2001 SLS, now has 50221. We both are mid 70’s seniors, and don’t drive it hard. Most trips are rather local, 40-150 miles round trip. Very seldom less than a 20 mile round trip. Mostly in the 50-70 mph range. We bought this new, and it is her car. It does sit in the garage Jan, Feb and Mar every year. Our other car is a ’04 Honda Odyssey. We are both retired, and I do most of the driving, so the Caddy doesn’t get used as much. The Odyssey has a lift for her Hoveround, but we try to drive the Caddy whenever she is not going to need the Hoveround. We try to drive it 3 days a week. It has never been hot, we have never had any warning lights.
At about 41K, it had a little miss sometimes when starting. I thought it was an injector problem, so I put several doses of injector cleaner in the tank when I filled it. Seemed to cure the problem, but it came back at about 45K. Then one day when I started it, there was quite a bit of steam in the exhaust, (this summer), and when I got back there, I could smell the coolant, so with sinking heart, I knew what was happening. After consulting with several friends, I bought some Barsleak. I pulled the hose off at the motor end, and poured it in. After I put the hose back on, I filled the overflow with tap water. I have put about 1000 miles on it in the last 4 weeks, and there has been no miss, and no steam.
So, the question is, where do we go from here? She won’t sell her beloved Caddy, besides, I like it too.
Anyone have any experience or guess how long this might last? Should I have the coolant replaced? If so, should I keep Barsleak in there? Any thoughts, experiences or advice is welcome. I did look at the repair services listed on the forum, and that is the ultimate solution, but it is not an option at this time. Yes, I did call our dealer, and he quoted $6000 or so. I guess that’s his way of saying “unrepairable”.