I'm loosing a gallon of coolant about every 1000 miles or so enough to trigger the "low coolant message" I park my car and haven't noticed any leaks and i've checked all the hoses and i don't see anything leaking. I'm going to park my car in a garage with a white sheet and leave it running for about 45 minutes and see if i can see anything but is this leak significant enough to show in the exhaust ?

After the car has been running 30 minutes or so theres no white smoke or anything even when flooring it and the oil to me looks like it always does btw its a 97 ETC

headgasket

welcome to the club! Same thing happened to me the other day. I'm heading in to the Local Caddy dealer to get a quote Tuesday. I can tell you it's NOT gonna be cheap. Baby the crap out of you're Eldo! No WOT runs.

I'll just replace it myself if it is a headgasket will only take a day of work maybe 2. I don't understand why people are paying 2500 for a 100 dollar job max...

hahahhaha
you really dont know what your dealing with do you?
a DEALER can take up to a week on the job....

excuse my humorous demeanor but i really think you ought to search on a N* headgasket replacement before you chalk it up to a 2 day affair...

I've replaced a headgasket on my SHO Yamaha just fine in 1 day? its just tedious work.

Ok 550 dollars sence i might need to timesert it.

ok its official
you have absolutely no idea what your talking about
goodbye!

Okay, first of all why are you comparing a N* to a Yamaha? You can go ahead and try to replace it. But I garrantee you that you'r engine wont start when your done. Its wayyyyyyy to complicated. Just pay the money and leave it to the pros. Besides, I would think that they give a warranty too......

If you can drop the entire front subframe, then tear down the motor, re tap all 20 headbolt threads, and then put it all back together in two days, you might be the most advanced mechanic in the world.

I've replaced a headgasket on my SHO Yamaha just fine in 1 day? its just tedious work.

Ok 550 dollars sence i might need to timesert it.
Come back when you're done and tell us how much it cost you and how long it took you.

I'll just replace it myself if it is a headgasket will only take a day of work maybe 2. I don't understand why people are paying 2500 for a 100 dollar job max...

LMAO!!!!... are you on crack?

you are all very condescending its the right bank thats leaking coolant "head facing the fans" so i will only be replacing one of the head gaskets so i will not have to drop the subframe. I'll replace the other side when it fails.

He's gone from bad judgement to worse. Experience is what you have left after you've screwed-up.

...........at least he said "when" in the last sentence. Any bets on less than 6 months? (If one set of head bolts has lifted already, the second 10 are close behind.)

P.T. Barnum.....

He's gone from bad judgment to worse. Experience is what you have left after you've screwed-up.

At least he'll of gained SOMETHING, god knows he lacks cuth or any sort of current experience about the N*

take some pics of your progress.....and remember when you start.. the space shuttle is assembled in 6 days with a day in between for seals to be checked for swelling and proper sealing

take some pics of your progress.....and remember when you start.. the space shuttle is assembled in 6 days with a day in between for seals to be checked for swelling and proper sealing

oh yea
NASA vs Self Taught "Mechanic"

It is a much bigger job than you might think.
Sorry these guys are ripping on you, you seem to be lacking some basic information about what this job really entails.
Not to mention a small mistake on your part but... the left bank is the front one, the right bank is the bank facing the bulkhead. An easy mistake to make but you'd better be sure to ask for the right stuff when you do it.

What is the time it says in the manual that it takes ?
And that probably is not counting head gaskets.

The basic Cadillac shop rate for engine overhaul in a 2002 STS is 32.3 hours. That does not cover Timeserts (5 hours ?) or unexpected labor from change orders or extra problems encountered. Now add in the parts costs.......and the right bank is against the firewall, so the entire drivetrain must come out.

I was quoted between 3000 to 6000 for a hg repair from about 6 different shops. I did this job myself, for about 1500 and I'm sure i did a hellofa better job than any shop would have done because I put that extra personal touch to it. It too k me about 5-6 weeks to complete with endless trips to the local auto parts stores / tool stores as well as internet mail orders. If I did not work 5 days a week, I would have been able to do the job in about 3 days at about 14 hours of work per day with 2 people. Also got to replace a lot of other components as well as clean the hell out the engine.

After the HG job, with 2 people, in a private garage, we spent 2 full days removing the cradle a second time and putting it back in. And this included starting at 8am in the morning and working all day until 1 am in the morning without many breaks except to run to the local parts/tool shops.

I have a 1993 Cadillac Eldo with less than 75,000 miles, in very good condition, I LOVE this car. The coolant drained and the engine registered "HOT" I immediately turned off the engine. I had the car towed to the garage. I was told by the mechanic that the transmission has to be dropped to get to the coolant plug. ($2,000) He also said "This is a HUGE job AND he possibly will need to pull the engine at an additional charge". Does this seem reasonable??

Thank you,
Jeanne H

there is no way to drop the tranny
the whole k frame must be dropped to seperate engine from tranny on a N*

I have a 1993 Cadillac Eldo with less than 75,000 miles, in very good condition, I LOVE this car. The coolant drained and the engine registered "HOT" I immediately turned off the engine. I had the car towed to the garage. I was told by the mechanic that the transmission has to be dropped to get to the coolant plug. ($2,000) He also said "This is a HUGE job AND he possibly will need to pull the engine at an additional charge". Does this seem reasonable??

Thank you,
Jeanne H

Jeanne: If you like the car and plan to hold onto it, drop the cradle, have the cylinder heads removed and insert all the holes in the block and replace the cylinder head and coolant crossover gaskets and the rear main seal (oil pan gasket and half case seals also if they are leaking. These are common failure points on this engine and all but the crossover gaskets require the engine be removed. The crossover gaskets can be changed in the car, but it's a tough job. Plan on spending $3-4,000, but you will have a car with an engine that will most likely outlast the rest of the car

Why don't you guys believe he could do it in 2 hours?

My friend ZOHAN replaced his head gasket in 30 seconds... :blurock:

Think I know how it can be done faster. Just read an advertisement on this forum for STEEL SEAL. Fixes all your head gasket problems in a matter of hours. Just pour it in your radiator and your done. More Snake Oil I'm sure but a very entertaining commercial, video and all. :lies:

Think I know how it can be done faster. Just read an advertisement on this forum for STEEL SEAL. Fixes all your head gasket problems in a matter of hours. Just pour it in your radiator and your done. More Snake Oil I'm sure but a very entertaining commercial, video and all. :lies:

Just googled "STEEL SEAL"-----it actually looks believable.Lifetime guarantee--maybe worth a try.