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Has anyone ever taken their car to the Cadillac Doctor?


Kae86

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My car was originally smelling of antifreeze and then started misfiring and smoking real bad from tail pipes - losing lots of antifreeze.. I went to a few mechanics and they told me head gasket. I did research and found Dale Davis. I sent my car from Long Island to Youngstown, OH - decided to have a full rebuild because the car had 90,000 miles and I wanted a newer engine. The cost was $3,500 to rebuild engine - brand new engine according to Dale - he told me he has done 4,000 of these northstars without one problem. I got the car back - 300 miles later the car started misfiring - smoke from tailpipes - anti freeze smell. Again sent the car back to Dale - another $600 transport fee. He told me that something went wrong - not sure what but he would make it bullet proof - doing the fix they do on racecars this time. Got the car back - less than 300 miles the same things went wrong. Dale has blamed me for everything under the sun - saying I overheated the engine - never overheated.....that I somehow ruined the engine. Then he tells me that he knows what is wrong with the engine - cracked block.....he somehow missed the cracked block when he rebuilt the engine and did 2 gasket jobs. He has been telling me he did his job and thats it. Also promising a new engine block - have been waiting for ever for that. I want others to know he is a crook. I am screwed with no more money to fix this car - he never did but sure did cash my checks.

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What were the first symptoms your Cadillac was having?

What diagnosis was done to confirm the problem?

What repair was performed?

misfiring, smoking tailpipes - antifreeze smell, engine light on - losing lots of antifreeze.. Took the car to my mechanic and caddy dealer - both confirmed gasket problem. engine rebuild with gasket repair. Car cannot be driven because the gasket is still blown - same symptoms. I have had 2 mechanics do a block test on engine and found no cracks - Dale Davis tells me it is cracked after $5,000 and he did his work. It's outrageous.

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I'm not a lawyer...and I dont know the business mentioned...but I will suggest that posting things like 'Bob's Plumbing Sucks' can get you sued....and not for just $500 or $5000. Maybe $50k or more. I would do a search for libel and slander laws before posting any more statements.

Telling the truth is not slander. He ripped me off for $3,500 - I paid him and I have a car with the same problem he was paid to fix. I want others to know the truth before they get burned by him.

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Cadillac Doctor advertises "All Cadillac Northstar Head gaskets, 1993 thru 2004 repaired, with warranty for $2000.00 this includes all parts and labor. We will also install new spark at no additional cost, plus a new thermostat. We will also install you a brand new water pump free. "

In your case you state the repair was $3,500. They also offer a complete rebuild of your engine, which sounds like what you describe. This rebuild has a warranty for "1 year, unlimited miles". Is Cadillac Doctor willing to honor the warranty? I appreciate after shipping the car to him twice at $$$ per trip you are loathe to do so again.

If the block were cracked that would be something one would expect detected during a complete rebuild.

What is Cadillac Doctor offering to do to solve the situation?

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Head gasket failures on the 2004+ Northstar engines are very very rare. They have the latest design head bolts with the coarse threads that are very resistant to pulling out.

I don't think we've had a cracked block issue with any of the member's cars on this board. Where is the block cracked?

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

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Cadillac Doctor advertises "All Cadillac Northstar Head gaskets, 1993 thru 2004 repaired, with warranty for $2000.00 this includes all parts and labor. We will also install new spark at no additional cost, plus a new thermostat. We will also install you a brand new water pump free. "

In your case you state the repair was $3,500. They also offer a complete rebuild of your engine, which sounds like what you describe. This rebuild has a warranty for "1 year, unlimited miles". Is Cadillac Doctor willing to honor the warranty? I appreciate after shipping the car to him twice at $$$ per trip you are loathe to do so again.

If the block were cracked that would be something one would expect detected during a complete rebuild.

What is Cadillac Doctor offering to do to solve the situation?

He said that he would "help me out, because he did nothing wrong" and replace the engine at no cost to me. This was months ago - keeps telling me he is searching for a new engine. Keeps blaming me for overheating, getting mad at him, putting gasket quick fix into the system,...etc. He continues to want me to say that he did nothing wrong and he is just being a good guy and helping me out because he cares about his customers. Nothing is happening - he has been paid and I have no car. Now he says he is retiring and taking no more cars - sends ridiculous long text messages that make no sense. Confusing me with other customers. I am so frustrated at this point. He is telling me that if I admit that he did nothing wrong that he will replace engine....he is trying to cover his butt so I don't sue him.

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Cadillac Doctor advertises "All Cadillac Northstar Head gaskets, 1993 thru 2004 repaired, with warranty for $2000.00 this includes all parts and labor. We will also install new spark at no additional cost, plus a new thermostat. We will also install you a brand new water pump free. "

In your case you state the repair was $3,500. They also offer a complete rebuild of your engine, which sounds like what you describe. This rebuild has a warranty for "1 year, unlimited miles". Is Cadillac Doctor willing to honor the warranty? I appreciate after shipping the car to him twice at $$$ per trip you are loathe to do so again.

If the block were cracked that would be something one would expect detected during a complete rebuild.

What is Cadillac Doctor offering to do to solve the situation?

