Bought Catera before reading "Considering an older Catera? READ THIS>>!!

[Cadilltera]

I bought a used 1998 Catera w/ 51k miles on it about 3 weeks ago, and I have noticed (among other problems)the ever dreaded oil leaking from the valve covers into the spark plug area after I came to know this awesome website ( little too late?).
Since buying the car, I have noticed the following after reading things on this forum:

1. The driver’s door has the “cracking noise”, but looks as if someone has welded both sides of this piece.
2. I had the horrible experience of having my passenger side floor flood because of a clogged drain below the fresh air vent of the A/C as a tropical storm passed through.
3. I decided to pull a plug wire to inspect for oil leakage. Of course, mine is leaking!
4. The coolant reservoir sensor is not working and causing the low coolant light to come on.

My questions are;

While I have this thing apart to change the valve cover gaskets, are there any other recommended items to replace or look at while I have it in its dismantled state?

Also, how do I find out if any work has been done to this vehicle as far as warranty work or recalls? How do I go about getting recall work done if needed?

Is there any preventative maintenance that might help this car that is not the norm of other cars (oil change 3k miles, air filter…….), any suggestions to keep the Catera in good working order?

Or is it just a luck of the draw type of car? (AKA - Piece of s_ _ _!!)

Thanks,

[Vesicant]

If you go to your Cadillac dealer, give them your VIN # and they can research any recall work done as well as any history your car has through GM's record system. If there are any open campaigns (aka recall work needed to be complete) the Cadillac dealer should and will address it.

Regular checkups on coolant and oil are the major items. Keep an eye on tire wear as well. Any sign of feathering could be related to a lower control arm bushing issue Cateras have that or it just needs to be aligned.

The timing belt should be changed at 60k or 90k miles depending on how hard its driven. This is a MUST to keep up on for if it fails or the tensioners (which should be replaced during any timing belt change) fail then that means engine damage should it rip the belt or jump a cog on the camshaft.

Getting up to date on what recalls have been done, what work has been done on the car should restore peace of mind.