[redfishsc]

This week, my wife and I were blessed beyond description by the Seminary I am a student at. They were given a 2003 DHS by a generous donor, and they chose us as the recipient (they usually give car gifts to students who need it).

The ONLY thing I can see that it "needs" is new paint on the front bumper, it's flaking off. Pics below.

Sure beats the 12 year old Cavalier we were driving with 230K miles on it!

It has 93K miles on it and the interior looks nearly brand new, it was very, very well cared for.



I am looking for any information about this car because I try to fix as many problems as I can that don't involve removal of large portions of the engine or tranny--- things like bad sensors, brakes, plugs, etc..... staple items.

Any information on what common issues this car has?

 

[Ranger]

:welcome:

Gee that car looks familiar. Probably the nicest car I've ever owned.

Now go to the Technical Archive above (top left) and do a little reading. Also read up on the DTC sticky and learn how to pull the codes (DTC's). If you do not know when the coolant was last changed, do it now and every 2-3 years, regardless of the 5 year interval recommended in the owners manual.

That was one hell...... oops, heck of a present. Enjoy it.

 

[redfishsc]

Thanks Ranger... and yes, that is one incredible gift. I know the man who donated it to the Seminary, and one of my hobbies is making collector grade fountain pens. I don't make many b/c my studies are so intense.... but I'll be taking him a couple custom made pens as a thank you.

I will read the sticky you told me about, and thanks for the info on the coolant flush. I have a record in the dash of things that were done recently and I'll take a look at it to see when it was done last. The prev owner seems to have kept everything checked according to the suggested maintenance rotation they give you when you buy it (I've never seen anyone that did this before lol).


Do the coolant systems have problems or something? In other words, why more often than the 5 years they recommend?

 

[redfishsc]

By the way, I am a professional wood finish specialist so I know my way around industrial paints and such, and I have a couple nice HVLP spray guns I could use to repaint that bumper. They aren't quite as nice as the SATA or Iwaki guns used by auto paint shops, but for a bumper, my guns will work just fine.

Any suggestions on where to get this factory "pearl white" paint color in a quart can, and a quart of clear topcoat?

 

[Submariner409]

www.paintscratch.com

One school of thought on the coolant exchange interval is that you prevent any breakdown of the coolant anti-corrosion additives by going to a 3 year exchange interval.

You will most definitely NEED a real GM/Helm Service Manual - eBay or www.helminc.com - or subscribe the car to www.alldatadiy.com.

Do NOT overfill the engine oil - proper level is in the middle of the dipstick hashmark, not at the top of the hashmark. The engine takes 7.5 quarts of a good brand of 5W-30 oil in whatever type you like. Coolant level is checked cold, and the proper level is just about at the seam around the middle of the reservoir - there's a level arrow molded into the tank top and side. The transmission is a dry sump unit - there will be NO fluid on the stick with the engine off. Check it with the engine and transmission hot, running in P.

Go to Discussions, Item Specific: Cadillac Tech Tips and, at your leisure, wade through the 9 pages of items of interest. Read the owner's manual - all of it. Items such as vehicle system personalization and HVAC system operation are quite a bit different from most other cars.

 

[Ranger]

Keep in mind that white diamond is a tri-coat paint job. You need the base coat, tint coat and clear coat. Tri-coat is very hard to match, even for the pros.

 

[DesignerPro]

Congratulations on your car! God is good. To save yourself a lot of time and trouble with spray guns and such (unless you plan to paint the entire front bumper, and maybe even then) you may want to see if you can get the three coats mixed up and put into very good spray cans at

www.automotivetouchup.com

They matched my 03 Thunder Grey perfectly and the spray nozzles were the best that I ever used. Enjoy your car. I sure like mine.

P.S. Just checked and they have it both in spray cans and pints, quarts, gallons.

 

[redfishsc]

Thanks guys, this is exactly the information I am looking for!

I do plan on painting the whole front bumper. I have good sanders that will suffice and, when this semester is over, I'll probably strip the bumper and just spray 100% of it. If it comes off easily enough, I'll take it off and spray it in our spray room.

 

[Ranger]

That's what mine needs. It's pitted something terrible.

 

[redfishsc]

Seems to be a common problem among GM's (and Chrysler for that matter).

The paint on my 2000 Cavalier isn't flaking off in sheets but the clearcoat has degraded, faded, and is peeling like I do after a horrendous sunburn.


Any way to find out of GM has done any recalls on paint work? I remember my aunt driving an old Corsica that had peeling paint, and they still repainted it for her when they recalled it. The car was an early 90's and the recall was sometime around 98 if I remember correctly.

 

[Ranger]

Mine is from the previous owner driving behind a gravel truck or something. Not a paint defect. I doubt there was a recall. Those are reserved for safety related items.

 

[00 Deville]

Seems to be a common problem among GM's (and Chrysler for that matter).

The paint on my 2000 Cavalier isn't flaking off in sheets but the clearcoat has degraded, faded, and is peeling like I do after a horrendous sunburn.


Any way to find out of GM has done any recalls on paint work? I remember my aunt driving an old Corsica that had peeling paint, and they still repainted it for her when they recalled it. The car was an early 90's and the recall was sometime around 98 if I remember correctly.

I was able to get them to repaint both the front and rear bumper of a Caprice I used to own.... out of warranty. The paint started coming off the front bumper in sheets... I was told by my local Chevy Body Shop that the bumper had not been scuffed up before it was painted and the paint didn't have the required flex agent in it. They took pictures and paint samples and sent them off to somebody up the food chain at GM and about a month later they told me to bring it in to have both bumpers repainted at no charge.