If you get stuck on the wiring, give me a holler. I worked as a Saturn tech from 1991 to 1998, and know the 1995's like the back of my hand.
If it's not a southern car, make sure to take out the driver's seat and check the wiring splice that runs under the seat from the console to the door - they tend to corrode and make the door locks do silly things.
Also check the subframe thoroughly - they rust really easily.
Thanks for the advice!!! I honestly don't like power door locks and am looking for a Saturn without power locks or windows just to keep things simple. And I do have a good back up subframe in case the one in the car I get is too rusted.
I've gotta ask... what's the facination with Saturn? Is there a following for these cars?
-Todd
Yes, the Saturn S-Series has quite a following as they are cheap, dependable cars that get great fuel economy. A lot of guys also like modding them and doing performance stuff too. I've been driving a 2002 SL since I was 16 (still have it, the only car I've ever owned to date) and I wouldn't trade it for anything. There's also a SaturnFans Forum
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23 that has been a tremendous help to me with my Saturn over the years.
I personally love the way the S-Series cars look, how easy they are to work on (for the most part), parts are very cheap, and they were one of the most fuel efficient cars of their day. They have a polymer body, so they don't rust out the same way most cars do. The subframe and unibody do rust in places, of course, but most of the time it can be fixed.
Pretty much the only thing that kills the engines in them are not checking the oil regularly (The S-Series is notorious for burning oil), automatic transmission problems, and the rare problem of the diff pin leaving the transaxle (rare as I said, but it's happened a few times).
I am eliminating all of that stuff with this swap of course, but I'll basically have the same old Saturn that I know and love body and suspension wise, but with the much more fuel effiencent TDI drivetrain with bolt in modified subframe, which should make this swap easy to swap into another Saturn if the need ever arises, other than switching over the wiring and the shifter mechanism and all that stuff.
I think that the aerodynamics of the body are what gives this swap the fuel efficiency over the VW cars, because the weight difference between the two drivetrains is negligible at best. I don't know what else it could be?
On a side note I am still looking for an AHU complete engine with wiring harness, if anyone out there knows where I can get one. I'd rather not buy a whole car and take all the parts, but if that's what I have to do then so be it.