I'm going to install new engine and transmission mounts on my 1995 SL1. I'm thinking of buying the kit from The Parts Geek. But I want to make sure I get the best quality. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim

 

Only ever used AC Delco OEM replacement mount parts on my Satty; that was the de facto standard for upper torque axis mounts on an S car.

Stay away from anything mega cheap, like Anchor.

What's the driving force behind replacement, and why all at once?

If you have bad vibes at idle and near idle, the top mount is at fault.
The tranny mount will eventually stop isolating vibrations but it is just a slab of rubber

GM stopped making the upper mounts -- which by far do the most dampening.-- almost no one used aftermarket back in the day because they were cheaply made and isolated nothing.

Have you done the pencil test on the upper mount in your ride?
If you can freely fit a #2 pencil between the rubber and the top metal part, the mount is worn out.
Even worn OEM mounts are sometimes better than New aftermarket mounts.

Start with the upper torque axis mount.

It is recommended that you replace the mounting studs when you replace the upper mount, as the vibrations can damage the threads just enough to allow a bit of play betw the mount and the engine.

Saturn changed designs on the upper torque axis mount several times throughout the life of the S series.
Visually match yours up to pictures on the web to figure out if yours is a 1st design or 2nd design. I believe the 2nd design were better at vibration isolation.

The reason I am mentioning this is that when the mont design changed, so did the mounting studs

A 1st design upper mount will only attach properly with studs made for the 1st design mount
A 2nd design mount will only attach properly with upper mount studs made for the 2nd gen mount

Rockauto tends to have pretty decent quality stuff, although their low end $ parts for Sattys are descending into crap as the major aftermarket parts companies have stopped making a whole bunch of stuff and the riff raff are filling the void. Higher priced rock auto stuff is prob your best bet in general for Saturn S car stuff, but their shipping costs are a bit crazy unless you order a bunch of stuff at once

Please stop back and let us know what you decided on and how it worked out.

 

Thanks for the info, Derf. But now I have a bigger problem. The seats in my 95 SL 1 sedan were awful. The wings on the back hit in the middle of the shoulder blade and on the bottom, the wings hit in the middle of the leg. I'm not a big guy, 5'9" and 175 pounds but I just can't ride in the darn thing. So I took it to an upholstery shop and they made it 100 times worse. These seats are 19" wide and that's just too narrow. We're at the point of just selling the car. Please give me some advice. I really like the car and with the low mileage etc. it's really worth keeping. Did Saturn redesign the seats in later models? If so, what years should I look for? Thanks for your help.
Jim

 

I honestly don't know.

There are many aftermarket seats made that fit the S Series -- most are variations on racing seats. They tend to be wider in the shoulders but also have deeper side bolster support for keeping you in place while you're pegging the speed limiter

 

Spent an hour at my local pull a part and while I didn't find the tan seats I need, I did find some useful information. The bolt pattern for the seats is the same from 1995 through 2002 for all s series Saturns. However, there is a significant difference between 1995 seats and 1997 and on seats. The 1995 seats are 19" wide, whereas all the later ones are 21" wide. I'm not sure about the 1996 model since I couldn't find any from that particular year. As a result the difference between 1995 seats and later years is like black and white. The extra 2" of width makes a huge improvement. I sat in 1997 seats, 1999 seats, 2002 seats, and they were all fine, whether they came from an SL 1 or an SL 2. The SL 2 seats did have the **** that adjusts the seat bottom height which is very nice. As a result, I'm looking for a donor car from 1997 to 2002 with tan seats. When I find one, I'll probably swap out the whole interior.
'

 

Funny -- I have/had a 95 SC2 and a 97 SC2; I never consciously noticed the difference --but I always felt more snugly positioned behind the wheel in the 95.

96 was a transition year for alot of things; it was OBDII but still had the 1st gen coupe body styling

 

Keep in mind the "whole interior" probably won't interchange. Seats? Maybe. Door panels, headliner, dashboard, pillar trim moldings? Doubtful. If you plan on changing all of that stuff, I suggest you try to see if it'll fit another one like yours while in the junkyard. Just a suggestion.

