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New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems

32K views 255 replies 23 participants last post by  stoveguyy 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey, everyone. First off, I'm glad this forum exists, and I'm very salty I didn't think to check here 3 days ago prior to buying an Eldorado.....off of craigslist.. Anyway!

I am absolutely new to cars, I don't really know much about how to fix them, or where to look for problems, or what situations to not get into after a quick look over, which all leaded me to finding a 95 Eldorado on Craigslist, it all seemed to run well on the parking lot test drive (first mistake), and so I got it instantly, not really checking out other cars first (second mistake).

After 20 minutes on the freeway, and noticing I passed my exit, I decided to cruise for a little bit, I pulled off and hit a backstreet to see what kind of MPG I am dealing with. I was pretty satisfied... Up until my nephew started freaking out and stated, "Uhm. There is something leaking into the car..." and almost as if on queue to those words, the car started steaming out of the vent, almost seemed like it had to be smoke as well.

I pulled off into a gas station, and tried calling the person for some information, but lets just say-- this individual is completely useless and is not wanting to talk so I can't really ask him for a refund, I guess I'm too easy going.

SO after 30 minutes of trying to figure out what I am going to do, because I am asking everyone at this gas station for help because I don't know what I am doing, I decide to take it to the nearest "mechanic", which was told to me that it is just down the road, so I head off in that direction and find an entire line of... Auto Body Repair Shops...

One guy finally takes a look at it, and tells me what the heating (core? cord?) was broken and that was the issue as to why it was spewing coolant into the car on the passenger side. I asked him what I can do about that and he said it would be $300 and 8 Hours of work, to which my jaw dropped. I asked if there was an alternative and he said they could "bypass" it. I asked what that would solve and he said it would stop spewing for sure, and I asked if it would stop overheating, he said definitely, they also replaced a clamp type item that connected the vacuum hose of the engine to another part of the engine, which previously had a hole in it. The car fired up and sounded great, I paid the man and took off down the road. That's when I am now experiencing low acceleration power, and I am like.... Huh ?

I end up going back to this guy about 5 times, he reassured me that after a good sit overnight the car would be absolutely fine and not to worry about anything, the overheating message, beeping and low acceleration are all because it hasn't sat long enough after the bypass. I tell him I feel like it might have been the plug he replaced, so he took it off and said it was ok to drive with it off. (third mistake? fourth?) At about the fifth time he told me my catalytic converter was bad, and I kept hearing it was "Cadillac Converter" "Catallic Converter", so none of what he was saying made sense, and I thought this would be the last thing I needed to make sure the car was good to go, so I asked him where I get that situated, and he directed me to a muffler shop. It was about 8 minutes away. I set up an appointment and got it replaced the next day.

(somewhere inbetween all this I picked up some oil and put more oil in the car, I randomly got power back but it kept dying out at random times)

After it got replaced, I thought all of my issues were going to be solved, so I took off down the road, happy as can be. I had power again! Now, I was happy with the v8 engine in this beast, I just roared it a couple 50-100 feet. Then the power dies out again, and I just get livid. I whip around to the shop and by this point, I'm not even mad I am just disappointed in my lack of car knowledge, and I tell him that it didn't work, we get another guy involved and discover that the car is indeed overheating. We let it all cool down, run some water in it and watch to see where it is going, and after about two minutes it just starts essentially throwing the water upwards. We let it cool down once more for about 30 minutes, the water was incredibly low afterwards, and he filled it up, told me to drive it to the house and not drive it anymore until I can figure out whats wrong with it.

At this point I had gotten in contact with the guy and he states he will bring his mechanic to the car to check it out, and replace whatever it is that is broken and get it back on the road. Just kidding. No show.

So the car is sitting here, and I realize that my neighbor has the same exact car, maybe a couple years newer, and very nice rims. I talk to him about what could be the issue, learned more about (after the mechanics and I had a long talk about why nobody likes to work on cadi engines - aluminum) how they warp when overheated and its all downhill from there.

So, I come to this forum looking for anyone who can just help me out here. I am willing to invest the time into fixing it. But I want to know what I should look for to see if it is too late to even want to try, what do you guys feel the issue might be?

I came to a realization last night that if maybe the heating (core? cord?) is replaced and the bypass was ... enabled again, that should clear up any issues, especially since the car hadn't overheated prior to the bypass. That and because the Catalytic Converter (which apparently you're supposed to be able to see all the way through, was meeeeeeesssed up) was replaced.

What do you guys think? I'm sure there are guides all over to find out how to do this, but I'd like to take it from some knowledgeable people on a realistic scale.

Thank you so much.
Rich
 
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#39 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Jaysus H Christmas am I glad I didn't get a North Star. This thread is terrifying.

