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New Owners of a 1987 Allante.....

21K views 60 replies 7 participants last post by  DopeStar 156 
#1 ·
My girlfriend's dad gave her an 87 Allante he bought in non-running condition. He's currently working on the car so it runs (ignition system/distributor issue) and as soon as it does we're taking possession of it. I don't have any pictures of it yet, but I do have the owner's manual and full service manual in my posession. This won't be a daily driver for her, it'll be a weekend fun car, or something for cruise nights or events in the Cadillac Club I belong to. I have a few questions about this car since it's out of my Cadillac expertise....

1. My 89 brochure shows the Allante having optional analog gauges, but the owner's manual for our 87 shows only the bar graph digital version. Was this the only kind offered in 87?

2. Were there any common problems to keep an eye out for? I know this car has the HT4100 engine which is dreaded in the large RWD cars, but how does it fare in the small Italian Pininfarina body? Any tips on how to keep it happy?

3. I know the car needs a new grille (broken tooth) and perhaps a new front bumper (small crack where someone must've hit a parking brick) so my question is how easy or impossible are parts to get for this car?

4. How do you guys rate this car? I know there were better versions (4.5L, 4.9L, N*) but still, is it an all around good car?

I'm looking forward to getting to work on the car to make it look and perform as great as it did back when it was new. It's a pretty exciting part of Cadillac history to own if you ask me so I'm eager to get going on it.....
 
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#3 ·
Wow what a gift!

Im currently in the market for an Allante so ive been doing a LOT of reading and research. I will answer what questions i can.

1. for 87 and 88 only the digital cluster was available. for 89 the digital was standard and the analog was introduced as an option. for 1990 the analog was standard on the softtop w/no hardtop version (available as a cost option), and a no cost option for the hardtop version. for 91 they switched it up and the digital cluster was the option at no cost to the hardtop and a cost to the softtop only model. it stayed that way until the end of the vehicles life... clusters from 93 will only work/fit on 93 models. clusters from 90-92 are cross compatible, and the 87-89 clusters are cross compatible.

2. based on what ive seen the engine is the least of your concerns. the brakes are not necessarily a COMMON problem, but they are one to avoid if you find it as parts are cheap. also, the bose systems tend to go out, and the window switches and regulators tend to need repairing. the seals also tend to dry rot and leak if not properly cared for.

3. i wanted a black car and wanted to get an extra grill to paint black. i found two on ebay, one for 30, one for 80. i considered myself lucky. the parts mentioned above can get very expensive with brake repairs being a deal breaker if youre buying an allante. allantestore.com is a good but expensive source.

4. Based on what I've read, the 1992 is the most liked model and also one of the most rare. By that time it had airbags, traction control, a redesigned top (Phase II, less leaks so ive read) a cd player and the 4.5. The 93 seems to me the worst choice being that it had the N*, cheaper door latches cheaper seats, and cheaper doors among other things. The one plus IMO of the 93 is that they ditched the Bosch brake system that can get expensive to fix in these cars. MY personal favorites are the 87-89 due to the availability of Saddle tan interior, LACK of northstar, and LACK of airbags.

I may have found the allante i will end up buying. im VERY excited at the idea of having it haha. i cant wait!. I hope youre as excited to own it as i am to even THINK about owning one.

Definitely please post pics soon!
 
#4 ·
I will when I get a chance, it's currently at her parents house about 40 minutes away from our apartment. The car is white outside but I don't remember the interior color. It might be a brownish color since that's the color of the owner's manual. The car is all stock and in pretty good shape but is really filthy since most of her property is woods and the car is covered in dirt, and tree refuse. Once her dad gets it running again we'll take it to my parents house and really clean it up. Other than what I can see I don't know too much about it as far as mechanical condition goes since I've never seen it alive. I'm hoping all that changes soon.....

Almost forgot, since the car is equipped with the HT4100 engine, where do I get that special GM coolant with the pellets?
 
#9 ·
taking a better look at those pics it actually doesnt look that bad. nothing looks broken except the grille. its just dirty from sitting.

i hope nature didnt take too big of a toll on the electronics. if you ever need help with anything im in the same boat so chances are ill have already been through it.

on that note im gonna go ahead and let you know that a good grill replacement is going to run you $2-300 so maybe hold on to yours for now.

allante owners seem like great people, and they are ALL very helpful but they also like to jack up the prices on parts for our cars. Did you know people are charging a couple hundred bucks for a repair that costs a couple of dollars?
 
#10 ·
The day I took the pics I got to work on it a little bit, basically my first exploratory venture into the car. My girlfriend's dad and I did some talking about the car and turns out it did run when he got it. He drove it around for a while until it stopped running. He replaced a module inside the distributor but that didn't fix it so there's an internal problem with the distributor. The car also has two flat tires on the passenger side, and the AC compressor is shot which I hear kills the entire climate control system. The battery was also stone dead from sitting for several months so as I got to work I started to recharge the battery.

