Just as the title implies... I wonder how many of you know exactly when in the 1985 sales year the Oldsmobile diesel V6 and V8 engines were dropped? I'd like to think it was January 1985, given the poor track record especially of the original 5.7L V8 diesel that caused many headaches to owners and dealers when originally introduced for 1978.
This can stay here. I don't believe there was a diesel V6 used in the Cadillacs, however. I did a little searching, but I can't find the exact date it was discontinued.
In fact, 1985 was the only year the FWD DeVille/Fleetwood had it (the V6 version). And if the diesel program was discontinued in January '85, then that means that option would only have been around for four months in this line of cars (other C-body FWD's were the Buick Electra and Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight), if you look at the fact the 1985 model year sales began in September 1984.
It was the same 4.3L V6 (same as the 5.7L, with two cylinders gone) that, since 1982, had graced the hoods of some A-body FWD (and some G-body RWD) fare like the Buick Century/Chevy Celebrity/Olds Cutlass Ciera (and the FWD Cutlass Cruiser, which replaced the original RWD version after 1983)/Pontiac 6000. Unlike its bigger brother, however, it was made on significantly different tooling and had notably stronger cylinder heads (more head bolts per cylinder bank compared to the original V8 version), which ultimately made it somewhat more durable.
I'll bet GM is still trying to forget those years. I know a couple of my own family members switched to ford after their diesel Olds headaches. They probably thought it was deja vous all over again when the Northstars started popping head bolts.
I also want to point out that the new FWD DeVille/Fleetwood series (and possibly the other C-body FWD, the Buick Electra and Olds 98) were introduced in mid-1984 as early 1985 models, so availability of the 4.3L diesel V6 would have been roughly between March to December 1984, making that be 10 months' production in this line of cars.
That has nothing to do with this section, of course.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Cadillac Owners Forum
4.8M posts
369.7K members
Since 2002
Cadillac Forums is the perfect place to go to talk about your favorite Caddys including the ATS, CTS, SRX, Escalade, LYRIQ, Vistiq, concept and future Cadillac models.