You should see the saga i endured, but in the end it's a helluva an engine that will reward you thricefold.
 
#41 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Where would I be able to pick up some sort of jack / car ramp for really, really cheap? I have the weekend to myself, but very little money, and I'd love to flush the coolant tank and put coolant in it, clean the purge line, and do whatever else I can do in the meantime for cheap to try to get these issues resolved
 
#46 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Where would I be able to pick up some sort of jack / car ramp for really, really cheap? I have the weekend to myself, but very little money, and I'd love to flush the coolant tank and put coolant in it, clean the purge line, and do whatever else I can do in the meantime for cheap to try to get these issues resolved
---------------------
also check in your local craigslist - I picked up a pair of steel ramps for $15 -
 
#51 · (Edited)
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Hey again, everyone. So I've been doing a toooon of reading.

Couple things:

I have a couple of car ramps (rhino ramp) with 12,000 lb carry, so I think my car will be fine, definitely elevated enough to get underneath with ease.
Also got some drain pans, hoozah.


I read that it was okay to drive a car in this condition as long as:

1) You don't go past 50MPH
2) You don't try to pass anyone.
3) You don't accelerate heavily.

With that the car didn't over heat, but I also read that the danger zone for temperature is 230.

Initial Journey: Approx 7-10 Minute Drive
Car reached 196 after starting from 180.
Shortly after (10 minutes) I took it down the road a bit further to try and find an auto store, and I didn't. While "idling" which I imagine is just sitting there at a stop light with the breaks on, the car shoots up in heat, it started reaching 205... 207.. 214... 219. 225... in rather quick intervals, as I sped up after the idling, the temperature dropped back down to 210-219. Never really initially going back down under 200.

From what I've been reading, it sounds like the purge line may not be getting a constant flow of coolant, or in my case at the moment, water. At about 225/226 you can smell the water / coolant residue / whatever else may be heating up and coming through the vents (The heater core is bypassed, and the ac/blower is off).


I'm letting the engine cool off now, and I am going to drain the purgeline, (no confirmation yet if the cord I found was the right one leading to the hollow bolt, but I am pretty sure it is it.) Afterwards, I am going to disassemble the tube, and start the engine to see if it has a consistent flow, and I will report back to you if it doesn't. Regardless, I am going to take the wire hanger to it and see if I can't unclog something, because to me it feels at idle, there isn't a very consistent flow, but as you speed up, the temperature regulates / drops ~10 degrees.

Any thoughts?

Quick Edit:

I took a quick look under the car to see if i could find the coolant tank drain plug (couldn't), but also noticed a little bit of oil is on the tarp, is that natural? I didn't see anything bleeding profusely, nor a large amount, if any, dripping into the puddle, maybe caught a glimpse of a drop or two, not entirely sure.

Also, where should I be looking for the drain plug to the coolant tank?

Quick Edit #2:

After a secondary glance, there is no more oil coming out and it doesnt seem the small puddle has grown at all, I got a better look underneath and a lot of stuff seems to be grimed with oil, and there is a small/medium sized white cylinder type objtect, underneath toward the front, that has drips of oil accumulating on the bottom of it. Is it time to check that out? Oil Filter?

Also, after letting the car cool down I opened the coolant tank cap, had a little surprise burst of air, nothing crazy. The water looks pretty murky. Like, not quite milk looking, just grey water type. Maybe it just has something to do with it going through the engine, etc. Like I said, still a nooby.

I've also concluded that the head gasket should be fine. I've read a lot of symptoms of broken head gaskets and I can't say that I fall under any category, no white smoke coming out of my car, oil stick doesnt have milky oil on it, etc.

Quick Edit #3:

The reason I didn't go with a floor jack over a car ramp is only because most of the gruond I am working on is dead grass/gravel, quite bumpy, no garage or flatter land to use, so I laid down a tarp, set up the ramps, called the number on them to verify I wasn't going to get my head smashed in, the car has been sitting fine for the past 20-30 minutes.

Quick Edit #4:

The purge line clip seems to be rather troubling. Is there a simple way to get it off or am I just honestly that kinda r-tarded. I tried squeezing the clamp and loosening the line itself, but I don't think that worked. It's on there pretty good, which I am assuming, high heat + rubber = bad situation.
 
#52 ·
The drain plug (petcock) is on I think left side of radiator( correct me if I'm wrong) somebody will chime in soon that knows for sure.

----------

My bad petcock is on drivers side. Drop the splash shield and it should be right there. Don't forget to take off the cap so there's air flow.
 