I was able to get enough of a charge outta the battery to power the car on for a brief minute before I killed it again, the only thing I remember seeing on the DIC was "Lighting System Fault." My girlfriend's dad told me he could throw a couple tires on the car to replace the flat ones so that'll get taken care of, and he has an extra AC compressor for the car so I can go ahead and install that at some point too. My friend happens to have a distributor from a 4.5 so I've got a suitable replacement for that.

To recap the car has a few problems but I seem to have solutions lined up as well as a few spare parts that are coming with the car should I need anything else. I hope to have the car up and running by the end of the month since it's stored 45 minutes away from where I live and I only get a couple days off a week.......
 
#12 ·
Nice car, I just got one in dirty condition also, A black/burgandy 88. The car cleaned up really nice. I'm having the "lighting fault" issue with mine too, and the lights don't work. My battery was dead and I replaced itwith a new one. The dash started working better after that. Apparently from what I've figured out, the battery had better be in tip top cond. for the systems to work. They say now to check all my battery terminals! Anyway let me know if your exterior lights work please and/or how you fixed them and eliminated the "lighting fault" message Thanks so much, you will have alot of fun with this car. Mine is a blast but only during the daytime!
 
#13 ·
The lighting fault on a car sitting for a long time usually is a corroded bulb socket. Also you MUST use silver base bulbs in this car, not brass. All the bulbs were sourced in Europe. If a brass bulb is in any socket, it will work but the lighting system fault message will remain on. Also anytime a connector or bulb is removed apply dielectric grease to the socket and/ or the connector. This system relies on very low resistance wiring and any increase in resistance causes issues with false readings from the info center. Hold the OFF and red WARMER buttons in at the same time about 10 to 15 seconds with car running and write down any messages displayed and report back. This car requires either an OPTIMA sealed battery or a DELCO with vent ports on the filler caps to vent the acids out of the passenger compartment.
 
#14 ·
Update: My friend and I took a look at the Allante last night. We hooked up the battery with a full charge and got the system to power on, we even ran the diagnostics. We weren't in a position to record any codes, but I'm not worried about them at this time. I intend to spend more time with the car on Sunday. Here's a shot of the dash come to life.



I scored big at the junkyard yesterday, grabbed a brand new distributor out of a 1990 FWD Fleetwood which had a receipt in the glove box stating the part was bought two weeks ago. I intend to toss in the new distributor on Sunday and see where that takes me. So far I got the car to crank but won't start yet. More updates to come.....
 
#16 ·
Update: the Allante lives. After swapping the distributor the car fired right up after a jumpstart. Unfortunately the alternator isn't alligned with the rest of the belt drive so the car ate the serpentine belt. I need to move the alternator back like a half inch and replace the serpentine belt. The battery is also shot and doesn't hold a charge. Progress!!
 
#19 ·
I guess it's time for an update. Haven't been around much lately but some got done, for one the car is now standing. Correct, four fully inflated tires that hold air. Next thing on the list is to take care of the belt drive issue, I noticed that the allignment isn't the problem. The alternator is off a different car so the pulley is too narrow. My idea is to swap pulleys with the old one and get a new serpentine belt on the car. I may swap the AC Compressor while I'm in there. I'm aching to get this car on the road ASAP....
 
#21 ·
Well everyone, the Allante is NEARLY ROAD READY! The serpentine belt and alternator issue have been resolved, the distributor is set and locked firmly in place, all 4 tires are inflated and hold air, brand new battery, and the car starts and runs. I just have one more issue to resolve, if anyone can help I will be ecstatic!

The car when started for some reason idles at 2,300 RPMs. The gas pedal seems to be almost to the floor and I think the ISC is pulling it, can anyone give me some ideas on how to fix this? This is really the only issue keeping the car off the road since there's no way in hell I'm putting it in gear like that. ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED!!

I will reward my assistance with pics of the car completely cleaned up, and topless...... :lildevil:
 
#22 ·
...there's no way in hell I'm putting it in gear like that...
i do it all the time!

nah jk, mine does something similar, it idles high, but not 2300 high. do you have the orange "Engine Management System Fault" message (i think thats what it says...)

if so pull the codes, if you get e030 its your ISC which you pretty much knew already. unless something is making the linkage bind up the only solution ive found is replacing the ISC. Ive already gotten my replacement, it was pretty easy, 3 nuts come off and it just wiggles. i havent had a chance to put mine back in though
 
#24 ·
i wont even act like i know the answer to your last question haha. i DO know that ive seen plenty on ebay for $50 or less.

the bad news is your "antilock disabled" message. that could kill the whole project due to cost or it could be something minor.

try this real fast and go ahead and get it out of the way:

engage the parking brake, you may have to "pump" it 3 or 4 times for it to be fully engaged.
now above the parking brake pedal, there is a "hidden" lever, its metal, mines isnt coated, its just bare metal.
this lever will release the pedal, and the pedal is spring loaded
with that in mind, reach in keeping your arm/hand out of the way of the pedals travel path
press the lever and it should release the pedal, this will hopefully clear your brake light and antilock disabled message.

if not, youve got some pretty big fish to fry
 
#25 ·
Regarding you ANTI-LOCK DISABLED message:

1) Check the parking brake, first and foremost.
2) Let the car idle for about a minute. It takes some time to pump up the ABS system, seeing that message is normal on startup if it's been left parked for a bit. It should go away after about 20 seconds or so.

