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Comments
By the way, you'll probably get a little note with the EGR telling you to clean out the carbon deposits before you install the new unit or the built up carbon may cause the new EGR to fault. I am not in agreement with this philosophy, and I may be in the minority here, but trying to scrape that carbon off never seems effective. And IMO, having little carbon "chips" floating around my engine isn't much better than having sand in there. So, whenever I change an EGR, I swap it right out....no cleaning. I hate leaving it dirty in there, but I don't believe anyone in their driveway can do a quality job of cleaning it. Just my opinion, thought I'd share...anyone feel the same way...or differently?
Good luck and I hope that the EGR solves it for you...it's an easy fix.
-Brian
http://members.cardomain.com/kayaman420
http://members.cardomain.com/kayaman420
I did gap all the plugs, but all I had was one of those crappy round sliding things. Someone told me those werent very acurate so I was wondering if the gaps werent all consistent if it would cause a problem. I think Im going to get some new plugs and a real gapper and try them again. I just cant think of anything else that could be causing my hesitation. Ill let you guys know what happens.
I suspected that it was time to change plugs and wires so I did that but haven't had it re-tested. You think I might have a lower level of HC's now? Or do you suspect the EGR valve or some other device might be causing this problem? Maybe it's just the nature of these motors?
Marshall
Is there anything that happened to cause your blown gasket that we should know of? So we dont have the same problem.
The used engine may be a possibility. Someone on the GMforums board (the guy with the other blown gasket) found a used engine and had it installed by a friend's shop for about $1500. He seems to be pretty content with it.
I had a used engine put in a Q45 I owned once and was very happy with it (although it cost quite a bit more than that since the Infiniti dealer did it).
It boils down to how bad you want to keep the car. I don't remember what year your car is so I don't know if the resale would justify putting a lot of $$ in it, but if you want to keep the car I can tell you used (not rebuilt) engines are relatively inexpensive and aren't a bad way to go.
Good Luck to you.
My nephew needed a 3.1L V6 for his '95 Grand Am. American Engines installed it and do a turnkey job for 2 to 3K. The engines are Remanufactured not rebuilt From the factory, big difference. All new internal parts. Blocks and cranks are x-rayed for flaws. New heads on all motors with all new valve assy. The shopping around method for a used engine ($2500) alone in our part of the world was about the same price as American Engines would do the whole job for, install and give a 3yr/36K warranty with it. They also have checked out pre owned engines for sale and you can get a warranty. Also had discount coupons in yellow pages. This may not work for you but you should at least look into it. They take everything apart and look at it and rebuild or replace any other parts that are bad. I followed every step of my nephew's engine and got all of the replaced parts back and agreed with all of the recommended decisions about the engine. I know this sounds like a commercial but it is a true experience I went thru 60 days ago. Your old engine and heads are shipped back to the factory and examined to see if they are able to be used again. If not, you have a core charge.
Sorry to hear the bad news...
Best of Luck to you,
Steve
You might want to look at these folks. They say they will go up to 99,999 miles on a 1995 or newer car.
Henri
Does anyone have a classic that always runs at 190 no matter what the temp is like mine used to?
I would appreciate it if people would keep posting there running temps.
In Newark, NJ with POWER. Let there continue to be light.
Henri
A few weeks back I had a real shock....It went almost into the red zone! The fans were running on max but there wasn't much air being drawn in thru the radiator. I shut the motor off immediately and was sort of freaking out. It turned out to be a plastic shopping bag had been sucked up and was covering almost the entire front surface of the radiator. That happened again last weekend but as soon as I noticed the temp climb above 210. I got out and checked to see if there was debris in there again....sure enough, another damn bag.
Henri, do tell about the "red light on the roof". Ya got me curious!
Marshall
Thanks for the introduction.
Early Auroras had a three-channel transmitter for controlling older design garage door openers; this transmitter is located in the roof "console" with the reading lamps. Sometime during the '97 model run, the transmitter was upgraded to operate newer openers with Homelink rolling code technology (Sears Craftsman name is Secure+). Some of the literature says that the LED indicator for the new design is yellow. However, the one I bought on eBay is red (like the older style) and does operate my opener. I think the key identifier (rather than red LED vs. yellow) is that there is a Homelink logo (outline of a house) surrounding the LED.