 

Have located a 1999 donor car. Will look at it in a few days.
In the meantime, the original reason for this post was engine and tranny mounts. So, at idle and even when running at speed, I feel a vibration throughout the whole car. It's almost like a buzzing feel. After a while, it reminds me of driving an old Honda motorcycle. Your hands get numb sort of. Which mount would that be? And I looked for GM parts and couldn't find a supplier. Anyone have a link to a GM OEM supplier for Saturn parts?
Thanks
JIm

 

S car generations (for interior swap purposes)

1st gen S Sedans - 1991 - 1995
2nd gen S sedans - 1996 - 1999
3rd gen S sedans - 2000 - 2002

1st gen S coupes - 1991 - 1996
2nd Gen S coupes 1997 - 1999 ( I say 1998, others say 2000)
3rd Gen Coupes 2000 - 2002

A lot of the mechanical interior stuff is identical between the SLx and SCx cars -- that is why I included the coupe list.
Ideally you want a 94 or 95 SLx vehicle. My first Saturn was a 92SL2; haven't seen one in many years; same with the 93SLx
The truly easiest way to figure out what will swap is using a parts site like gmpartsdirect,co ( no m ) or gmpartsgiant.com. RockAuto.com used to be awesome for OEM Saturn info, but since most of the parts are D/C they are no longer listed there.
Anyway --look up the part and check fitment details.

Vibration:

A full-time vibration? That strong? Are you sure it's not a rumbling exhaust leak or part of the exhaust is loose?
Do you have any SES codes -- is the SES on--do you know the paperclip method to read the codes through the dash?

My intuition says your upper torque axis mount is trashed to the point there is no isolation whatsoever.

1) Inspect the upper mount for tears in the rubber or the rubber separating from the rest of the mount
Do NOT try to tighten down the bolts on the mounting studs. The torque spec is in the 20s or 30s and they do and WILL twist right off. Even if you have a stud extractor, you better pray that there is enough to grab onto.
Take a #2 pencil and try to insert it between the upper metal and the top of the rubber If it fits, the mount is gone.

I have never used anything but OEM GM mounts and there are none of those to be had ever again.
Scout s cars in junkyards and do the pencil test.
If you DO take the mount, TAKE THE STUDS, STUD NUTS, and the MOUNT to FRAME bolts. Different designs have different length studs and they do not interchange

As for aftermarket upper mounts, I assume you get what you pay for, so stay away from the cheap shayt.
Do NOT get prothane mounts unless you want to feel every vibe--very stiff


2) Tranny Mount
Replacing this requires removing the upper torque axis mount and I believe majorly loosening the other 2 engine mounts (if you take the lower torque axis mount completely off, then nothing is supporting that side of the engine. If you take the top dogbone on the driver's side off, then there is nothing controlling engine movement on driver's side.

Basically, you take a plywood BAORD the size of the bottom of the engine pan -- NOT a few 2x4s -- and put it between the jack and the oil pan.
The goal is to get the engine JUST high enough that you can pull out the old tranny mount and slap the new one in. It is PITA because I think the mounting is retained in the mount and cannot be removed, so although the mount is thin, you have to get the f n bolt through the gap you create. Do not over stress your partially connected mounts by jacking and jacking higher--you will damage them or the mounting holes in the block.

3) Inspect Lower Torque Axis mount on passenger's side.
This is a dogbone mount on a bracket so to speak. look for partially or completely torn or worn out loose rubber -- or rock hard rubber. This is a weight-bearing mount.

4) Inspect positioning dogbone mount top driver's side near the firewall
I've never touched this one -- it bears no weight so I surmise by the laws of physics that any vibration transmitted would come from large movements of high mass objects whose weight is supported by the mount.

Ok I've been up for almost 36 hours with only a few naps.

gnite

No idea how I can train of thought this stuff while brain dead. It keeps coming, I keep typing.......

 

I've looked at the mount that is part # 21012185, I guess it's called the upper engine mount. I can stick my little finger in between the top of the rubber and the metal that holds it on. The rubber is soft of both sides but the distance between the top of the rubber and the u shaped metal thing that holds it on. is about 5/8". I guess that means it's shot. Would other mounts cause it to drop?