If the brake light stays on and the Anti-Lock Disabled message stays on:
GO HERE!

Dick Hussey really can't be thanked enough for having some of his info online, for free, to anyone looking to diagnose some of the Allante's more infamous flaws.

Regarding your high idle:

Sometimes, the on-board computer needs to relearn the correct idle. IIRC, you have to let the car idle for 15 minutes with the A/C and heater off, and then turn the A/C or heater on and then let it idle for another 15 minutes.

Keep in mind that this car needs to re learn the idle speed if the battery's been dead or disconnected. Its done by starting the car and letting it idle in gear (climate system off ) for at least 14 to 15 min. Then without shutting it off, push the AUTO button and set it to 70 degrees and again, let it idle in gear for another 14 to 15 min. If its still high, Check the TPS adjustment Read more at http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...90-idling-little-high.html?ktrack=kcplinkRead more at http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...179690-idling-little-high.html?ktrack=kcplink
That's a quote from the man himself, carnut (An Allante tech - he knows his stuff!).
 
#27 ·
Thank you.... *bows*

I get the idle process of relearning, but 2,300 RPMs? I would happily let it run for a while to get it's bearings back but I'm not too thrilled about racing the engine on a 9 month dormant HT4100 motor. If it was running at 1,500 RPM's I'd think it would just wind down on it's own but this just doesn't sound right......

I'm gonna maybe try it again and see if it still feels like running that high. In addition to not being started for that long, it's also had no electricity either so the ECM and BCM have been just as dormant. It's prolly going through some future shock having been revived in a completely new decade with iPads, LCD HDTVs, and internet connected everything. I had my Droid 2 sitting on the dash when I started it, maybe it freaked the car out......
 
#28 ·
Ok, update today. Mostly good news......

The car idles correctly for the most part. I started it up today and it ran at 1,500 rpms. It eventually wound down but bounces between 700 and 1,000. It continues to run like this, until it stalls after a few minutes. Sometimes it comes close to stalling but then runs upward past 1,000 to compensate so the ISC seems to be doing it's job. It would also stall when going into gear half the time I tried unless I did it no more than a couple seconds after starting. I would think from sitting there's some crap in the bottom of the gas tank causing the erratic idle and stalling. The car also drove poorly, shuddered under acceleration and stalled when I pulled it back into the parking spot. My Fleetwood did this after sitting for almost a year at a shop and some SeaFoam in the tank straightened it right out, I'm sure this will do the trick......

The second problem would be the brakes. I checked the master cylinder and the fluid level was very low The pedal would go to the floor and there would be little kickbacks or pulses, probably from the ABS. I filled the master cylinder up and the pedal seemed to gain some firmness but for the most part the brakes aren't what they should be. Bleeding the master cylinder is what I'm thinking, I'd like to get the car on some pavement so I can crawl under it and inspect the brake lines.....

The third problem was the trans was very rough going into gear and doesn't shift too well. I got the car to move a bit but wouldn't go faster than 37-38 mph. I checked the trans fluid and it was in the cross hatching so I'm assuming the fluid level went down. I'm gonna top off the trans fluid and try again.....

Most of these issues I would think are common for a car that's been sitting for almost a year so I'm not too worried. If anyone has any insight feel free to post. I'm gonna be back at the car again on Sunday......

PS, I did do some engine revving while the car was in Park and at running temp and for an HT4100, it has a very intoxicating growl...... Mmmmmm...... *shiver*
 
#29 ·
Again, check out the link I posted earlier; it gives instructions for how to bleed the brakes. It's a bit more complicated than just bleeding the master cylinder - you also have to bleed out the pump and calipers, but it's all very easy if you're even somewhat mechanically inclined. (If I can do it, seriously anyone should be able to do it!)

Basically, for bleeding the in-engine compartment components, you open the bleed valves and turn on the car. The pump will force the nasty old brake fluid out. Having a second person really speeds the process along. The calipers are bled conventionally.

Just remember to hit the brakes 25 times or so before you work to depressurize the system.
 
#31 ·
With the car off, you press the brake pedal 25 times, then with the key in the run position, engine off, crack open the bleeders at the master and electric supply pump one at a time to bleed. Have at least a qt of fluid handy. The pumps can be had rebuilt thru Allantesource.com or Tom Rohner in Los Angeles if needed. NO a Seville, Eldo and any other Cad had a completely different brake system, not adaptable.
 
#32 ·
With the car off, you press the brake pedal 25 times, then with the key in the run position, engine off, crack open the bleeders at the master and electric supply pump one at a time to bleed. Have at least a qt of fluid handy. The pumps can be had rebuilt thru Allantesource.com or Tom Rohner in Los Angeles if needed. NO a Seville, Eldo and any other Cad had a completely different brake system, not adaptable.
 
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