[shock99]

As I've stated in other posts, I've bought a thirteen year old 2006 Lux III with only 48K miles... and of course it is leaking oil. In trying to avoid the $4XXX dealer costs to fix one leak, I started looking for a non-dealer mechanic that specializes in maintaining Cadillacs. I've located one just 3 hours drive away to (primarily) fix the oil leak(s) for half the dealer cost. I need to leave town for work for a week so I'm going to fly to the work location from his city rather than from my city so I can leave the car with him for a week.

During the process of fixing the oil leak, he also replaces the head gaskets and the water pump as standard procedure. I'm interested in taking advantage of his reduced-from-dealer rates and having the car for a week to have him do all of the things that should be done.

Keeping in mind that my car only has 48K on it and has likely simply been driven with little-to-no-maintenance beyond oil changes....

Has anyone ever put together a comprehensive list of common tasks/replacements that are efficient/smart to do all at once or periodically (beyond wiper blades, oil changes, and air filters)?

I see mentions of the water pump belt tensioners and the motor mounts. I'm looking for items like that. What are the things that break every 10 years with age or before 100K with mileage?

 

[jesse12801]

Well,my 08 is currently in the shop for a seized water pump. Along with that,the pulleys and tensioner are being replaced because there was some melting going on.I'm told they should be replaced anyway for maintenance so since the pump is getting done,you may as well check those.I think it's much easier on your car to change the water pump then it is on mine.They changed something,i'm told,and the whole side of my engine has to be disconnected...lol. 1400 bucks worth with oem parts. 08,101K.

 

[Submariner409]

Cylinder block head bolt hole thread failure (head gasket) problems are very low on the list for the 2006 and later Northstars. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Stuff like belts, hoses, suspension bushings, wheel hubs, brake work, struts, shocks - the usual stuff.

"Of course it is leaking oil ....." - exactly where from, how much? You might get off easy with just a cam cover gasket or oil pressure sending switch. "Of course" implies that all Northstars are chronic leakers. Not so. (My 2002 STS engine leaks/uses not one drop of 5W-30 synthetic in 6,500 miles.) You're reading posts in a how to fixit forum - EVERY post is a problem. Very, very few posts say "I love my car/engine/tires/suspension/engine/yadda, yadda". The vast percentage of the over 2,000,000 Northstar cars plod up and down the highways daily with few or no problems. All the nasties are condensed in CF.

Many 2002 Northstar pictures and parts in my albums. Click my username, view profile, scroll down the left column.

 

[RomoRock3r]

I have a 2011 DTS. Here a list of re-occuring problems i've read of on these forums. Some of these happened to my car.

Loose Driver or Passenger mirrors. The bolts become loose and you need to remove the door panel and re-install the bolts. (Happened to me)

Power Steering hose can start to leak.

Water Pump tensioner pulley. I changed mine as preventative maintenance when I bought the car.

Clogged sunroof drains. (Happened to me)

AC Evaporator drain draining slowly (Happened to me)

LED's on the 3rd brake light burning out (Happened to me)

LEDs on the turn signal mirrors burning out. (Happened to me)

Fuel pump relay socket melting

Heated Seat connector melting

Engine dog bone mount wearing out (Happened to me)

Front engine mount wearing out (Happened to me)

 

[Pillow]

Water Pump needed replaced.
In the process of replacing the OPS and filter mount gasket due to a oil drip. (~$20 in parts)
One of the transmission cooler line quick connectors started leaking. Easy fix as it was the front one. The rear would be a PITA as access is limited. (~$15 for the fitting)
FE3 air shocks needed replaced as normal wear and tear.

LED's on the 3rd brake light burning out (Happened to me)

Same here.

Overall a very robust car! Still killing it at 193k and looking good doing it!!!

 

[ralph1960]

For a 13 y.o. car, I'd just keep adding oil and leave a pan under it in the garage. You can buy a lot of oil for the cost of those repairs. Or trade it. Emotional attachments to cars get very expensive.

 

[Pillow]

For a 13 y.o. car, I'd just keep adding oil and leave a pan under it in the garage. You can buy a lot of oil for the cost of those repairs. Or trade it. Emotional attachments to cars get very expensive.

I agree with both sides of this argument. The DTS is getting long in the tooth for age so the residual values are going down so a major maintenance event could financially "total" the car.

BUT the DTSs around here are mostly very well kept and still look amazing. For a low mile DTS I could see putting money in it as it is still a very competent car by modern standards. The opportunity cost between maintenance and a new car is a financial looser.

From my experiences the leak is the oil filter assembly gasket! Cheap and easy. And yes, if it is the pan gasket or timing chain cover gasket... Let it drip M1!

