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2000 DTS starter


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Hello again, hope everybody's summer has been nice! Mine has been busy with repair work on my 2000 DTS. My newest problem seems to be a starter that is starting to fail. I'm under the impression that on the 4.6L the starter is located under the intake manifold, am I correct in that assumption? How difficult is this repair? I'm leaning toward having a liscensed mechanic handle this one.

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....I'm under the impression that on the 4.6L the starter is located under the intake manifold, am I correct in that assumption?

Yes.

How difficult is this repair?

It's time consuming but not "difficult". You will need a fuel line disconnect tool along with a new gasket set.

And if your "plenum" (rubber boot between the throttle body and the manifold) has not been replaced, you should include that part.

Expect to pay more than $1,000 for parts and labor at a Cadillac dealer and I would not trust the job to someone who does not work on Cadillacs all day every day.

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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If you haven't done so already, be sure and check the battery cable and battery first, then the starter solenoid.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Check the connections at the battery but the 2000+ Devilles o not seem suseptible to corrosion at the battery connections. The starter is an easy job on the Northstar - there is no coolant in the manifold to mess with. You need a fuel line disconnect tool. It is a 30 minute job to remove the manifold and it is done while standing up, not laying on your back under the car with crud falling in your face.

Have your existing starter repaired by a local starter/alternator rebuilder - it will be a much better quality unit over a POS chain store starter.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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2.2 hours according to Alldata and List price on the starter is about $446.00. Do the math. If it is done by Mr. Goodwrench I believe it is one of those items that has a Lifetime guarantee. Something to think about.

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2.2 hours according to Alldata and List price on the starter is about $446.00. Do the math. If it is done by Mr. Goodwrench I believe it is one of those items that has a Lifetime guarantee. Something to think about.

Mr. Goodwrench is making very good money on starter R&R's... I pulled the starter on my '97 STS to have a rebuilder check it just to make sure it did not need anything and it took me about an hour and 15 minutes to remove and reinstall the starter, not counting the time it took to drive to the rebuilder. The rebuilder went through my starter for $60.00 while I waited.

No way would I pay $446 plus another $200 for Mr. Goodwrench to replace my starter but that's just me...

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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How many of us have heard of a genuinely bad Northstar starter on a one-person privately owned Cadillac (i.e., not a fleet or livery car)?

Me neither. But, it happens.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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LOL!

Funny.......I haven't replaced a starter in ANY of my cars in a LONG time!

BUT.........The starter in my 07 Chevy truck with 41k miles took a dump last week! The local mom and pop repair shop quoted me $446 for the starter

and 1 hour labor $60 ! I was shocked at the price of the starter as the local

auto parts store had a NEW one for $199 bucks!

But the owner/tech suggested I call GM because the starter and towing should

be covered under the 5/100 new car warranty.

Sure enuff' it was covered by GM !!!!!!!!!!!!

93 DeVille-13 Chevy Impala

72 GTO - 77 Triumph Bonneville

84 Z-28

Syracuse NY

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Yes, it happens. I replaced two starters in my time, but both were on used cars. One had the wrong starter on them when I got the car, a parts-store bolt-on that was not a high-torque starter for my 427 cid bowtie in a 1969 station wagon, and a thrashed starter in a "Texas Tornado" high-mileage 327 cid standard shift that had a damaged starter and flywheel when I got it. Both were in the 1970's. I never had one replaced on warranty, though, but common sense tells me that the majority of new starters these days would be on either cars less than a year old, with very old or high-mileage cars, or fleet cars a definite lower volume.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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  • 3 weeks later...

HI, thanks for all your input. The starter and gaskets ran me $145.00, I didn't feel comfortable doing this repair so The garage that had worked on my transmission did it for me and it took them @ 2hrs. The starter was shot which I attribute to the cars history of being used as the bosses livery for a large company. So I'm back on the road and waiting for the next repair, lol.

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Congratulations on a successful conclusion to your starter issue.

Please forgive one last parting shot at starter failures. In most cars, particularly Cadillacs built since about 1990, true starter failures, including starter solenoid failures, seem to have a history of someone (fleet user, livery person, owner that *must* leave for work right now, etc.) overheating the starter or forcing it with a binding engine. Bad battery cables or batteries can simulate or even cause starter problems. Bottom line: If the starter won't turn over the engine, or if it spins and spins and the engine doesn't fire off, shut it off and find another way to get where you need to go that time, and fix the problem (bad FPR, battery cable, ignition wires, fuel pump relay etc.). And - GM, are you listening? - perhaps a temperature sensor on the starter, or software analysis of starter use, can be used to throw a code and send an appropriate message to the DIC, or even disable the starter before it is damaged.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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