Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Cadillac DeVille General Care & Maintenance
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
More to the point, adding 1 quart in the next 12 to 15 months is probably not anything to worry about. But adding 1 quart in the next 6 months is something to worry about.
What you should do is monitor the coolant level, when the car is cold, and note when it starts to disappear. At that point you need to become concerned that a leak has started, or the water pump is beginning to fail.
Someone I know has a 99 DeVille which had a water pump failure. After some period of time the DIC flagged the Low Coolant warning, so he had the dealer add more coolant. A few months later, the warning came back, and the service department knew that there was a problem, which should have been checked for sooner. The problem was a leaking head gasket, which they tried to replace, but there was so much corrosion that the engine was not repairable. The warranty was also expired.
including insulated door. I wondered if there is any guideline as to how often the Deville should be started and or driven to avoid even minimal deterioration? I want to be quick to point out that I have no favorite between these two fine cars but the lack of usage for the Deville is temporary. All replies and suggestions appreciated.
I can't tell you everything to take off - I do remember there is a protective cover over the belt - remove this to get to the nuts/bolts on the belt. Then just take off everything to get to the side of the pump, where I think there is a cover over it. There should be an o-ring in the back of the pump after it is pulled, the new pump should have a new o-ring. They say to coat it with antifreeze before installing.
I've never heard the engine needs to be jacked up. You do know this is on the driver side of the car, top of motor, at the end of the upper radiator hose????
If the belt has cracks in the back, replace it. If the 'grooves' are cracked much, I would replace it. You are in there, it is only about $12 or so - replace it. The belt tensioner needs to be oiled so it moves freely, it pivots on a shaft.
My dealer told me they would clean the grooves when they replaced a belt. I think this probably was nonsense. But when I replaced main drive belt and water pump belt, I used a toothbrush on all the grooved pulleys, and felt a fool while doing it. Needed a new toothbrush afterwards, too.
But.... a Northstar has hoses that are not changed on a 'whim'. The main upper and lower radiator hoses are simple, but the other heater, surge tank, and various bypass hoses are a real mess. Some of these are green 'silicone' high temperature hoses. You better not replace these with regular black heater hoses, they will probably soon melt.
On my 1995, I replaced the upper and lower radiator hoses and the drive belt (there is only one) and the water pump belt (this is a little short belt driven off the rear of the front cam shaft). I looked at the other hoses and decided they would stay in there until they looked a lot worse. Course I sold the car much before I thought they needed changing.
compressor will not turn on and pull it in.
You have to pull the plug off the compressor and
"jump it" to switch on the compressor.
Your best off going to a AC service place for a
full testing, then evacuate the system, then recharge!
You need to re-set the error code.
For a 1998 Cadillac, I'm pretty sure the codes can be reset yourself using the temp buttons on the dash. You need to 'google' for other Cadillac online forums, where there will be detailed info about how to display and reset the codes. It is rather straight forward.
With the codes re-set, you should hook up the refrigrant can, then start the car and turn the A/C on, and hope it will pull in enough before the car re-sets the error code.
And, jumping the compressor would probably work, just don't fry anything doing this. Jumping the sensor might also do it. I think, I am not sure, the sensor for low pressure is on the pipe that goes across the firewall. The sensor is on the passenger side of the car in this tube.
Not sure how the 89 grille is held on or if its connected
to the hood ??????? Can't remember how my 90 was.
You can eyeball thru the grill and see if you can see the
hood latch release. If so you may be able to "trip" the
latch. Or get underneath and reach up and try to get hold
of the cable and pull it to release it.............
Tricky and a PIA but you can do it !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Came right open. There always was a little U-shaped dent in the front of the hood afterwards.
I took the truck away from him and drove it for about 7 years. The dent didn't bother the operation of the truck at all.
Appearantly, the dealer overlooked it when they inspected the car. I should have complained to the sales and service mgr, but I didn't think of it at the time.
Anyway, I just wanted to raise awareness to other Caddie owners out there.
-jasper
Refill with 50/50 Dexcool.
There is a missing on a cold start. I took it to Bill Black Cadillac in Greensboro, NC and they said it wasnt the head gasket. My coolant level is still the same, I still get the missing. There is no codes on the dash board. I was thinking its a bad coil, but a code would pop up. Thats my only problem and the car has 122k miles on it.
This sonds awful high.
Howver, if fixed-what if the head gasket blows?
Can the water pump be replaced by myself-or does the job nvolve pulling the engine?
The only thing different about it - it takes a special tool to remove the water pump. But it's like a $35 tool, just like a huge socket with tangs on it. The tangs slip into slots on the pump, and it turns out. IT HAS LEFT HAND THREADS!!!! It turns about 1/8 a turn, then the pump pulls out. There is a cover over the pump and it might take a new gasket. A wild guess would be about $75-$100 for the pump.
Take the car to and independent garage. As if they know how to take a Northstar water pump out and if they have the special tool needed. And then get an estimate for the job. $300 should be the max needed.
Why are you lookin for a new radiator? If the old one doesn't leak, don't worry about it. I'm sure you can find a replacement radiator on the internet, I just don't know why. To get any serious cooling help, you would have to find a 'high performance' radiator that has addition rows, etc, etc. You Cadillac is a car where you would not find 'high performance' parts.
Change the coolant. If you can find a shop that will make a real attempt to flush out all the old coolant, on a 12 year old car with 8 years on the coolant, I would try to get as much of the coolant out as possible. Normally, at the 100,000/5yr, all the Cadallic service manual calls for is to dump the old coolant and add a 50/50 mix back. They don't say anything about flushing, and you will get only about 60% replaced. Since you've got so much time on it, I would try to get as much out as possible.
All car 'generate tons of heat'. The engineers think they have it under control.
A little hint. Run the AC all the time. When the AC is 'on', the fan/s run all the time. It tries to keep the temp around 195/200 degrees. If you push the 'Econ' button, this turns the AC off. The fans will not run until the coolant temp hits about 222degrees!!!!! I don't know why they designed it this way, but this is how it works. If something is wrong with the AC, and the cars computer can recognize it has a problem (low or high pressure in the AC system), it runs the car in Econ mode, not allowing the AC to turn on. And, it's going to run at higher temps. If the AC is not working, get it fixed and your Caddy will run cooler.
Your main problem is a head gasket. There is nothing, maintenance wise, you can do to help this. Of course, I am assuming you keep the coolant at the correct level and the oil at the correct level. If not, this abuse could cause all kinds of problems.
Drive a 1999 Cadillac and give it decent maintenance. If the headgasket blows, sell it for salvage. If any other significant thing breaks, how much the repair would take determines what to do with it. Wild guess, I would think the best cared for 1999 Cad would be about a $3,000 maximum trade allowance. If something breaks that will cost $1,000 to fix, sell the car for salvage.
You should try to find an independent shop, with a good reputation, that can work on the car. If something does need to be repair, the cost should be half or less than a CAddy dealer will want.
Oh, wait, you have a 2001 Cadillac. It's worth about $5,000.
Also wondering why it would come on after only 2500 miles.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
When “CHANGE OIL SOON” light is illuminated, press and hold Range (A) and Reset (B) buttons on Fuel Data center 5 to 60 seconds. When buttons are released, the light will flash four times if it has been reset. If the light comes back on for more than 5 seconds, repeat procedure.
Oldfarmer, google is your friend.
bolivar
You're my friend too. Who needs that Google guy?
Thanks.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Holy cow! Even back in the 60s we only changed every 3000 miles. These days people tell you you're crazy to do it that often.
What is going on in that Caddy motor to require such frequent changes?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible