping and taking out wires. I don't replace the tensioner and leave the old belt behind. Just asking for trouble, which you now see. It came back to haunt you. I wouldn't consider this anything more than a coincidence for the timing that it chose to fail. It was bound to happen. Also, this is an 8 year old car that in my opinion was poorly designed and not made to do more than sell for cheap and barely outlast the warranty. To have a transmission on the way out is not a surprise in the least, and neither is your clogged cat. If anything, the cat neutered your engine for a while, gradually, to not make enough power to show the flaws in your transmission. Now that its fixed, all the problems are made apparent. They may seem to happen all at once, but are not related. Best of luck to you in your repairs. I would do as suggested, and have a shop specializing in transmissions look it over.
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