[dmj3812]

i just purchased a 98 catera. the temp gauge soesnt work. No check enginge light. Car doesnt seem to be overheating the fan runs fine. Oil is clean and radiator is full. Their is a hissing noise coming from top of engine. and car seems to idle a bit high in park after car is warmed up does anyone have any ideas I would really like to fix it is a great car.

 

[retho78]

Maybe the wire is unhooked from the sensor by the coolant bridge...just my guess. Also, the hissing might be a loose vacuum line.

 

[dmj3812]

Im pretty sure the hissing is a vaccum line i hear it right on top of engine where the flat plastic piece is does anyone know where sensor is and I can also smell antifreeze after car is warmed up. but I dont see any signs of a leak and tank is full

 

[hijiliak]

Were you able to fix the problem?
Same with my car/catera 1998- on the dashboard, the engine temp indicator isnt working - always reads cold even after running the engine for some time.

What is the fix for this? is it a relay/fuse or sensor?

 

[retho78]

The coolant bridge is under the intake area, have to take some other parts out to get to it. I think there is vacuum line that hooks up under the upper intake area. Once you loosen the four bolts on top of the intake and remove the throttle body (black) pipes, then lift the intake a little you might be able to see the vacuum line.

 

[retho78]

Check this link out and you can see the coolant bridge and sensors. Scroll down, looks at pictures 4 and 7, picture 8 shows the coolant bridge raised up. There is one sensor on top of the bridge and another one behind the bridge, right side.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...orum/192624-anti-freeze-leak-need-help-2.html

Thanks.

 

[hijiliak]

Do I need any "special tool(s)" to do this work?
I know the car is metric--

*Do I need a set of torx as well?

Anything else I should be a ware of... other than disconnecting the battery--

*Do I need to drain the engine coolant to do this work?

Hijiliak.

 

[hijiliak]

oh, one last point of interest:
For my 1998 catera, do I buy the one with or without the plastic sensor connect?

rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1313753,parttype,2188

many thanks
Hijiliak

 

[retho78]

I'm guessing just the standard tools are required. I would first check and see if the wire is disconnected on top or back of the sensors before buying the replacement. The one on the top is the metal looking kind sensor (AC delco 88924792) and the one on the back has a plastic end with a different style of wire connector (90541520), The one on the top has only one wire and the wire end slides on the tip of the sensor. If you have to replace the sensor(s), then I would drain the coolant out.

Thanks.

 

[RetiredAssassin]

I fixed mine yesterday and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be, but you have to be extra careful when it comes to the removal and installation of the plenum, I'm not sure if my 2000 looks different than yours but I use regular sockets instead of torx just be careful and you will be ok, mine came off the sensor because my crankshaft positioning sensor went out and when I installed the new one that little cable came off, at first I had no clue what it was till I decided to do a little bit of research on that and found out about it. Good Luck and keep us posted. BTW if you cannot find links in the catera blog, look for them in omegaowners.com it is basically the same car as the catera and they have good information in there too.

P.S I used this link as my starting point, just so you know what to look for.

cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-catera-cimarron-forum/223214-where-coolant-temp-sensor-located.html

And this one to guide you on how to remove the plenum, good luck omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1285583967

 

[retho78]

If you have to remove the coolant bridge, then you'll have to buy new rubber/metal washers,a total of 4. I think the part numbers are available in the link I posted previously.


Thanks

 

[dmj3812]

I still havent fixed problem now the car is smoking just a little

 

[retho78]

Oops! What did you do?

 

[dmj3812]

still trying to locate the leak it is steam from radiator line somewhere i think if you are facing the car it is coming from upper right hand side of engine

 

[retho78]

Probably the upper radiator hose going to the thermostat got loose.

 

[dmj3812]

and the overheating light stays on is it overheating

 

[hijiliak]

I'm guessing just the standard tools are required. I would first check and see if the wire is disconnected on top or back of the sensors before buying the replacement. The one on the top is the metal looking kind sensor (AC delco 88924792) and the one on the back has a plastic end with a different style of wire connector (90541520), The one on the top has only one wire and the wire end slides on the tip of the sensor. If you have to replace the sensor(s), then I would drain the coolant out.

Thanks.

great ty. I went into the stealership yesterday and I got them to print a schematic-- theres two sensors: one is the engine coolant temperature sensor (72); the other is the engine coolant temperature gauge sensor (61). please forgive my scribble.

 

[retho78]

Did you check the sensors on the coolant bridge, are the wires connected to the sensors?

 

[dmj3812]

think it might be the heater core

 

[RetiredAssassin]

Sorry it took me a while to reply to this post and hopefully you figured it out already, it seems to me that you have quite an issue there so if you can please recap all you have done to fix the problem so we can help you a little more and troubleshoot this biootch, so We can get it up and running.