97 Deville - Common Problems?

[YoudLse]

Hello,

I'm thinking of buying a 1997 Cadillac Deville with about 85,000 miles on it. I'm going to take it to a mechanic today to find out if there are any major problems.

Do you have any suggestions on specific items that I should have him look at?

Thanks.

[pnj2108]

Well i bought mine with 75k and i haven't had any serious problems besides the fact that my a/c compressor refuses to turn on so i'm trying to get to the bottom of the problem because it has refrigerant so i have thinking it might be the sensor. But anyways you should check the history of the car because the one thing that i did see on my cars history is that there was a fuel rail recall on my 97 deville so i would look out for that. But other than that i cant tell you much more besides the fact that they are great cars they run pretty hot so dont freak out mine usually stays around 190-196 degrees and that the highest i have seen it has been 212-228 but never any hotter and it only gets that high on very hot days in florida and when i'm sitting in traffic. I also have seen people in the past complain about the fact that they burn too much oil i have had any problems there but just as a heads up you will need 8 qts of oil for your oil changes. Just keep the fluids topped off in other words just check them from time to time my coolant gets a little low about once a year but not enough to trigger a low coolant level warning mine currently has 97k and is running like if it was new.

So i wish you the best of luck on your purchase.

[z06bigbird]

Try all windows from all switches.
Look at bottom of radiator for leaks.
Check all options, like seats, radio, etc.

Do a search on site for Northstar overheating and stripped head bolts.

Keep in mind that starter brushes should be worn down. Starter is under intake manifold. Several hours labor.

Check small fan belt that control water pump. Smell engine for anti freeze leaks. Water pump needs special tool to replace.

2000 model SDV is a car with many improvements, especially with overheading and head bolt problems. Same situation with starter.

[misfit6794]

Be sure to look at your checking and savings account to make sure they are high enough to maintain the car. Headgaskets are a major issue with northstars, you will probably have to deal with them at some point. If you get past that, then you need to worry about the a/c compressor (about 1000 dollar job). Then the starter, which is under the intake manifold. And if you finally make it past all these, you can start to deal with the suspension, which is a whole new ball game. If you decide to keep the active suspension, the sensors for each shock are around $400 a piece. The shocks themselves are $1000 a piece (no joke). If your control arm bushings go, which mine did, you have to replace the entire control arm, another $1000. I don't care what anyone says, its expensive to keep going. As soon as you fix one thing, another will break. Even normal things like oil changes are more expensive, it takes 8 quarts of oil, and will burn off one about every 1000 miles. If you can cover the costs, its an awesome car.

[Ranger]

Sold my '97 Deville with 107K on it and never had a problem with it. Make sure that the cooling system has been maintained.

my coolant gets a little low about once a year but not enough to trigger a low coolant level warning

You have a very minor leak somewhere.

[JimHare]

Originally Posted by misfit6794

Be sure to look at your checking and savings account to make sure they are high enough to maintain the car. Headgaskets are a major issue with northstars, you will probably have to deal with them at some point.

Once again I am forced to restrain your youthful enthusiasm, butterfly....

I have to take issue with your use of the term "probably", which infers a near-certain eventuality. There are millons of Northstars on the road, fourteen years worth, and I have yet to have anybody show me figures which prove a large fraction of them undergo head gasket failures.

You simply can NOT take this forum, or any anecdotal evidence, as fact. I've seen so many posts with phrases like "my mechanic says all Northstars have bad headgaskets" or "I know a guy who's cousin is a service writer and he says that they do xxx Northstars a month" or something like that. This may well be true, but you can't judge the entire production by the small percentage that have problems.

While your mechanic was working on that Northstar HG, over an eight hour period, perhaps a hundred Caddy's drove right by his shop without stopping. He doesn't count them. He only counts the one's he sees.

Yeah, if a dealer does half a dozen HGs a month, it might seem like a lot - but how many Caddys does he SELL a month? 100? 200? More?

There is a HUGE population of N* powered Caddys out there with no problems - but because they make no noise, people assume they don't exist. There are lot of Caddys round where I live, and whenever I see a 90s vintage owner, I make a point of saying hello and shooting the bull for a few minutes, and I ALWAYS ask, "Had any major problems with yours?".. I have YET to have anyone say, "Hell, yeah, my gaskets went..." and I'll bet I've talked to at least 50 owners over the last year or so.

You just can't go by this forum. People with a problem come here. That's to be expected. But their problem does NOT represent the preponderance of the population.

That said, coolant maintenance is PARAMOUNT with the Northstar. Make sure its has been changed every couple of years or so - if you can't verify the last time it's been done, have a long-term cylinder leakdown test done, and then if it passes, change it out immediately.

Good luck.

[Ranger]

Well put Jim.

[hueterm]

I have a '95 Concours -- bought a few months ago w/48K miles.

$1400 A/C Compressor
$750 Instrument Cluster (that had to be replaced about 6 times due to the miserable remanufacturer)
$600 other misc stuff (water pump, etc.)

BUT I love the car and would buy one again.

Mike

[z06bigbird]

I recommend that you buy AC Delco parts, not from the local Auto Z, Advance, etc. I am convinced that those local shops sell seconds. I have had several defective new parts right out of the box. A/C and alt on Northstar are a little tough to get to (labor $$). Buy A/C Delco parts. Fewer headaches. If you can get a commercial discount, you will do ok on pricing.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by JimHare

Once again I am forced to restrain your youthful enthusiasm, butterfly....