#53 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

The drain plug (petcock) is on I think left side of radiator( correct me if I'm wrong) somebody will chime in soon that knows for sure.
My main problem is, all of the terminology I should know, I can't match names of objects to that object. Radiator makes me think of the coolant tank.

SO there is a (plastic?) (black?) splash shield I am looking for, what tools do I need to take it off? In the middle right of the engine on drivers side? Front? Back? What are some "landmarks" i should be looking for?
 
#55 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Thank you for the link, Basscat.
I will definitely relay that information and see if I can't get it rather soon.

Do you have any tips or tricks for removing the purge line? I get the clamp down, I can't go anywhere with it, and slowly turning the cord / pulling on it for sure isn't doing the trick.
 
#63 · (Edited)
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Thank you so much, Ranger and Basscat as well.

You guys are an incredible help. I will be sure to find that petcock tomorrow. Gettin' a bit late outside and there are family matters to attend to.

Is it bad to leave a car on ramps all night?

Thanks again, guys.

Also: Definitely gonna need to do my breaks soon, but I saw a good guide on that as well. ;P Or, at least I think I did.

Forgot to mention post purge line cleaning results:

Put the hose back on, started up the car to watch the "Coolant Level Temperature", which was what I told you was my engine temperature in above posts. I am not sure if coolant level temp is your engine temp, but if not I am sure I will be much happier.

With that being said: (How in the wild west do I find the engine temperature?)

I am now assuming Coolant level temp and operating temp are synonymous. I've read alot about what temp to look out for when it comes to that. If the coolant level gets too hot that means the engine is overheating, correct? At 280 you go into 'camel mode', which was happening often, but after roaring it 3K RPM for a bit it didn't do so bad, steadied at 217. Gonna flush it and replace the coolant.
 
#64 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

No, coolant level and engine temperature are not the same thing. I think you should have an engine temperature gauge on the instrument panel.

The engine goes into camel mode at about 260.

You can leave the car on ramps for as long as you want.
 
#68 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

No, coolant level and engine temperature are not the same thing. I think you should have an engine temperature gauge on the instrument panel.

The engine goes into camel mode at about 260.

You can leave the car on ramps for as long as you want.
1) That's good, then I think I was running at very normal coolant temps during the drive earlier, but the engine was definitely getting hot, especially by the time I got home. I notice on the temp gauges it says "76 Outside" "66" below it. I am assuming neither of those are the right ones, but I will scan through the instrument panel for sure to try and find it.

2) 260 Engine or Coolant temp?

3) Thank you for the clarification, throughout the night I kind of just figured it would be near the same as parking uphill.

So leaving it for another 100 or so posts will be fine.

:hide:

rkeating, it's good to see someone willing to learn from scratch. :highfive:

Just to clarify, coolant level is how much coolant in the system. Coolant temp is, well, coolant temp.
I'm always ready to learn something new and give it my all. I am a computers guy, much like you guys tell me where things are in cars, I could tell you in and out every spec and detail, how to replace fix and diagnose all of your issues, etc. Been doing it since I was about 10, +2 years young user experience. Cars are another thing someone should be familiar with, and know how to get around and maintain to keep up performance, just a matter of time and dedication from here on out.

The clutch is hydraulic, and doesn't engage until you're at a steady cruising speed. Had nothing to do with being on ramps.
His post scared me, thakn you for clearing that up. Haha.


I'm about to get started on that coolant drain petcock here shortly after I make some breakfast and get things situated.
 
#71 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:



Just how life goes, I suppose. :p

Pokemon Reference: You teach me and I'll teach you. Ha. HA. I friggen hate pokemon.

Also, I think I have discovered the oil filter, huzzah! At least I can get a nice little oil change and filter replacement going now, as soon as I find the oil pan drain, but I am not even there yet, haha.

I work in IT and one thing i adopted about cars from my computer experience is the process of elimination when it comes to diagnosing a car issue
Yea, that's kind of why I am asking for extreme details, they will help me eliminate causes and let my brain go into 'well this seems logical, let me double check' mode.


Edit: Which number on that diagram above is the lower air deflector? I am assuming that I will obviously need to take off the spash shield to get to this, set it aside, then find the lower air filter and the rivets, to get that out, before I can access my petcock.

----------

Btw, saw a really good video on how to change breaks on I think a 97 Seville or Deville, but I am assuming the method and area are relatively similar, especially enough to replicate on most cars. Just need a c clamp O.O
 
#72 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

terminology -

coolant level =
the amount of coolant in the serge tank -
relating to the the FULL COLD line -

coolant/engine temperature =
engine temp and coolant temp are synonymous -
but is usually called engine temp -

breaks and brakes -
a drinking glass breaks -
your car has brakes -

Forgot to mention post purge line cleaning results
OK - so you cleaned the hollow bolt -
did you also check that the line between the hollow bolt -
and the serge tank is clear? Did you blow through it?

