Willi’s question:
My saturn ion is making a loud clunking noise from the front whenever I hit large bumps or potholes. I’ve looked under there, and even jacked the car up. but I can’t see anything loose or broken under there. Have you seen this before in an Ion?
Answer:
Yes, it’s actually a very common problem in those cars. The front torsion bar bushings and clamps wear out and the torsion bar then clunks against the frame. so take a trip to the nearest saturn dealer and buy a pair of torsion bar clamps and bushings. They just bolt off and on after you jack the car off to get the weight off the torsion bar. Once that tension is gone, it’s a simple job with basic hand tools.
Question: Hi Michael – I have a 2005 Saturn ION. Every time I turn on the heater, it smells like exhaust is coming through the vents. Why is this????
Answer: OK, smells can sometimes be hard to pinpoint, unlike fluid leaks which can be seen. Our noses are notoriously inaccurate. Now the most common smell that comes in when you turn the heater on is leaking coolant from the engine. That would be a leaking heater core. So if you’re losing any coolant in the radiator, odds are the heater core is leaking. If this isn’t the case, then the second most common smell is either burning oil or exhaust.
Saturn Ion
To check this, turn on the AC system and use the fresh air setting,not the recirculated setting. That will bypass the heater system. If you still get the smell with the AC on, then it’s not the heater core leaking. Look under the hood then. You could have a valve cover gasket leaking, then oil drips on the exhaust and starts up a stinky smell. As for exhaust leaks, you’d hear the noise under the hood if the exhaust has a hole anywhere. It will be a noise like a hole in the muffler under the hood. Good Luck finding that smelly source.
