99 Seville troubles

[jessergirl2004]

Just bout a 99 SLS a week ago and of course, already finding problems. Just my luck... biggest one Im worried about is my heat doesnt blow cold at all. It's almost winter, I need warm air in my car. I read on another forum to watch the car temp when having heat problems. Mine seems to get kinda high, though never in the red. Then i start reading on HG problems. Im scared! I cant even afford the maintenance on this car. Im a 23 year old woman with some mechanical knowledge, but I get most of my help from Dad. Unfortunately, he knows mainly foreign cars, which I've had my whole life until i got this SLS. Any thoughts on where to start with diagnosing my heating problem?
My check engine light came on as I drove the car home the first day. And there are indicators to change the break pads (which feel and sound fine) and to check coolant levels.
I do love this car and want to take care of it. But I cant afford a mechanic to just diagnose my problems for me.
I appreciate all feedback!!

[submariner409]

Your best bet, right now, is to take the car back to where you bought it and express your concerns over the symptoms you describe.

The overheating is highly suspect: A good SLS Northstar engine does not overheat, ever, at any time, under any circumstances.

The heater may be as simple as a closed blend door or as serious as exhaust gas in the cooling system "air binding" the heater core.

The Check Engine and Brake Pads lights are not good signs. The Check Coolant Level, coupled with the overheat is serious.

Your temperature gauge should stay between the 12:00 and next mark always.

I hate to burst your bubble, but if each of your described symptoms is the worst of each possibility, you are looking at well over $5,000 (dealer pricing) to repair them all.

[Ian-STS99]

LOL sub, don't you just love it when someone buys a car that they can not afford to maintain !?

I guess this should be a good lesson for next time when buying a car, if you can not afford to maintain it etc, don't even buy it, look for something cheaper. Thats my 2 cents.

[Mark C]

Don't panic yet. If you really have low coolant level in the surge tank, that could be why the car runs hot, and why there is no heat. Check the level to see where it is and refill it to about an inch below the top of the surge tank with 50/50 antifreeze mix. If the car overheats again, or still runs hot and spits coolant out of the overflow line on the top of the surge tank, you may have an issue with headgaskets. Once filled the tank should maintain that level almost indefinately, if you keep loosing water and don't have an external leak then you can start to worry a little more, although some leaks are hard to find. Radiator end tanks will crack and weep fluid as will the waterpump housing cover, both can be very hard to find unless you either get just the right weather conditions and can see a bit of vapor, or if you see an area of white crystals on the aluminum which is a sign of dried coolant.

You also need to check the purge line that runs from the water pump housing to the surge tank for water flow with the engine running. Take the line off the surge tank end with the engine cold, stick it in the top of the surge tank, and start the car, you should see a pretty solid stream of water from the end of the line. If theres no flow then the line is plugged and the water pump will get airbound and the car will run hotter than it should, but not into the red (typically). If the line is plugged it will be at the metal fitting on the waterpump housing, jam a peice of weedwacker line, or a 2 or 3" finishing nail into the end of the fitting and dig around until water starts flowing.

The 98 and up Sevilles use a sacrificial brake sensor wire that fits into a hole in the actual brake pads. This wire will break if the pads are worn down to much and the change brake pad light will come on. You have to replace the sensor on the wheel where that brake sensor cable is. Its about a 20 dollar per wheel cable, or you can buy a set of pads with the cables included. If the pads look good all that means is the previous owner never replaced the sensor, or someone forgot to hook it back up after the pads were changed, its not a big deal. It should have been on when you bought the car though as you can't reset the message until the sensor is replaced, as it will come right back on.

As far as the check engine light pull your codes (see the thread at the top of this forum to see how to do this). It could be something as minor as a loose gas cap, of something more troubling. Of course if you have any recourse with the dealer (assuming it was a dealer sale) let them check out the problems and resolve them for you.

[Ranger]

I'm with Sub. I'd take it back. Doubt you'll have any luck, but I think you bought a money pit. The head gasket being the BIG dollar item, if it is bad, but I don't like what you have to say. you probably should have checked it out better BEFORE you bought it.