I am a computers guy
cars was my first career - computers was my second -

here is a question for you -

what is the most secure method of storing data - and why -

I'm talking a physical device - not encryption -
-------------------------
the answer to this question is how I got my foot in the door -
to build specialty "forensic computers" for various government agencies -
 
#74 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

terminology -

coolant level =
the amount of coolant in the serge tank -
relating to the the FULL COLD line -

coolant/engine temperature =
engine temp and coolant temp are synonymous -
but is usually called engine temp -

breaks and brakes -
a drinking glass breaks -
your car has brakes -

Forgot to mention post purge line cleaning results
OK - so you cleaned the hollow bolt -
did you also check that the line between the hollow bolt -
and the serge tank is clear? Did you blow through it?

I am a computers guy
cars was my first career - computers was my second -

here is a question for you -

what is the most secure method of storing data - and why -

I'm talking a physical device - not encryption -
-------------------------
the answer to this question is how I got my foot in the door -
to build specialty "forensic computers" for various government agencies -
I feel fullblown stupid for misspelling brakes. Oh well.

"here is a question for you -

what is the most secure method of storing data - and why -

I'm talking a physical device - not encryption - "

Well, I for sure never got into any forensic type systems, and I guess it also depends on how much space you need to back up.

I would say for anything 8-16GB a simple flash drive, storage just get a lockbox in a bank, or what have you.
If you're talking about securing entire system's data (PC, large data base, etc)

I would just have a bunch of labeled external harddrives, right? Personally, I was the kind of kid who wanted to hack games, which usually ended up in getting massive viruses, so I just simply partitioned my C drive, 80% on D 20% on C, majority of viruses target Sys32 or whatever else on C drive and leaves D virtually clean if you never associate files between the two. (Clarify, 20% Partition was simply for holding OS/Drivers/Etc, 80% Was for Music, Games, Programs, etc.) When I would kill my computer, I would simply reformat the C partition, leaving D untouched and full of all my programs and games, that are already compatible after reformat and driver updates.

So either Partitions of Large Inner HD's would be a great, and mostly secure way of storing data.
Or USB 1TB+ External Hard Drives for larger projects and storage.

I've never really done anything on a business level of diagnostic and repairs, mostly just the guy everyone goes to when they need their computer fixed.

----------

The lower air deflector (#11) is also called the splash shield. This one is different than mine and may not have to be removed. You might be able to get to the drain plug without removing it.

Mornin' Ranger, and thank you for your help in this thread as well. Now that Lower Air Deflector and Splash Shield are defined as the same, it clears up some stuff. It looks like the splash shield is tied up near the radiator should I unscrew it up around there too? THey have little black circles over them. Also, I guess if the attachment is on the side of the radiator driver's side, then I should be able to head out there and get this situated.

Edit: There is no engine temp reading on the panel outside of coolant temp. However, if they are synonymous, how will I know if my engine is overheating if coolant is staying the same? Does that mean, if the coolant is good, then the engine is good / if the engine was overheating you would definitely tell through the coolant level?
 
#76 · (Edited)
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

Before you remove anything see if you can get at the drain plug. Like I said, you may not have to remove anything.
Pretty sure I have to remove it, its directly covering the radiator. When I look off to the side I can see a noticeable drain tube, right next to it is another larger hole and I can see a tube with a bolt on it but I can't see a petcock.

Pretty sure, actually, through the secondary larger hole, I can see a petcock, I rubbed my finger along it and it seemed to have a butterfly type shape, so I am assuming that is the drain hole and the petcock. I just have to figure out how I am going to pull it.


Edit: I was also told that if I wanted to I could take the radiator hose off and let it drain through that.
 
#81 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

The drain tube is UNDER the radiator. The plug is on the back side. See post #60 again.
Yea, judging by the diagram I can see what I believe I felt, the #8 object. It's just a little cluttered, and the tube I am refering to is the tube that curves around the radiator right above #8. Which is how I found it through the small, yet bigger than the drain hole, hole.
 
#83 ·
Re: New to Cars in General, have a 95 Eldorado, plethora of problems, help?! D:

SO what tool makes it easiest to grab the petcock? It's seeming like its in that hole, right below that hose with a bolt, which doesnt make sense now according to that diagram. :| But I just feel like its it, its right by a drain hole on the bottom of the car. If I stick my finger in there I can feel it, I tried to go above the metal plate that would make it easier to get to if it was gone, and I can't get a grip on there, I guess if I try to go behind with pliers or something..
 
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