New 2001 Sport Owner Says Hey!

[elvin315]

Let me start with an apology and warning. This might be a tad long. I just finished a mad dash through 98 pages of Catera posts trying to catch up with you people. There's a lot to absorb. I'll be doing it again and saving some of the more important nuggets of wisdom. This past October I bought a 2001 Sport with 48,000 miles in Florida after weeks of Internet shopping. I found a few road tests and reviews, and used Carfax but I wish I had found this site before signing the check.

Outwardly the car was a beauty and the interior was like showroom. It wasn't until I took posession that the cupholder started slowly opening like a door in a haunted house. The damned this won't stay shut. I knew going in that the car needed 4 tires so the next day I went to Tires Plus. My plan was to drive her back to Buffalo, NY so I wanted Michelin Pilot Exaltos. In my experience they are the best All Season tires for the snowbelt ever. Didn't happen. I guess they don't stock A/S tires in Florida. Who'd a thunk it. I decided on a Plan B, so I bought these really extreme looking Kelly Fierce Ultra High Performance tires and would order a dedicated winter performance package online when I got home.

I had her oil changed at the same time and while she was up on the lift she decided to pee a gallon of coolant all over the garage stall. This was beyond Tire Plus's ability to fix so my new tires got scrubbed in during a high speed dash to the Cadillac dealer in Tampa (Ed Morse?). The service manager was a prince. He knew exactly what was wrong and had his tech give the Cat the once over in prep for my trip home. He told me about the internal oil cooler problem and told me that since I had the oil changed he couldn't be sure it wasn't leaking but showed me to look for "milk" on the filler cap and in the coolant tank. He also told me about the timing belt. He was going to look it up on his computer for me but the system was down at the time.

On the way north the next day I opened the sunroof and lowered the windows to enjoy the clean fresh air. When I closed everything up to enjoy my BOSE system the left rear window refused to rise. I stopped to check the switches and give the backdoor a whack but it still wouldn't go up. On a hunch I shut the car off and waited a couple of minutes before starting her up again. Don't know why it made a difference but it did the trick. I didn't open that window again until I pulled into my garage and it's worked every time since then.

These past weeks I've seen the CEL and Fuel Cap alarms, had the front left turn signal go out, and wiggled the right trunk taillight back to life. I've also discovered that the mounting tabs on the fuse box over the battery were broken and glued back together. Needless to say the glue didn't hold. Don't get me wrong. I expected some stuff would need attention, it is a 5 year old car after all. Repairs and maintanance wereincluded in my budget but I didn't know about all the other issues. I will have the timing belt replaced and associated upgrades performed if they haven't been performed, and will look into having the internal oil cooler bypassed and replaced with an external one. The suspension bushings can probably wait until the summer.

With all that's happened and all I've learned it still hasn't diminished the joy I get from driving this car down a winding road. My previous ride was a 1992 Ford Taurus LX. A comfortable tourer that served me well for 167,000 miles, taking me to see my kids, who lived with their mother 400 miles away on Long Island , every other weekend for 12 years. A good car but never a fun car. For that I have a Kawasaki Concours Sport Tourer. Fully faired with hard luggage, great handling, and 100 HP. That's how I spend my summers, riding the Appalachians, Adirondacks, Blue Ridge, and Smokey Mountains. Quickly. My winters were spent repairing, tuning, and planning for the next season. But now I have a sporty car that handles like a motorcycle so instead of waiting for the temps to rise before hitting the roads in search of grins on two wheels, I now have a car that can generate some Gees in the turns (especially with the TC turned off) while allowing me to listen to BOSE quality sound and keeping my feet warm. My buns too.

As much as I dislike the local Fast & Furious wannabees with the 1000 watt 200 decibel subwoofers and equally loud exhaust cans (I prefer stealth), I have been shopping for modest aero bodywork pieces, drilled and slotted brake rotors, front and rear strut braces, and lowering springs. I envy "Catera V" with his Lingenfelter Catera but I'll settle for superior handling and braking. If the opportunity ever arises that I can fit a CTS 3.6 into my Catera I might do it but for now I just want reliability. My Kawasaki will be getting bigger carbs and lumpier cams this winter but only because I've already given her a sportbike front end with bigger brakes. I might even spring for a better shock absorber out back if I find one for the right price.

