I have a 2000 Saturn SL1 and the headlight was struck which busted the attachment points in the back. There are 3 of them and they screw into place but I can’t find any reference to them on the net. Is this a replaceable part or do I have to make my own? There’s nothing wrong with the lights. They’re nothing but little plastic baskets that clip onto a rounded bolt head.
When I’ve had to replace those little clips I’ve headed to the junkyard, and removed them from a donor vehicle. If I remember correctly, they are not very year/model specific, you could find a Saturn from around 2000 (or maybe another GM) and strip them out.
Have you tried an auto parts store? They have surprised me with such things in the past. It helps if you can take one (from the other side?) in for comparison.
excavating (for a mind)
I’m making my way through the auto parts stores now. Not having any luck. I have enough of one of the clips to identify it but it appears to be the missing link of auto parts.
You can search hundreds (thousands, even) of salvage yards via www.car-part.com
thanks for the link. Not looking for the whole assembly at this point because I can make the part for a couple of dollars. Just don’t want to spend all the time on it. I was hoping it was used on other GM cars but haven’t found anything close to it yet.
One of main PR/advertising points made when Saturn was introduced was that they didn’t share ANY parts with other GM vehicles! It was the first time in modern history that GM didn’t simply take a car, create four or five slightly different front- and rear- end sheet metal designs and sell it across numerous divisions! Prime example- the 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac J2000 (renamed Sunbird in ’83), Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza and <the hilarious/infamous/ridiculous> Cadillac Cimarron. Take one car, minimal differentiation, five different names/brands…the GM way!
But Saturn was “A different kind of car company” intended to win over buyers from import brands. The cars were a ‘clean sheet’ design from the ground up and they were manufactured at their own unique factory. At least the S-series (SC/SL/SW) made from 1991-2002 was a unique model.
In typical GM fashion, the S-series was replaced with the Chevy Cobalt-based Saturn ION in 2003. They also introduced a mid-size sedan in 2000 that they borrowed from their European Opel brand. And it only went downhill from there….
But you didn’t ask for a history lesson anyway! My point is, sadly, you may not find comparable parts in use on any other GM cars from the same time period. But hopefully you can improvise something that will work just as well.
Good luck!
Sigh… that’s what I was afraid of. I did enjoy the history lesson though.
Hah, went down to the local surplus store and found some metal clips that I was able to modify to fit. It took about 15 minutes total. If those clips fail I figured out I could make better ones using those spring loaded paper binders. Drill a hole in them… done.