He said that he would "help me out, because he did nothing wrong" and replace the engine at no cost to me. This was months ago - keeps telling me he is searching for a new engine. Keeps blaming me for overheating, getting mad at him, putting gasket quick fix into the system,...etc. He continues to want me to say that he did nothing wrong and he is just being a good guy and helping me out because he cares about his customers. Nothing is happening - he has been paid and I have no car. Now he says he is retiring and taking no more cars - sends ridiculous long text messages that make no sense. Confusing me with other customers. I am so frustrated at this point. He is telling me that if I admit that he did nothing wrong that he will replace engine....he is trying to cover his butt so I don't sue him.

Jake... it is doing none of us any good for you to continue attacking the Cadillac Doctor in this forum.

Either sue him or don't... that is your choice...but please tone down the rhetoric in this forum.

We get the point already...

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If he is offering to replace your engine at no additional cost that seems appropriate. i would also ask him to cover shipping car back to him and home. If he makes a successful repair/replacement of the engine and you get the car back and operating properly would you be satisfied?

I know this has been very frustrating, and that the car has been back and forth, but what do you think would be fair at this point?

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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You can get a bad head gasket with any aluminum engine if you run acid coolant long enough. We've done two intake manifold gaskets on my wife's 1999 Pontiac with the 3.4 liter V6.

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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If he is offering to replace your engine at no additional cost that seems appropriate. i would also ask him to cover shipping car back to him and home. If he makes a successful repair/replacement of the engine and you get the car back and operating properly would you be satisfied?

I know this has been very frustrating, and that the car has been back and forth, but what do you think would be fair at this point?

i recently offered to bring the car to him and leave it. Then when he fixed I would take it home. He told me he purchased another engine. His answer was that he is in the hospital with diabetes and heart issues. I have heard that for months now. I just want what I paid for at this point.
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It sounds to me like everyone has agreed on what to do, and if everyone gets in touch and follows through then we are done.

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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It sounds to me like everyone has agreed on what to do, and if everyone gets in touch and follows through then we are done.

Thanks Jim for clearing that up.....we are done according to Jim. Mind your own business Jim. Now we are done.

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Thanks Jim for clearing that up.....we are done according to Jim. Mind your own business Jim. Now we are done.

Good time to mention the Terms of Usage here; I think when the forum updated the auto-link in the header got lost; I'll go work on that.

A key part of a discussion forum is the discussion part; if one wanted to keep a topic private certainly it should not be posted to the Forum. "Mind your own business" is not an appropriate response to someone trying to help.

If I misunderstood and you meant this in a humorous way that escaped me then I should share that it is not obvious.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube

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Thanks Jim for clearing that up.....we are done according to Jim. Mind your own business Jim. Now we are done.

Good time to mention the Terms of Usage here; I think when the forum updated the auto-link in the header got lost; I'll go work on that.

A key part of a discussion forum is the discussion part; if one wanted to keep a topic private certainly it should not be posted to the Forum. "Mind your own business" is not an appropriate response to someone trying to help.

If I misunderstood and you meant this in a humorous way that escaped me then I should share that it is not obvious.

I was summarizing post #33 from which I took it that Dave's outfit had offered to replace the engine. On re-reading everything, I see that this was a suggestion by Bruce and not an offer from Dave's outfit, at least not that I see in a post here. I would have hoped that this was something brokered between jake1970 and Dave's outfit, and some resolution to the satisfaction of all concerned may yet be so, I hope.

I will venture that Caddyinfo is an enthusiast site, which has a large following of people who seek solutions to problems, particularly with older Cadillacs, occasionally decades out of warranty. We have one member with a 1954 model that needed a headlight relay cover. We have people here with vast experience with Northstars, including head gasket problems, who constantly monitor the forum and are here to help.

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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I am happy to report that Dale Davis and I have worked out a solution to my engine problem. Dale has purchased a new engine and is rebuilding it - I am getting the car to him and driving it home. Dale and I had a real good talk and we are working it out - I will update as we go. For now - I take back the negative things I said about him because he is honoring the warranty on the engine - he is doing the right thing and being a stand up man.

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I am curious as to why a new engine would need a rebuild or is he rebuilding a used engine with new bearigns, new rod bolts, Timeserts, etc.?

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

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Hopefully when he tears your old engine down, he can figure out why it didn't work out. Try to give him some time with the car so he can look at it in the car and tell what he can with it running in the car. An hour or two should be enough if he knows when the car is coming in.

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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  • 1 month later...

I just got my 2001 STS back from the Cadillac Doctor about a week ago. So far, it is running "cool" and strong. My STS started overheating and getting a lot of combustion gasses in the coolant overflow tank. I couldn't stomach paying a dealer to fix it and, even though I could have fixed it myself, just don't have the time. I was one of the lucky ones and live only about 10 miles from his shop. From the time I dropped it off until I got the car back was 3 days. Runs better than it ever has. I have had an issue with the brake, traction control and ABS light coming on now, but it is only when I hit a large pothole and am convinced it is a corroded or broken connection. Anyway....I will keep you posted on the long outcome. I have put my Northstar through some heavy revs and it has stayed cool.

2008 BMW 328xi

2007 Chrysler Aspen

2001 Cadillac Seville STS

2000 Ford Ranger XLT
1998 Mitsubishi Spyder Convertible

1996 Saturn SC-1
1991 Ford F-150
1979 Chevrolet Caprice
1968 Ford LTD
1965 VW Beetle "Herbie The Love Bug Replica**

1961 VW Beetle

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Check the EBTCM connector. Its a common casualty with a Northstar R&R.

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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