[mitchjagger]

Did you buy the car from a dealer? If so take it back and make them look at it.
If you bought it from a private party, did it have any problems when you test drove it, you drove the car first before forking out the cash, right?
See the sticky thread on the main seville/eldo page about pulling codes and looking them up. The SES light may be something dumb like a misfire or bad gas. Do you see any coolant under the car when it sits, if so it will probably be around 130 - 550 to get fixed depending on problem. If you don't see any coolant, does the car vibrate when you start it up untill you push on the gas? Does the temp surge from normal to high when on the highway? If so it may be HG issue. You can also do a block test or fill the coolant surge tank and leave the car run, if it gives appearance that the coolant is boiling over, bad HG. This happened to me a month after I got my deville, I then paid about 5500 to replace the engine with one that had lower miles. If you do end up having a bad headgasket and decide to get it fixed, have it timeserted or studed. Unfortunately 97-99 are the worst years for the HG. Hopefully its nothing major, good luck.

[Pete315]

Hey Mark C, did you get my private message?

[jessergirl2004]

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful information. I bought the car from a private party and am currently looking up my state's lemon laws. I drove the car before i purchased it and the only thing off was at start up when the car seemed to be shakey and not able to idle just right. But after a few moments it would idle correctly. The man I bought it from said the oxygen censor was bad and it needed replacing. So I went home to find the price on one to talk the guy down on price and went back the next day to bargain. He then informed me that his mechanic checked it out that morning and told him the only thing wrong was that the car needed new spark plugs and wires. Simple. As i drove the car home, lights went off like crazy.
I have since filled up the overflow resevoir with coolant and it still leaks. I am adding over a gallon a day. Steam is steady and volumous from the tail pipes at night in the cooler air. There is no leak appearing on the ground. The oil dipstick is exceptionally clean, but the oil was changed about 1000 miles ago. All other fluids are fine. The service engine light turned out to be an EGR notification. Could that be a possible factor in me losing coolant? The car shakes when coming to a stop. The ride is not as smooth as when i bought it. How can things get so much worse after having the car only 2 weeks? Thanks again yall

[HowardW]

Well I hate to say this, but it sounds from what you've said that the seller was lying to you on several counts, and he was selling the car because of major upcoming repair bills (head gaskets, etc). How many miles are on the car?

[Mark C]

Does it Run hot, more than say half a tick to the right of center? If so when, on the highway, around town, just idling? Do you run the heater in automatic all the time or have the A/C turned off. that makes a difference in how the fans operate on the car. Does the amount of water vapor in the tailpipes change as the car heats up, or cools down? A gallon of water a day is a huge amount to be burning, and you would have a huge white cloud out the back of the car all the time, not just when its cool outside. My 97's constantly have wisps of water vapor coming out of the tail pipes on all but the driest days, or after I've run the car on the highway for a while. I don't add a drop of water to the cooling system. I would think with that much water going thru the engine the car would overheat to the point of getting the idel engine warning on the dash in a matter of a few miles of driving.

External leaks can be tough to find sometimes. I bought a 2000 Deville for 500 bucks because the owner was going thru about a half gallon of water a day in a 20 mile each way commute to work, never leaked on the ground. Car never overheated unless the water level got low and then it only got warmer to the point where the A/c was turned off. He was sure it was headgaskets, turned out to be a pair of cracked radiator end cases. I drove it 30 miles home, gauge never moved off of the center mark on the gauge so I didn't really beleive it was headgaskets, Still took me a while to find it, had to wait for a cool day to see the wisps of vapor coming off each side of the radiator.

Take it down to a radiator shop and have it tested for combustion gasses in the coolant, then you will know for sure what your dealing with.

[chubbyranger]

Originally Posted by jessergirl2004

Steam is steady and volumous from the tail pipes at night in the cooler air.

The steam should diminish somewhat after the condensation in the exhaust is flushed out. If the exhaust smells sweet like coolant you likley have found where the coolant is going. A gallon a day is a lot to be going through. Also if you are adding coolant daily the exhaust gas test may come back a false negative if you are diluting it with fresh coolant.

[Ranger]

I don't think lemon laws apply to private sales or used cars. The only law that applies here is caveat emptor (buyer beware). This guy was lying through his teeth. He knew what he had and was just looking for some poor unsuspecting sole to unload his problem on. You might get lucky if you get a lawyer and send him a letter of intent ti sue if he does not take the car back, but you'll have to act fast. Even then you might be out of luck. An honest lawyer would tell you if you have a case or stand a chance, but then you have to factor in his fees.

[Ian-STS99]

If the heads are letting that much water into the piston chambers, the oil will be a light tan gooey mess thats semi thick / thick. This will lead to the need for a complete enging strip down and rebuild.

[Ranger]

Northstar head gaskets rarely put coolant in the oil when they fail.