Jam Cliché

So, I got the car running pretty well. Clearing backpressure in the cat converter did wonders for her, but I gotta find the source of all the buildup or it'll just get bad again. In other news, she is driving like she's about to fall apart at even normal speeds. Just rattling to the end of the earth. Aside from needing an alignment and a tire balance, I'm wondering if I have a power steering leak. I can't find anything on Alldata about where to look. Can anyone help?

Nope, it's bolted on.

This car needs a tow, and is located in Henry County, GA. I am hoping to get 2 grand out of it, but I'm willing to negotiate as long as I can afford to buy another vehicle for college. I put 2300 in the car. 15 for it running, and 8 more in repairs, and it STILL needs work. It's idling wrong, it has backpressure and leaks in the exhaust which kills my acceleration, the allignment is seriously off (stability is dangerous at highway speeds. It may need a center support bearing) It's got about 140k miles on it. The engine, 5spd tranny, and turbo are all fine, but it's not in running shape. Interior is good except front seats and a few trim pieces. It needs a window motor on the right and the power mirrors work when they want to. Steering column is iffy at times. I should note that I've had the car four months, and it ran like a top when I got it. Whatever has happened in that time, or was hiding from me when I test drove it, I cannot be sure. 87Blue has been kind enough to offer assistance in the near future as well as a possible trade for his Saturn and some cash, so any offers would be competing with that. If I can't handle the car, maybe a club member can do more for it. I just need enough to buy a little 90s 5 speed gas saver. This isn't a sob story. I'm just writing up this listing while being very frustrated with the car. If anyone wants to come view it and decides it's not even worth 2 grand, then I'll take an honest offer. I can PM my number to anyone who is interested. Here's some photos However long the car doesn't sell, I'll be putting my weekend into working on it. Hopefully Blue and I can meet up sometime and I can get help diagnosing the problems. Right now it's either sell it or fix it for me. Thanks in advance to everyone.

Well, two girlfriends I had drove Saturns. One had a 2000 SL1 and another an SC1 whose year I don't know. They were both very reliable and fun drives for their worth. The girl with the SC1 wrapped it around a tree and only caught a bruise on her shoulder. I drove an SC2 only once and thought it was fantastic. If I can find an SC2 tranny, I'm definitely interested. I'm okay with Rice. Had a ricey Toyota myself, grew to hate it, realized how much I miss it now.

You just lit up my heart. I. Love. SC. Specs?

You can bet that I will. It carries with so much aggression. I took a 5.0 Foxbody at a 30 mph rollout and my friend's 95 Camaro v6 off the line without ever shifting above 4k rpm. Such a blast, but with a new problem every week, I just need reliability to get to class.

Thanks everyone for the timely feedback. I wasn't expecting such a welcome, considering I'm selling the only Conquest I'll have owned. I love 80s cars, but they require so much wrenching! My '87 Fiero GT only ever needed a battery and a headlight motor. Then I wrecked it. I just don't do well with these era cars. I manage to screw it up somehow. XD

I bought an '87 TSI a few months back, and she's run into her fair share of problems (~140k miles, I knew I'd need to do some fixes when I got her). Thing is, I'm not sure where to start anymore. She's had a tune-up, I replaced a few parts, kept her running, but I know there's more to do, and I'm hoping I can find someone with more experience to help. Are there any Starquest owners in the area of Henry County or Dekalb? I live in HC and go to school in Dekalb, and I know my way around a handful of towns (Griffin, Jackson, Locust Grove, McDonough, Stockbridge, Decatur, Lawrenceville, Stone Mountain). If anyone lives around these places and may have time in the future, I'd like to know if we could meet to give the car a thorough diagnosis. We can work out compensation. This is my only car for college, and I know I can't support it. I've listed it for sale, but I want to continue fixing her with what I have until such time that I find a buyer. If I can't give the car a good home, I want to make sure that whoever buys it knows what has been done and what needs to be done to make it perform like it should. In general, the car needs vacuum lines routed, some body work, a handful of sensors, and likely a few components cleaned or replaced. That's what I am aware of right now. But the specifics are beyond me. I'm not a mechanic. I can work on a car if I'm told what needs to be done, but I just don't know what that is. Thanks to anyone for help in advance. My name is Allen.