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1969 cadillac calais with a 472 i need help!!!

8K views 28 replies 12 participants last post by  carnut 
#1 ·
I just took in a 1969 cadillac calais on trade. The motor cranks uo and sounds great. The problem im having is when i drove it home, i made it about 15 miles and it over heated. I went to
change the thermostat and there was not one in the motor. I drained the old coolant out put the new thermostat in and refilled the coolant. I started the car up with the cap off the
radiator so i could get all the
air pockets out of the motor and lines. When the thermostat flipped water started shooting out of the radiator top about 1- 2 foot. There is no water on the dip stick and no oil in the
radiator. Does this mean i have a blown head gasket? If so what are the step i should take in replacing the head gasket??? Please help.
 

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#4 ·
If the two have not mixed then no. Spend less money always first. Did you notice water flowing through the hoses/ radiator? Or was it weak flowing until it shot out? What degree thermostat did you get? If you got a 195 change it to a 160. Also change the water pump if you are not sure it has been changed. Always start cheap instead if jumping to the big guns and that's not the problem. I've changed my whole fuel system piece by piece to finally find out the dag-nabbit ignition coil kept burning out on my point system. Then changed it to electronic. Lesson learned but I started cheap and worked my way up and at least can say those weren't the issues and won't be because they got taken care of.
 
#9 ·
You may also check www.rockauto.com. You usually get the order in your home in 2-3 days. I have bought a lot of parts from them. They give good service.

Welcome to this forum. Really beautiful your 69 Calais :thumbsup: You could post some more pics; not many surviving 69 Calais. I wish I could provide more help about your problem, but I´m sure you´ll receive good info from many knowledgeable members on this forum.
 
#10 ·
Use a 180 degree thermostat if you want the heater to work correctly! 20 degrees colder will not fix anything if the systems is working as designed. Whenever you have an engine running waiting for the thermostat to open, you should have it above idle. An idling engine can shoot coolant from the radiator as it opens. That car is not prone to air pockets. Simply start it, bring it to fast idle and add coolant as necc. to fill to the top. Replace the radiator cap with Stant or Delco cap. A weak cap can lead to overheating and is often overlooked. You say it overheated? does that mean it boiled over and lost coolant?
 
#11 ·
also make sure you get the right t-stat. the correct one has a washer on the bottom that blocks off a coolant passage when it warms up.

doing a compression check will tell if your gasket is blown too.

fill the rad half way and let it run. look in there and watch the cooling holes in the rad and see if water flows through them. you may have to wait for the t-stat to open

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but no water oil mix and no white steam points towards the hg being ok
 
#12 ·
Just an update. I had a buddy do a compression test and the motor is good. It was the thermostat.

Now i have another problem lol. It never ends!

I just put a new battery in the car, i started it up drove it maybe 20 mile and it was great! I pull back in my driveway turned the car off. It sat for about 1 hour then my wife asked me to run to the store. I went to start the car and nothing happened. No clicking, no lights, nothing. Im totally confused lol. Is there some kind of relay or something that i need to check? Once again im not sure what to do.

I also wanted to tank you guys for helping me out. This is the 1st cadillac i have ever worked on so i dont no to much about it.

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I also check the battery to see if i left something to that would have drained it. But the battery is good. :(
 
#13 ·
I´m glad you solved easily the overheating problem :thumbsup:

First thing is checking battery connections. Maybe they are not loose but are dirty or rusted. Second is checking starter motor connections (¿Loose, dirty?). If you have a tester check if it receives enough power.

If all telltale lights are off with contact on (and I suppose it´s the same for all the rest lights and electric devices), most probably the problem comes from a bad battery connection / wire.
 
#14 ·
I had the same thing happen. Neutral safety switch. Turned the key and nothing. Move the gearshift up to the stop and it may start and/or wiggle it a bit. I had to use 2 hands. Right on the key and left over the steering column pulling up on the gearshift. Just had to adjust the switch and all is ok.
Jeff
 
#15 ·
Cadforce69- i checked the connections to the battery, i used my tester to check the volts and amps, i started with the battery it was good, then i moved to the alternator is was good, then i crawled my big ass under the car to check the starter. The starter has a fusiable link coming off of it. Anyway i hit 12.3 volts one time and the rest was like 2 and 1 volt. I dont think i had a very good ground when i was checking it. So the fusiable link felt good and it was wrapped up with a lot of electrical tape. It was extremely dirty. The next thing i check was my fuse box and i got nothing but zeros. Do you think it could be the fusiable link? If so how do i replace it? I have looked all over the internet for one and everything i see says they dont make them anymore.

Jeff r- i have not tried moving the gearshifter at all. Where is the neutral safety switch? If it was the neutral safety switch would the lights work in the car? Bc im not getting any power in the car.


Thank you guys very much for helping me out. This is my first caddy to rebuild. My first car was my 67 mustang. This is total different from the mustang lol.
 
#17 ·
OK, sorry. I misunderstood. I thought it just wouldn't start. Didn't realize the car was dead. Sorry.
Looked at the manual for the 70 which is probably similar to yours. There a 3 fuseable links that come off the starter. 1 goes to the ignition switch, 1 to the headlight switch and the last to the fuse block. You'll need to determine what is dead and go from there. If all 3 are dead then it is going to be a common point either to or from the starter.
Good Luck
Jeff
 
#18 ·
I cant figure it out. This is so frustrating!!! So i check the battery with my tester im reading 12-13 volts. I just put a new alternator and voltage regulator. I checked the wires going to the alternator and voltage regulator and im getting the same. I also checked the wire coming in and out of the starter and im reading around 12-13 volts. Then i go inside the car to check the fuse box and some of the wire under the dash and nothing. No power to the inside of the car what so ever. Im so freaking confused i hope someone on here can help me out. Thanks guys

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Oh shit thanks jeff r!!!! I didn't realize there was 3 fuse-able links from the starter. Is there anyway you can send me a pic of the diagram of what your seeing??? Thanks a lot man!
 
#19 ·
Very symptomatic of the fusible links &/or, bad grounds/battery cables.
You need a shop manual to guide you thru the process.
Get one, study the chapter on fusible links and troubleshooting.

Don't buy anything else unless it's that Cadillac Shop Manual!
(incl." the color wiring diagrams)
my 2 cents.
 
#23 ·
If your fusable link is shot a.k.a melted/popped you wont have door lights,dash lights,tail lights,windows. I my fusable link kept popping because of the drain from the power windows/might have arced on the exhaust. So I put a big self resetting breaker from a local auto parts store in its place and made sure the wires where covered and up out of the way. Also I have had that started and ran great then wouuldnt crank problem and it was the battery connection. It looked good but was just that little bit loose and corrosion is a big key. I also added two wires (a little bigger and longer )from the alternator to the battery because the wire pulled out of the connector on the battery side and ran my battery completley dead and the car just stopped dead in the road.

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wtf, the picture of your fusable link just loaded and that might be a problem...
 
#25 ·
yeah because my car wont even start. i have power every where else under the hood but not inside the car. im going to replace the fuseable links tonight and i will let yall know. i also order a service manual lol. thanks for all the help. im getting so frustrated with this car. im almost ready to sell it lol. i will also post some pictures of the fuseable links and yall can let me know what yall think.
 
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