I have to take issue with your use of the term "probably", which infers a near-certain eventuality. There are millons of Northstars on the road, fourteen years worth, and I have yet to have anybody show me figures which prove a large fraction of them undergo head gasket failures.

You simply can NOT take this forum, or any anecdotal evidence, as fact. I've seen so many posts with phrases like "my mechanic says all Northstars have bad headgaskets" or "I know a guy who's cousin is a service writer and he says that they do xxx Northstars a month" or something like that. This may well be true, but you can't judge the entire production by the small percentage that have problems.

While your mechanic was working on that Northstar HG, over an eight hour period, perhaps a hundred Caddy's drove right by his shop without stopping. He doesn't count them. He only counts the one's he sees.

Yeah, if a dealer does half a dozen HGs a month, it might seem like a lot - but how many Caddys does he SELL a month? 100? 200? More?

There is a HUGE population of N* powered Caddys out there with no problems - but because they make no noise, people assume they don't exist. There are lot of Caddys round where I live, and whenever I see a 90s vintage owner, I make a point of saying hello and shooting the bull for a few minutes, and I ALWAYS ask, "Had any major problems with yours?".. I have YET to have anyone say, "Hell, yeah, my gaskets went..." and I'll bet I've talked to at least 50 owners over the last year or so.

You just can't go by this forum. People with a problem come here. That's to be expected. But their problem does NOT represent the preponderance of the population.

That said, coolant maintenance is PARAMOUNT with the Northstar. Make sure its has been changed every couple of years or so - if you can't verify the last time it's been done, have a long-term cylinder leakdown test done, and then if it passes, change it out immediately.

Good luck.

Do you think every Northstar owner is on this board?. No. Most are owned by greyheads that dont know how to use a computer. But the ones that ARE here all at some point have coolant/headgasket issues. Look at the post counts man, not everyone here just signed up to bitch about their Caddies. I'm on Mercedes forums, Mustang forums, Camaro forums and Lincoln forums as well as the Fleetwood RWD forum here and nowhere does anybody complain about head gaskets like the do right here. There is a definate inherent problem with Northstars and ignoring it is, well.......ignorant.

As far as the guy wanting to buy a '97, IMHO, dont. I speak from experience and the experience from others, the Deville is a problematic car and you CAN buy a much better car for the money. My buddy has an '01 with 54k miles and his head gaskets just went too. Mine was a '98 which blew the gaskets as well and had an A/C leak. take a look at all the posts of actual Northstar owners and check out the ones on carsurvey.org. Jim's and his friends experience with Northstars in NOT the norm.

[lenny lincoln]

Take it from a car guy. I have been around cars for 36 yrs. Buying and selling and turning wrenches on everything That I've owned. I am not cheap but I am realistic. Caddies are a first owner car. Buying second hand Caddies without any knowledge of turning wrenches or willing to learn will more likely cost you more to own than any other American produced luxury car. I too visit many different automotive forums to learn of the repairs of the cars that I have owned and by far I read nothing but expensive parts and repair despair from the Caddie forums. Run away from that car and go look at a Lincoln Towncar or fully loaded Crown Vic for a driver with that many miles.

[misfit6794]

I agree, definetly would be better if you were the original owner. Most caddy owners (seniors) tend to not do preventative maintenance, hence most second hand caddys have issues. On another note, while I was at my mechanic's shop, not one, but two caddys pulled in, with coolant pushing out the overflow, headgaskets failed. All you have to do is look on ebay, about a third of 94-2000 caddies on there are "mechanics specials" with overheating problems.

[JimHare]

Originally Posted by misfit6794

All you have to do is look on ebay, about a third of 94-2000 caddies on there are "mechanics specials" with overheating problems.

You guys are missing the point. Repeatedly.

There is no relationship between the percentage of cars for sale on Ebay that are "mechanics specials" and the overall population, for any car.

In fact, there's no relation between cars for sale on eBay and anything, for cryin' out loud.

Would you look at eBay, see 30 Fords for sale, find that 10 of them are Mustangs, and think, "Gee, 30% of all Fords for sale are Mustangs, therefore 30% of all Ford MANUFACTURED must be Mustangs."

I can't believe you'd seriously point out a venue like eBay as a statistically valid sample of ANYTHING, much less the real world.

But the ones that ARE here all at some point have coolant/headgasket issues.

ALL is a rather encompassing term, isn't it? It means EVERYONE.

And that's my point. NOT everyone has HG issues. Not even close.

They complain about H/Gs here because of two main characteristics:
1) They're f***ing expensive.
2) They're hard to do.

H/Gs in many other cars do NOT have both of those characteristics. Therefore, the reason to complain about them is not as strong.

If the design of the Northstar was so flawed from the getgo, as some of the board's members have posited, there would be a much larger percentage of failures. And how could one explain the tens of thousands of Northstar engines with over 200K miles on them?

A flawed design is expected to affect ALL of the engines built using it, not just 1 out of 30 or 1 out of 100.

[JimHare]

Originally Posted by misfit6794

On another note, while I was at my mechanic's shop, not one, but two caddys pulled in, with coolant pushing out the overflow, headgaskets failed.

While you were there, how many drove by without stopping?

[misfit6794]

Everyone's entitled to their opinions. I am just glad that I don't have to deal with the DeVille's issue anymore. Ebay has sold millions of cars, and has alot of influence on the market.