I was told by two separate mechanics that the 4.1 engine in the 1983 Fleetwood Brougham is a bad engine? Can anyone comment on this or give me their experience prior to me investing money in this car? Thanks.

I've got a 1983 DeVille with a 4.1 and I can't complain, although a lot of other people could. If it is cared for properly it will last a long time, as mine has. Look in the HT 4100 section to get an idea of what problems you may face and how to best prevent them. If it's a low mileage car in good condition I would go for it. Good luck!

The HT-4100 was OK, as long as it was maintained. There is a history of problems with the Digital Electronic Fuel Injection System (DEFI), but there are still many of these engines around. I would prefer the 5.0L or 5.7L engine that came later in the RWD Cadillacs.

I would say stay away from the diesel and the V4-6-8. These were popular in the early 1980's. These engines were born out of the gas crisis of the 1970's and trying to make big cars more fuel-efficient. Good ideas, but bad repair record on both engines. And I am a big fan of a diesel engine, but I was never sold on a Cadillac that "clatters".

I can remember the '83 DeVille new in the showroom and the Salesman saying that the HT-4100 was the "wave of the future." That is one nice car, and it would be a shame to modify it too much.

I had one with 80k and it made a popping out of the throttle bodies as if it had a stuck push rod or something but I fixed it by leaving it in park and reving the shit out of it for a good lil minute then it stopped and I never heard it again. I would not recomend doing this to try to fix it though. If your choosing a lac from that gen. I would avoid the 4.1 get one with the dime a dozen 5.0 or 5.7's known to be better motor and easyer/cheaper to find parts for/replace if it came down to it.

The 4100 is a poor engine. I have one in my '85. It's way underpowered in the rear drive cars, hard to work on, and short on life. Like everything else, if it's well cared for it will last longer than average. Heck, I've made an original 1981 diesel last for 200K with the proper care. Unfortunatly, it's the only choice that makes any sense in '83. You wouldn't want the V6 or the diesel, although, they all have about the same power. Just watch for disappearing coolant as head gaskets are the biggest problem. If you can get the car cheap enough, and if its nice, go for it, but be forwarned.

I heard that the diesels were never good, becuase people didn't know how to drive them, and how to run them (ex. you are not supposed to start up a diesel run it for 5min to go to the store, sut it down for 5min, then run it for 5min again to go home) and I heard ALOT of stories online about people having nothing but great things to say about them, and getting them to run above 350k+ miles and then selling it with the engine still running great..... you know who did this? TRUCK DRIVERS! yeah, the guys that know how a Diesel is supposed to be run and whatnot.....

ALso, alot of guys on here say the V8-6-4 isn't as bad as it sounds.... I think it was a neat idea...

I had an 87 Sedan Deville w/the 4.1, this was a few years ago and it only had 56k miles but it ran great for the short time I had it. I bought it to resell it, took a liking to it so I held on to it for a year. I put about 12k miles on it (not sure cause the speedo stopped working after I registered 3k miles) and it never gave me a problem. A friend of mine had an 81 Deville (I think, the ones with the sloped trunk) and between the time his dad had it and the time he owned it they registered over 180k miles on and sold it in good running condition.

Mine is a 84 4.1. It has over 250k on it. Works great except some loss of power (then again it is a 4.1 compared to the 5.0 and 5.8) and a minor rear seal leak that requires an extra litre of oil between changes. But good dependability if you take care of it.

My white 85 has 257,000 miles on it. I did the cam lifters and sent the heads out, etc... I did this at about 220,000 miles. The car is really under powered, even after the mini overhaul that i gave it. I'm glad I got my 95 now. But you just can't the lines on the coupe I love them.

My blue 85 only had 82,000 and the motor blew. Intake gasket went (very common) anti-freeze got on the cam wiped out the lobes and cam bearings. Lost oil pressure through cam bearings wiped out crank and rods. This is also known as "catastrophic engine failure". Technical term I swear. I did what any motor head would do, got rid of the 4.1 and put an olds rocket 350. MUCH BETTER!!!

I once saw the most PERFECT fleetwood brougham ever. Absolutely MINT condition, couldnlt tell the difference between it now, and it when it was new in 83. It had a 4.1, so i didn't buy it. Don't get one with the 4.1 unless you have the money to swap engines. You're going to want to sooner or later. That motor has an aluminum block with cast iron heads which leads to blown head gaskets. Most of the time fixing this is almost worth as much as your caddy, no matter how nice it is. Like others have said, if the miles are low, it should run fine with TLC. But BEWARE of head gaskets.

I have a 1985 caddy with the 4.1 liter. The only problem I have had is a blown intake gasket. It is good running car you just have to maintain it very regularly.