 

[shock99]

I actually don't know exactly where it is leaking. I just know I smell burning oil after I drive it and the dealer wants $4K to fix it. For me keeping a car tip-top is just homage to the car gods. Perhaps illogical, but I always think if I respect the car it might respect me back. My intention with this car is to keep it a very long time. I'd rather deal with failures on my own schedule than to deal with them on a failure schedule.

Here was the list I was compiling, geared somewhat to my own scenario, but perhaps I can hone it later into a more exhaustive list and chart useful to others.

$2100 service includes:
Re-seal oil leaks
Head gaskets
Water pump

Also want to do:
Transmission fluid/filter
Fuel filters

Items for consideration/to be checked:
Timing chain tensioner
Intermediate sprocket bushing
Inspect/replace engine mounts (aftermarket design?)
Head stud kit?
Accessory belt
Throttle body cleaning
Coolant service
Brake fluid service/inspect brakes

Common oil leak spots:
Valve cover gaskets
Oil pressure sensor
Oil filter adapter
Oil pan
Oil manifold
Oil level sensor
Oil drain plug
Lower crankcase seal
Timing cover
Front and rear crankshaft seals

 

[ralph1960]

My dad's 2000 Buick LeSabre started to leak oil a bit from the valve cover onto the exhaust manifold, so there was smoke and smell when you started it (it mostly sat for weeks). I put off getting it fixed, and a hundred y.o. pecan tree fell right on the car in our second hurricane last fall, which was too bad, as it was lowish mileage and in good shape put for the drip and sagging rear headliner. As I'd dropped the comprehensive insurance in 2013, we got all of $75 from the wreckers for it.

My point is that your car may become almost valueless beyond your control, so be careful how much more money you put in it.

The irritating part was that 3 days before the first hurricane, I thought about moving the car to avoid some of the about-to-fall leaves--to a spot where it would have been untouched.

 

[Pillow]

Leave the head gaskets and studs alone. The newer MLS head gaskets are very robust compared to old designs. As stated before the 2006+ is much improved.

Take the plastic belly pan off and start snooping around for the leak before spending large stacks.

 

[ralph1960]

They told me yesterday my rear brake pads need replacing. This happened with my 04 Deville because the parking brake line got water in it which would freeze overnight and drag the brake briefly in the morning. It would not surprise me if that's what's happened with this car.

 

[GREEN DTS]

Well said!

 

[jacklmack]

As I've stated in other posts, I've bought a thirteen year old 2006 Lux III with only 48K miles... and of course it is leaking oil. In trying to avoid the $4XXX dealer costs to fix one leak, I started looking for a non-dealer mechanic that specializes in maintaining Cadillacs. I've located one just 3 hours drive away to (primarily) fix the oil leak(s) for half the dealer cost. I need to leave town for work for a week so I'm going to fly to the work location from his city rather than from my city so I can leave the car with him for a week.

During the process of fixing the oil leak, he also replaces the head gaskets and the water pump as standard procedure. I'm interested in taking advantage of his reduced-from-dealer rates and having the car for a week to have him do all of the things that should be done.

Keeping in mind that my car only has 48K on it and has likely simply been driven with little-to-no-maintenance beyond oil changes....

Has anyone ever put together a comprehensive list of common tasks/replacements that are efficient/smart to do all at once or periodically (beyond wiper blades, oil changes, and air filters)?

I see mentions of the water pump belt tensioners and the motor mounts. I'm looking for items like that. What are the things that break every 10 years with age or before 100K with mileage?

I'm a retired mechanic, I've cured valve cover leaks without new gaskets or removing the covers. The bolts holding the covers in place are shouldered remove the bolts and place a .020 shim washer on and replace the bolts.

 

[ralph1960]

I'd like to hear from the OP and see what repairs he had done and to what effect. My experience with engine repairs is something else goes wrong almost immediately, not always the mechanic's fault.

 

[DTSEsq]

I'd like to hear from the OP and see what repairs he had done and to what effect. My experience with engine repairs is something else goes wrong almost immediately, not always the mechanic's fault.

That's been my experience with this car too (2011 DTS Premium.) Just had the spark plugs replaced and valve cover gaskets done (which seems to have eliminated the occasional oil burn smell I was getting,) and now my check engine light is on. Got a call into my mechanic to have that dealt with, but I've noticed with anything even slightly major (other than oil changes) there's always a follow up visit. I've come to realize that it's not my mechanic, just the nature of the beast. I still love my Caddy.

 

[CanadianDTS]

If you need to fix the heated seats, we have a whole thread about it.

 

[Nicky J]

I'm a retired mechanic, I've cured valve cover leaks without new gaskets or removing the covers. The bolts holding the covers in place are shouldered remove the bolts and place a .020 shim washer on and replace the bolts.

Hey thanks