Hope this helps.
Anyone encountered this? It just started in the last 2 days.
Thanks,
Pete
2.) While driving for no apparent reason it would just die! Then it would immediately start again most of the time. I forgot to mention, when it won't start it may take up to 15 minutes at a time before it would start.
After a lot of trouble shooting I found that it was the ignition wiring harness. Your instrument panel DOES NOT boot up, it is a physical electrical connection from the moment you turn on the key. They have a poor design in the ignition switch, they running way to much current through some contact point style switch. They should have used a heavy relay for this.
But if the condition gets works, like a non-starting condition or other. I'll bet this is your problem. The contact points get a carbon build up on them from arcing ever time the car is started. If you would like I have some wiring schematic for this I could send you. Hope this helps...
Before he even put it up on the lift he said "and now we'll see if it's leaking oil yet. At 30k miles it shouldn't be but beware, these engines usually leak oil all over the place as they age." Well, what I saw was shocking. There were drops of fresh oil all around the perimeter of the oil pan. It was leaking from somewhere up above the pan, running down the engine block too. The mechanic told me to take it back and hand the dealer the keys. It would run a couple of grand to repair.
Well, the dealer told me that they had done a full inspection and that the oil leak was not noticed. They promised to fully repair it AFTER I bought it. Finally I got that promise in writing then signed the papers.
After a solid week in the shop, undergoing the replacement of numerous gaskets and seals and something they called an oil baffle, they managed to fix it.
A year later, just a week before the factory warranty was to expire, it started dripping again. Another 4 days back at the dealer and another couple of gaskets and oil baffle, she's fixed. Did I buy the extended warranty? Sure did. It's been a year since the last leak repair.
The only gasket they didn't replace was the oil pan.
I haven't seen anyone post that they own a '98 model. Plenty of '95's and '97's though. Was 1998 a more reliable year?
OIL LEAKS FROM OIL PAN TO LOWER CRANKCASE #67-61-07 - (01/31/1996)
SUBJECT: OIL LEAKS FROM OIL PAN TO LOWER CRANKCASE ATTACHING BOLTS (CLEAN BOLT/APPLY SEALANT)
MODELS: 1993 CADILLAC ALLANTE 1994-96 CADILLAC CONCOURS, DEVILLE, ELDORADO, SEVILLE 1995-96 OLDSMOBILE AURORA WITH 4.0L AND 4.6L ENGINE (VINS 9, Y, C-RPOS L37, LD8, L47)
CONDITION:
SOME ENGINES MAY EXHIBIT ENGINE OIL LEAKS SOURCED AT OIL PAN TO LOWER CRANKCASE ATTACHING BOLTS AND BOLTS ATTACHING THE BRACE BETWEEN THE TRANSAXLE AND ENGINE OIL PAN.
CAUSE:
THIS CONDITION MAY BE CAUSED BY POROSITY IN THE LOWER CRANKCASE AREA NEAR THE OIL PAN BOLT THREADS. THIS TYPE OF LEAK WOULD SHOW OIL LEAKING AT OR NEAR THE HEAD OF THE FASTENER AFFECTED.
CORRECTION:
TO CORRECT POROSITY LEAKS IN THESE AREAS, USE THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE:
1. REMOVE THE BOLT WHICH IS LEAKING. 2. THOROUGHLY CLEAN THE BOLT HOLE WITH BRAKE CLEAN OR SUITABLE EQUIVALENT CLEANER. 3. THOROUGHLY BLOW OUT BOLT HOLE WITH SHOP AIR (20 PSIG MAXIMUM PRESSURE). 4. THOROUGHLY CLEAN THE BOLT WITH BRAKE CLEANER OR SUITABLE EQUIVALENT CLEANER. 5. APPLY A MODERATE AMOUNT OF LOCTITE(R), P/N 12345382 (BLUE SERVICE REMOVABLE) THREADLOCKER/SEALANT TO BOLT. 6. INSTALL BOLT AND TORQUE TO 9.5 N.M (85 LB IN).
