4 ms·
As an amusing aside, my 1995 Saturn station wagon had a timing chain. Thanks to a combination of design flaws, at around 70k miles, the chain skipped a tooth an
by analog31 4y ago
As an amusing aside, my 1995 Saturn station wagon had a timing chain. Thanks to a combination of design flaws, at around 70k miles, the chain skipped a tooth and the engine disintegrated.
But it wasn't just a matter of the chain. All Saturns burned oil from the git-go, and as a bonus, a low oil level would cause the timing chain to lose lubrication, thus causing it to wear out. People who religiously topped off their oil, every time they re-fueled, kept their Saturns for a long time. I was not one of those people.
My next car was a Toyota, which I still drive. The Toyota engine is designed to make it easy to service the timing belt at the prescribed interval, and the car consumes no oil.
- jacquesm 4y agoKeeping the oil topped up isn't really a luxury! That must have been quite the thing when it happened. Were you in traffic?
- analog31 4y agoI was at a stoplight. It just started making a grinding noise (probably the cylinders slapping the valves). I was not far from my regular repair shop, and drove it there. Later on, I returned to gather my belongings from the car, and the shop made it go away. I'm definitely more careful with my newer cars. My first car didn't burn oil, but dripped. I'd just top off the oil whenever I started hearing the tappets clicking. It was quite a forgiving engine, a 1975 Dodge.
- jacquesm 4y agoThe Mini I had was very much like your Dodge. There is a joke in Mini owner circles: "How do you know your Mini is out of oil?" -> "There is no puddle under it when you drive off".