I have a 1998 deville; the check coolant level light starting coming on so my son who is a mechanic in a privatley owned garage replaced the water pump as the gaskets were leaking; there is still a coolant leak and we found coolant under the intake manifold and the number one cylinder had evidence of coolant on the spark plug; he thinks the head is cracked; am wondering if anyone else has any info on this; there have been no temp spike or coolant surges so he doesn't feel it is a head gasket blown; would the coolant leak pills work to correct this or am I doomed to a head replacement?

:welcome:
Cracked heads are almost unheard of. Bad head gaskets are another story. In either case the drivetrain must come out and the heads must be removed. Sealant tabs will not help. Have your son do a cylinder pressure test to confirm or rule out head gaskets. If the heads are pulled, be sure to have all 20 head bolt holes Timeserted.

If the head gaskets are leaking and he doesn't have Northstar experience he should look at the Head Gasket thread in tech tips. It was written for people doing their own at home but he will get a lot of specific info from it.

He did the head gasket pressure test and there was no sign of leaking; it only seems to leak at running temperature, which is why he felt it is a cracked head

So can anyone tell me what the general consensus is on this issue? Is it worth getting the car repaired for about $3000?

That is a decision only you can make. If done properly, the engine should outlast the rest of the car.

Does anyone know if Cadillac is standing behind their known defect in materials and workmanship on the head bolt issue?

Only if it is under warranty.

Well I had the car repaired and it was the front head gasket; it blew by the number one cylinder. The head was not cracked; the guy that did it told me the engine is in excellent condition; those Mobile One oil changes done religiously according to the oil sensors in the car paid off; he and my son both said the engine should now last practically forever. As well it should for $3178.00 ouch

dag i did mines for 1500 and had inserts put on the bolts on the head cuz a lot of times it don't be nothing wrong with the heads.the block and heads are alluminum so therefore the dealers cant torque down to hard on the bolts and they tend to back out over years of driving and cause head warpage

He put the inserts on mine too with the redo kit that you buy from Cadillac; they car is running wonderfully now; the heads were not cracked or warped. Even though it was a lot of money; I have really enjoyed the car and am glad I had it done :)