I apologize for going on and on but I really love this car. I recently retired and my sister keeps teasing me about getting "an old man's car" but the laugh's on her. While I'm out attacking the twisties, burning Hi-Test, scrubbing rubber, and grinning like a fool............

she's driving a minivan.

Elvin

[CateraSport2000]

Great post! You should just move to Florida because I can't imagine there are too many Cats up in Buffalo and I'm sure your Cadillac dealer doesn't deal with too many of them. Florida is Catera Country and the dealers are very good with them. The folks at Ed Morse were right about everything!

Jeff

[elvin315]

No offence to the Sunshine State but other than the Daytona 200 and the 24 Hours there is little there that attracts me. Too hot, too flat, and no twisties. I used to go to Largo a lot for training (Paradyne) and have family scattered across the state so I know from experience. My family needs me close by for now but when the time is right I'm heading for North Carolina. Maybe Asheville.

As for Catera specialists, I guess I'll have to create my own. With info from this and the Yahoo Catera site any competent technician should be able to fix things when they go wrong. I've already approached my local garage about replacing the oil cooler timebomb.

Elvin

[wamanning]

the consensu is that an early CTS 3.2 motor will fit, but the later 3.6 is all new and would require more significant rework.

[guardian]

Elvin you are the man!! And you're just up the road from me, well, maybe a few hours up the road. And who needs Florida when it's sunny and sixty degrees here and NO GATORS!! Ya gotta love this global warming.

Anyway, do not rush into things on your Cat. If the heat exchanger is working OK, leave it alone for now. Just keep a "weather eye". When they fail it is most often gradual, not catastrophic. And when they work life is good.

That's true for a lot of Cat things. You have no way to know when items might, in the past, have been renewed and replaced. So the best course is just to "keep your eyes open" and enjoy the car. It is a great car.

Get her up on a lift every month or so and look around under there with good light. You are looking for leaks, mostly, and anything else that might not look right to you. If you see a problem, THEN go after it.

But otherwise, enjoy your slick 140 MPH ride!

And never give up on Buffalo OR your Cat.

[Catera V]

Interesting write up. I grew up in upstate NY so I know your roads are suited to the Catera. Mine has eibach springs, steinmetz bars, tower to tower brace, and catera sport dampers, along with the Stimetz wheels and Conti contac rubber. have fun

[elvin315]

Originally Posted by guardian

Elvin you are the man!! And you're just up the road from me, well, maybe a few hours up the road. And who needs Florida when it's sunny and sixty degrees here and NO GATORS!! Ya gotta love this global warming.

Sounds like you're in Syracuse or the Finger Lakes. Great roads around there. I go to the Sport Car and Indycar races at Watkins Glen when I can (not a NASCAR fan myself). My last assignment for the Air Force was Griffiss AFB in Rome and then I started working for AT&T in Syracuse. Transfered to the Capital District after a few years and lived in Saratoga Springs. A layoff sent me to Buffalo.

I've ridden all over the state on my bike but the Cat has added a new dimension to those roads now. Attacking the twisties are fun on/in both, but different. I get to use the whole lane when choosing my lines on the bike. In the car I have less wiggle room so I have to choose my entry speed carefully so not to cross the centerline. If you ride you know what I mean. On the bike I imagine myself Eddie Lawson. In the car I'm Mario Andretti. Well, I can dream, right?

I sure do wish the Cat had a 5 or 6 speed manual box though. I miss that. All my cars before the Taurus were manuals. The Omegas have a stick but slipping one into a Catera with the added pedal and stuff doesn't seem like an easy job. Plus the expense of buying one and shipping it in from Europe is kind of silly when the the auto box works fine. I do this a lot. Dream up modifications and upgrades when what I've got is more than good enough. I probably will do some suspension and brake upgrades but if I want a psuedo race car I'll buy a Vette.

Elvin

PS: We may not have Gators but we're up to our necks with Deer. They scare me more.