Just wanted to say hello to everyone on the forum. My family and I are all cadillac lovers. My brother has a 97 deville and a 2003 sls which was just passed down to my brother, from my dad, who just bought a 2008 sts rwd. My first caddy was a 86 cimmaron. My dad passed down his first caddie to me which was a 1994 sls. I sold it to a friend with close to 290,000 miles and is still on the road. My best friend drives a beautiful black 1997 concourse. For now i drive a champagne metallic 1998 cadillac sts that i love so much. Money has somewhat becme an issue deciding wether to move up or get this one fixed again. I have had the head gaskets replaced 1 time and also have put more money into it than its worth, money wise. But i love the car and am debating if its worth to keep soaking money into it or get a new one. I appreciate anyones feedback if possible. I am looking forward to sharing some of my experiences, and learning everyone elses. Thanks
Hello, new to cadillac owners.
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Welcome to the forums...
My opinion is that.. The value of your vehicle, isn't always something you can look up on KBB. You know your vehicle and what you put into it and it's value to you. Do the math.. It's insane to just keep wasting money when you could get a vehicle that may not need as much attention. If your spending large amounts of money on your car in spurts trying to rebuild (bring it back), that makes sense (to me). If it's not a keeper, don't pour money into it, unless you have the money too. If my gasket blows and it's more than the KBB value of the car.. I'm going to replace my head gasket cause I know my Caddy is worth more than a KBB value to me. sometimes it's a question you gotta ask and answer yourself. Nice looking Caddy's though.
My opinion is that.. The value of your vehicle, isn't always something you can look up on KBB. You know your vehicle and what you put into it and it's value to you. Do the math.. It's insane to just keep wasting money when you could get a vehicle that may not need as much attention. If your spending large amounts of money on your car in spurts trying to rebuild (bring it back), that makes sense (to me). If it's not a keeper, don't pour money into it, unless you have the money too. If my gasket blows and it's more than the KBB value of the car.. I'm going to replace my head gasket cause I know my Caddy is worth more than a KBB value to me. sometimes it's a question you gotta ask and answer yourself. Nice looking Caddy's though.
Thanks for your reply. I am the 2nd owner of the car. I bought the car for 5000.00, in auagust of 09. I have another 4000.00 into it. The cadillac dealer told me i need a new engine because i failed the head gasket pressure test couple weeks ago. They offered to put a new engine in with 170,000 miles with a 90 day warranty for 4600.00. I just redone the headgaskets a year ago. They told me if I already did the head gaskets once, they would have to put in a new engine. My car recently overheated because my cam on the water pump, belt and top pulley all went out. I was lucky to be able to stop the car when the red light warned me to turn it off. I drove it slowly (making sure it didnt overheat again)to the caddy dealership, the gave me there final diagnosis. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.
2001 Seville STS, 1990 Seville (RIP), 1972 Sedan Deville
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26,328 Posts
Im assuming the dealer timeserted the block when they did the hg replacement. If you do need to do your head gaskets again you can, the right way, with jakes head studs. http://www.northstarperformance.com/
That's assuming nothing else was damaged when it overheated.
That's assuming nothing else was damaged when it overheated.
$4,600.00 for a new engine with 170,000 miles on it with a 90 day warranty.. I think you can do much better.
I have talked to jake. I also recieved a quote from a engine shop to rebuild my whole engine for 4200.00. Three year,or 100,000 mile warranty. I asked him to use northstar performance head studs, and said he couldnt because of there insurance policy. I need to talk to some cadillac professionals before i make my final choice. I am not a mechanic, or do not claim to know more than I have experienced. I have put about 500 miles on it without anymore overheating. I have had constant problems with cold start, poor idle, even after tune up,head gasket, and injector cleaning jobs, since i bought it with 118,000. I have 8 reconditioned injectors I would like to have put in, if and when i fix the car.
Thanks for your reply ranger. I am just as confused. I may have made a mistake in my post. Sorry for that. The guy at the cadillac dealer said they checked for another possible head gasket issue. (because of the overheat). He said there was a slow leak when they performed the pressure test. The head gaskets were inserted with heli coil replacement equipment, at a different service center than the cadillac dealership. I need a person that I trust is soild with cadillacs for advice,or second opinion. If I dont fix this one, I will have another. I am here to learn, and listen for my best possible scenario. The car has 161,000 on it now.
The only way to repair the threads is with Timeserts, Norm's inserts or Jake's Stud kit. Helicoils are not an approved repair and WILL fail. If in fact they used Helicoils to do the repair the first time, I'd say you have a good case against them and can get them to correct their mistake, though I'm sure they will not roll over and it won't be easy, but it WILL be easy to prove that Helicoils are not an approved repair.
Thanks for all your welcome, and input.
welcome...nice username...
I have an uneasy feeling that, if Helicoils were used in this first repair, the cylinder block bolt holes may now be too big - thread wise - to accept Jake's studs.
Jake would know - but Ilove's choice may have to be Norm's Inserts (www.huhnsolutions.com) if he chooses to do a top overhaul on his present engine.
Jake would know - but Ilove's choice may have to be Norm's Inserts (www.huhnsolutions.com) if he chooses to do a top overhaul on his present engine.
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14,001 Posts
sometimes people say helicoils to refer to the inserts because helicoils are a more common term in the general automotive repair business
... we could be looking at a terminology 'snafu'
but either way getting the exact info on what was put in there will give you (and us) a much better idea of what your options now are
the way i see it these are the options of what could have been done
1) no inserts just new gaskets and bolts
2) helicoils (see ranger's comment post #9)
3) timeserts (original recommended size)
4) bigserts (larger and have had less come-backs)
we stopped using the original timeserts a long time ago and have only used bigserts (and haven't really had any come-backs)
my opinion is that if bigserts, norm's serts, or the SureGrip stud kit are used and installed correctly then you shouldn't have any problems
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....
and :welcome5:
... we could be looking at a terminology 'snafu'
but either way getting the exact info on what was put in there will give you (and us) a much better idea of what your options now are
the way i see it these are the options of what could have been done
1) no inserts just new gaskets and bolts
2) helicoils (see ranger's comment post #9)
3) timeserts (original recommended size)
4) bigserts (larger and have had less come-backs)
we stopped using the original timeserts a long time ago and have only used bigserts (and haven't really had any come-backs)
my opinion is that if bigserts, norm's serts, or the SureGrip stud kit are used and installed correctly then you shouldn't have any problems
....
....
and :welcome5:
Just wanted to say hello and thanks to everyone for your input. It seems the cadillac dealership has made a mistake. I think they were trying get over on me. I got a second opinion and was assured me everything is ok in the head gasket area. I found out only new headgaskets and seals were used no helicoils or timesrts were used. I do have a broken engine mount that broke my oil pressure sensor. I also found out that the plugs I have in there now are looking pretty bad. They only have around 30,000 miles. The mechanic said it looks like they have around 80 or 90,000.
Yes they are delcos. Plugs and wires.
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