# Please help saturn 03 L300 **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** l, saturn\ **Created:** [June 7, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795 "2018-06-07T04:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laari\_Aitk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@Laari\_Aitk](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Laari_Aitk)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/1 "2018-06-07T04:40:24Z")
Okay so I have a Saturn L300 it’s an old 3 and I put it in the garage or after driving it it reeks of gas bad any ideas as to what it could be I mean it hasn’t had a oil change in 74,000 Miles because the oil pan is stripped but could it maybe be the gas line that has a leak in it ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 9:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/2 "2018-06-07T09:14:21Z")
> [@Laari\_Aitk](#): > > could it maybe be the gas line that has a leak in Ya think? > [@Laari\_Aitk](#): > > it hasn’t had a oil change in 74,000 Miles because the oil pan is stripped You haven’t bothered to fix a known problem that could be fixed relatively cheaply in 74k miles. So no, I nor any one else can help much. ---
**Author:** ![BillRussell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/billrussell/32/3179_2.png) [@BillRussell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BillRussell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 10:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/3 "2018-06-07T10:43:30Z")
I see several possibilities in the immediate future of this car: 1. It catches on fire and burns up, hopefully without injury to anyone. 2. engine dies due to sludge in oil. 3. Owner junks it. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 10:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/4 "2018-06-07T10:57:13Z")
A 15 year old car that is no longer being manufactured, that hasn’t had an oil change in 74,000 miles, has a gas leak. Do you really drive this thing? You actually park this in a garage? I hope you have good insurance cause when the car goes up in flames and burns down the garage you’re going to need it. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/5 "2018-06-07T11:40:01Z")
Push that car out of the garage before it catches fire and kills everyone in the house. Call a junk yard to have it towed away. ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/6 "2018-06-07T13:57:06Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > Push that car out of the garage before it catches fire and kills everyone in the house. Call a junk yard to have it towed away. Here’s another vote for this solution. I can’t believe we need to tell you that it’s incredibly dangerous to put this car in your garage. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/7 "2018-06-07T14:19:43Z")
> [@lion9car](#): > > I can’t believe we need to tell you that it’s incredibly dangerous to put this car in your garage. Agreed, but I also think there is a possibility that the questions regarding this automotive problem are actually just an attempt at trolling. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/8 "2018-06-07T15:43:19Z")
> [@Laari\_Aitk](#): > > it hasn’t had a oil change in 74,000 Miles because the oil pan is stripped I assume you mean the drain plug. This is easy and inexpensive to fix. There are a number of kits available to do so. It can be tapped oversize with an oversize plug installed, helicoiled, use a self-tapping plug, or even an expanding-rubber plug (I don’t recommend the last option as a permanent solution). As regards the gas smell, by all means get in out of any enclosed area. I’d start with the injectors, but a shop can easily trace the source of the smell down with a “sniffer” (which is actually a combustion analyzer that can detect unburned hydrocarbons… gasoline fumes). ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/9 "2018-06-07T20:34:30Z")
Those are very good suggestions, MB, but I question whether it would be worthwhile to sink any significant money into repairing a 15 year old car whose engine is surely choked with heavy deposits of oil sludge. How much longer could that engine run before it seizes for lack of lubrication? ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/10 "2018-06-07T22:01:44Z")
I agree… but none of my suggestions entails and significant money! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-saturn-03-l300/118795/11 "2018-06-07T22:15:11Z")
At 74,000 miles the engine will be very sludged up. This is an orphan car and any work to make it safe a roadworthy will cost much more than buying a god used car of that year. So, take it out of the garage immediately, call the scrap or junk yard and have it recycled. This site can only give you responsible and professional advice, not on how much you can get away with.