"New" Caddy, old leak?

[CHairforce]

So, here I am, just bought my first Cadillac, a 1995 DeVille Concours, 156,500 miles on the clock but running perfect. Picked it up and drove 55 miles at 70 miles an hour back home with no problems, stop at the apartment, pick up the fiancee and drive out to Wal Mart for cat litter. The car was off for maybe an hour by the time we came back out. Started it up and there was a rather overpowering smell of gas. I figured that a carbon filter must need changing so i put it in gear to drive home, the car starts off ok, but ends up bogging down and there isn't any power. Well, make a rather short drive back home, the fiancee is now questioning my reasons for buying the car because as she mildly put it "oh, great, we just dropped $4,000 on a lemon, I hope you're happy!", yay, we've had the car for maybe two hours and not only is the car acting up but I am going to be sleeping on the couch...Fast forward to this morning, wake up on couch, go out to car, and pop the hood, mmmm, nothing like the smell of gas in the morning, and there is a small wet spot under the throttle body. Pull off the air box and the plenum and wipe off the spot, then turn the key and prime the ignition. I get a loud clicking noise and there is more gas coming from somewhere under the throttle body, so turn off the key, clicking continues, more wonderful gas smell. So, what is going on? I am going to clean the deposits out of the TB, but could it get clogged enough to leak? Or am I going to look forward to buying a new TB/Fuel line? I'm going to keep this car for a while, but if it's going to take a lot of time and money, under the hood I don't think the significant other is going to let me into bed for a while and it gets kinda cold on the couch!

[CONCOURS KING]

I had the same problem as you did a few months after buying my caddy... deville also, but mine is a 97, hope this helps.

Clicking noise.... bad battery for me

Gas leak.... take the the decorative motor cover off, and check the fuel rails... there was a recall on certain cadillacs, the original fuel rails were some sort of plastic, and it cracks, and spills gas all over your engine VERY DANGEROUS!!!! I checked with cadillac, and was informed that there was a recall and they would get it taken care of for me free of charge by any GM dealership!!!!! I just had to get it there without paying for a tow truck.... this is what I did I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU DO THIS THOUGH, CUZ I DONT KNOW HOW SAFE IT IS.. I went to the autoparts store and bought some rubber hose that was rated to be used as a fuel line. I bypassed the cracked plastic fuel line with this hose, and just used 2 hose clamps. worked for me to get it there without having gas spill all over a hot engine. the tech at cadillac dealership said it would have probably worked fine for the life of the car, but I dont know... like I said it got it to the dealership with out having to pay for a tow truck.

call the 800 cadillac number and talk to a rep there... just have your vin number ready so they can look up whether your car is affected by this recall.

my total cost was $80.00 for a new battery, and $7.00 to engineer a quick fix to get it to the dealership.

[Ranger]

The fuel rail recall is for the '95 - '97 Northstars. If you have a black plastic fuel rail, it has not been changed and most likely is your problem. Get to a dealer quickly. The replacements are stainless steel. GM may even pay for the tow. Call and check.

[dp102288]

on the fuel rail. Before my Eldo had it done the car reeked of gas after the plastic started cracking. Rought idle, no power, just horrible. Had the recall done, took a few hours, not one penny. Everything as good as can be!

[GreenMachine]

once you have that baby fixed from what sounds like a missed recall (free repair) that 4grand investment will be much great. Look at it this way, besides some changes made along the way, the Northstar in that car is basically the northstar in the new 50,000 dollar DTS.

It might not have all the new trimmings, but members on this and other Cadillac boards have these cars, with general maintenance, running for many many miles.

Good luck with your new purchase and soon enough the lovely ride will have you out of the dog house

[CHairforce]

Thanks for the info, never thought a recall might be the problem. This is my first non-Ford in a while so I'm used to all the electrical crap on the inside going to hell!

[dp102288]

^^ Don't worry, lots of electrical stuff in Caddys too!