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Blown Head Gasket 00 Deville

7K views 34 replies 11 participants last post by  ThumperPup 
#1 · (Edited)
Had the cruise control set on 75 heading down the interstate. Out of nowhere got a DIC message "Engine Overheat- A/C Off" & "Change Engine Oil" looked down at the digital temp gauge was 3 bars above center. Immediately pulled over and shut it down, popped the hood to check water pump belt... was good... noticed cooling fan was running with engine off. Coolant level was low, after it cooled down... pulled the purge line and had no flow. Removed the hollow bolt at crossover end of purge line and it was clear... top radiator hose was soft gave it a squeeze and nothing but air came out the hole with the hollow bolt removed.

Put everything back together... dumped 4 bottles of Dasani water I had in the car in the surge tank. Started the car and had good flow out the purge line. Turned around to head back to Wilmington, temp was dead center, made it 2 miles and noticed the temp starting to climb... slowed down to 55 in a 70 zone, turned off the A/C and it starting cooling back down to center scale. Stopped by the parts store on the way home to pick up a block test kit.

Tire Water Automotive tire Automotive wheel system Auto part
Water Product Solution Cobalt blue Liquid


The blue fluid in the test kit turned yellow. :crybaby: So at 88,888 miles it looks like I have a blown HG. I've owned it since it had 2,900 miles on it and I've never had any type of overheating issues and have changed the coolant religiously every 3 years. Last time I did a drain and fill was 2 years ago.

The part I don't understand is I do lots of WOT's and drive it like a N* should be driven and the temp gauge has never budged past center scale. Then I'm driving down a flat section of interstate at 75 mph with the cruise control on for the last 20 miles and it overheats. :hmm:
 
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#2 ·
dang now thats just sucks sorry to hear that

im one thing id sujest and not many have agreed with me but don't put watter in it
i think watter without the proper mixture of dex or green what ever you choose is going to be bad for the block itself could cause a crack and then what

i hope you get this taken care of whats your plans fix studs or going another way
 
#3 ·
im one thing id sujest and not many have agreed with me but don't put watter in it
i think watter without the proper mixture of dex or green what ever you choose is going to be bad for the block itself could cause a crack and then what
Thanks for your condolences pup. I don't believe that watering down the coolant mix with four 16 ounce bottles of water is going to have any adverse effects on the engine... my hydrometer currently reads -10 F with the watered down coolant mix. It did get me off the side of the interstate and 26 miles down the road safely back home. Besides it's a Caddy it likes Dasani... LOL. I will not be driving the car until it is repaired correctly... engine coming out... no snake oil for my baby. I will probably check in with my local Caddy man Rippy next week to evaluate my options.
 
#4 ·
Sorry to hear that my friend. What really surprises me is that it happened so fast without a low coolant warning first.

Even pure 100% water will not hurt a thing for a short period and WILL NOT crack a block. NASCAR engines run straight water. The only reason for coolant is to prevent freezing and corrosion.
 
#8 ·
Now I'm scared because I have the same year engine and nearly the same mileage :suspense:
I was a little shocked myself how quickly it overheated with no warning signs, at first i thought it must have been an issue with W/P belt. I've got an 02 N* with about 20K less on the clock so I know how you feel. I went ahead and tested my 02 Deville for the hell of it... the fluid stayed blue.


I had an interesting observation with the test fluid for the block test. Immediately after I aerated the blue fluid with the gas in the airspace above the coolant using the block test kit the fluid turned yellow, about 30 minutes later it had turned a little green as you can see in the picture in post #1, this morning it had reverted back to the original blue color. It would appear that the test fluid reverts back to it's original color over time when it's no longer being exposed to exhaust gasses.
 
G
#13 ·
You know, they changed the pitch in the head bolts for '00-up models thus fixing the HG problem. Now all these '00-up H/G problems are turning up. It must be a conspiracy of liars 'cause I was CONVINCED this problem was over with. :cookoo::suspense::lildevil::bomb:
 
#16 ·
Destroyer, you obviously despise the Cadillac marque, why go you insist on coming to the forums to continuously put it down? We know you don't like our cars and we are very honest about their shortcomings when asked so I don't see any constructive reason for what you are doing. But, this is an open forum and your opinion is as valid as anyone else's, just wish it wasn't such a black hole.
 
#21 ·
Sorry to hear another '00 head gasket issue. I was surprised with mine also, since it started with cold morning misfire and high speed overheat. It was perfectly fine when I pushed it to the limit, but would get hot when I was just cruising.

I got my heads off today and will inspect if there is any block damage. That picture up there ^^^ looks scary, but I found my gaskets to be very corroded.
 
#29 ·
That is correct. I didn't think you could find one where I said it was "fixed". I've always said, "they where improved, less likely to fail, but there are no guarantees". From what I've seen there are a LOT fewer failures in the 2000+ engines. Note I said fewer, not none.
 
G
#30 ·
I honestly don't have the time or ambition to look and find one but I'll take your word that you never said that. I will argue that they were not "improved" at all though. Note that even in the poll the '00-up are right where the '93-94 motors were. This number will climb.
 
#32 ·
I guess we could argue the word improved and whether it really was or not. Only time will tell how well the 2000+ engines hold up. I don't doubt that there will still be some failures, but let's not forget that the Northstar is not the only engine to have HG failures. I'm sure some of it can be attributed to the open deck design and probably some to metallurgy. You seem to be of the impression that I do not accept the one fault this engine has. If you want to do some research you'll find that is the first thing I tell people to watch out for when they ask for buying advice. I however, do not accept that all or the majority will fail at some point. I WILL agree with you that the failure rate is higher than it should be. I just don't take any enjoyment in seeing another failure.
 
#33 ·
i remember when i first got the 2000 the only thing that kept me from getting the 99 i liked wich was a STS with less miles was cause evyerone under the sun was saying stay away from the 99 and older go with a 2000 a newer
so i did
well that screwed me there i think
then a year ago ppl where syaing 02 and newer where better atleast i think i read that

now you find a 02 and 03 going bad

so far there are no 04s on the poll and havent seen an 05 deville on the poll but i wonder how many truly have gone bad just no poll option for them
im sure in the next year or 2
the counts on the 02 and 03 will be close to what the 2000 and 01 are now
 
#34 ·
It looks like those 2000+ engines have more head "gasket" issues than head "bolt" issues. Read people's threads about fixing their 00+ Northstars and finding the bolts actually holding very well.

My Seville's Northstar head bolts were also fine, it was just the gasket that was trashed. It took quite a force to take the bolts out and the thread was fine with no aluminum block meat. Probably a lack of maintenance caused by the previous owner (it did get coolant changes at random interval though) caused the gasket to fail.
 
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