ENGINES PREVIOUSLY RETURNED THROUGH THE ENGINE EXCHANGE PROGRAM FOR THIS TYPE OF LEAK SHOULD INSTEAD BE REPAIRED USING THIS PROCEDURE.
WARRANTY INFORMATION:
FOR VEHICLES REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY, USE:
LABOR OPERATION DESCRIPTION LABOR TIME
T2485 LEAK, OIL PAN TO LOWER CRANKCASE 0.4 ATTACHING BOLT-REPAIR
ADD TO RESEAL EACH ADDITIONAL (2) BOLTS 0.1 NOTE: TOTAL ADD TIME NOT TO EXCEED 0.6 OF AN HOUR.
FIGURES: 0 ATTACHMENTS: 0
GENERAL MOTORS BULLETINS ARE INTENDED FOR USE BY PROFESSIONAL TECHNICIANS, NOT A "DO-IT-YOURSELFER". THEY ARE WRITTEN TO INFORM THOSE TECHNICIANS OF CONDITIONS THAT MAY OCCUR ON SOME VEHICLES, OR TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT COULD ASSIST IN THE PROPER SERVICE OF A VEHICLE. PROPERLY TRAINED TECHNICIANS HAVE THE EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND KNOW-HOW TO DO A JOB PROPERLY AND SAFELY. IF A CONDITION IS DESCRIBED, DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE BULLETIN APPLIES TO YOUR VEHICLE, OR THAT YOUR VEHICLE WILL HAVE THAT CONDITION. SEE A GENERAL MOTORS DEALER SERVICING YOUR BRAND OF GENERAL MOTORS VEHICLE FOR INFORMATION ON WHETHER YOUR VEHICLE MAY BENEFIT FROM THE INFORMATION.
COPYRIGHT 1996. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The bad news for us '95 and '96 owners is that the gasket between the "split" eventually begins leaking and losing oil pressure. I think the bulletin above (thanks ericmf) addresses the early stages of the problem. Unfortunately, once the leak gets bad enough - as mine has - I'm told the only real way to fix it is to pull the engine and ...I don't want to know what else.
I've been told $2000 to $2500 to fix it and I have really been dragging my feet about it. I'll probably have to take the plunge next month some time when I can better budget it.
BUT, the bulletin above offers me some hope. Maybe....
As far as the thermostat issue, I'm no mechanic but I agree with an earlier post that these engines are designed to run at a particular temperature (higher than usual) and that it would probably do more harm than good to run it outside the design parameters. I've had mine in Florida heat for 2 1/2 years where it normally runs over 210 and sometimes as high as 220 - 230 with no apparent problems. I wouldn't consider pulling the thermostat or forcing on the fans to lower the temp from what is normal for these engines.
my 2cents.
From what my dealer tells me, this is pretty common on ALL classic Auroras (they look for signs of oil leakage at every oil change - another reason to take the car to the dealer). I've heard this is a general NorthStar issue, but haven't verified this on caddyinfo.com (too busy).
My repair was predominantly paid for by my extended warranty, but I did have to pay some out of pocket. I think the total cost (me + warranty company) were over $1700, though I also had a water pump replaced (the original reason for bringing the car in)...
--Robert
How hard would it be to add in a GM 12 CD changer to our 2002 Aurora? Are the wires already run? How would it interface with the factory Premuim Bose system? Just thought you might have researched this at one time.
Thanks,
Steve
I tried to look it up in the manuals, but the info wasn't clear and I was only looking out of curiosity.
You could take a look in your trunk for a connector like that. Also, the manual shows sketches of the various connectors. Look in the radio part and see if you can see what the changer connector looks like. If the connector in your trunk looks the same then you might be in luck.
I believe the head unit is already capable of handling the changer. Most of the newer GM radios can control a GM changer. Hopefully it will be an easy addition for you. Keep us in the loop.
Bob