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1981 Fleetwood V-864 6.0 DFI

64K views 404 replies 28 participants last post by  gdouaire 
#1 · (Edited)
This is the thread where I will put all the progress/ work on my newly acquired Fleetwood.

It's a 1981 Fleetwood with a 6.0 DFI with cylinder deactivation. It has a solid body, but as with any car of this age, needs tweaking on several fronts.
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Re: 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-864 6.0 DFI

The first step was to replace the battery; the one in the car did not hold its charge for more than 5 minutes.

Then, an easy gain was with the trunk pulldown motor, which was broken and missing its switch on the car - I had already bought one for another project, and it fits the Fleetwood perfectly. It operates very nicely, I have always been a fan of trunk pulldowns.
 

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#6 ·
Re: 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-864 6.0 DFI

The little release black lever is just to the right of the pedal. Be careful, It will pop up and slap your wrist. That vacuum diaphram mounted up high above the park brake pedal is common to leak. It can affect climate control operation. You can pull the small vacuum hose off it and plug the hose till you're ready to stand on your head under the dash to replace it! A common issue with this engine is the belt arrangement. The alt. belt only wraps around the water pump. So, if the smog pump belt is loose/worn out, the alternator will slip on the w/pump pulley and slowly discharge the battery. The 82 thru 85 4100's had the same issue and I think the 425 engine in the 79 and 80's as well. A poor design IMO.
 
#335 ·
I always liked that too.

I'm always backing out of the garage / driveway with my STS and the parking brake (with no auto release) is grabbing the rear brakes so hard, I wore the pads out before the front ones! :mad2:
 
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#12 ·
Re: 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-864 6.0 DFI

A common failure of parking brake components on this line of cars is the emergency brake cable sheath.

They collapse. The common failure spot is right where the rear cable clips onto the rear axle cover bracket on the top side of the differential cover. The cable will be fat there or nearby.

Symptom is emergency brake won't hold car and emergency brake pedal has no resistance when pressed plus does not spring back when released.

Very common problem. Many parts houses sell the rear cables.

If the rear brake service history is unknown it's probably time to replace everything back there anyway.

Always check axle bearing side clearances when doing brakes on these. Also look for gear oil leaking past the axle bearing seals onto the backing plates. That means the axle bearings could be sloppy and will wear the rear brake linings prematurely plus cause crummy brake pedal feel.
 
#14 ·
Bad weather today, no day to work on the brakes.

I looked into the ECC and the MPG sentinel (Econominder or FDC), which are both not displaying anything. The ECC fuses are both OK in the fuse block. Removed most of the connections from ECC and FDC and also the radio. This, for some surrealistic reason, triggered the wipers to work again (but intermittently only).
 

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#18 ·
Re: 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-864 6.0 DFI

The wire harness all look stock, nothing "frankeinsteined", so I am assuming what I have are contacts that need some cleaning in the dash.

Also ordered the 1981 Cadillac Electrical Troubleshooting guide. On top of the Service Manual, I'm pretty sure I'll see clearer pretty soon :)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Re: 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-864 6.0 DFI

Bought both a "new" 1981 ECC head and a "new" 1981 "fuel data" display on eBay. These beasts are expensive... but even if I end up finding it's not the ECC or FDC but rather some other wiring gremlin, I will have these standby in my personal "store" for any future issue.

Weather is better today. Maybe I'll have a chance to look into the rear brakes after work.
 
#23 ·
Sorry its a pet peeve of mine but "brakes" break. So you are looking at the BRAKES after work. Give me a break, my brakes don't work.

Yes. I can relate, I have a master in Philosophy and the right words and grammar are important - but mmmh I have corrected that typo/error? :) Unless I don't see it then, we can blame Jack. Jack Daniel's.
 
#24 · (Edited)
So remember, this is a build thread and it will be... verbose.

So as weather permits, I checked the rear brakes.

Findings:

* The good:
Was able to remove the rear drums not as they were NOT that stuck;

* The mmmh not so good:
Driver side bleeding nipple gone;
Rear brake bands not too good;
Rear drums not too good;
Parking brakes cable f***** up - to be replaced;
Rusted rear rims - to be sanded and re-painted;

* The worrying stuff:
Gas smell near the gas tank;
If the rear brakes not stuck, then what is stuck? Front brakes? Slipping transmission that gives the impression the car won't move?

* The bad:
Not yet.

Need to buy : rear brake cylinders, rear drums, rear brake pads, rear brake cables.

Other needs: Need to work to pay for this.
 

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