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96 DeVille Coolant leak


jndnaps

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Okay, Earlier today I smelled antifreeze and noticed the temp was up to 239. I was only a block from home so I kept going. At home, when I turned the car off, I looked under the hood and saw nasty looking antifreeze coming out of the overflow.. I had the system flushed and new coolant added back in July.. Now that it's good and cool, I just now looked into the purge tank and it's pretty much empty, Not even an inch of coolant, and it looks like some orange mud in there.. So, where do I start? :blink: I was reading up on some things here. Check the purge line. Now, is that the hose that's going into the top right corner of the purge tank? A rubber hose that connects to a plastic hose and runs under the engine cover and out the other side? I took that hose off and started the car and nothing came out of it.. I doubt the car is completely out of coolant because I didn't get any kind of warning from the info center and no hot light came on. Should coolant come out of the purge line as soon as the car is started when cold, or does it take some time? Anyways, sorry to make a new thread on this, I just got sick of researching it for the last hour. I'm hoping it's not the head gaskets. I didn't smell any exhaust smell in the purge tank. The car does have 127K now though.. But it still runs great and looks great.. :unsure:

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The crossover line is clogged, more than likely at the "bolt with a hole" fitting that goes into the water pump. Pull the hose off, unscrew the bolt, and clear the hole.

When you refill, either use 50-50 or use a coolant gauge to make sure that your coolant mixture is between 50% and 70% antifreeze, with 50% preferred, to prevent overheating.

By the way, that is a really beautiful car.

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-- 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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Thanks! I love this car.. Thanks for the info, I'll do that in the morning.. I did a lot more research on this tonight. I hope this is the problem.. The car is to nice to end up in a bone yard.

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And, post more pictures!

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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Okay, the hole wasn't clogged in the bolt.. I took it out and blew it out anyways, but again, wasn't really clogged up. I saw the light through it before I blew it.. :blush: I then took the hose off of the purge tank and I blew that out from the bolt hose through to the purge tank hose.. A lot of crap come out of it, and my dumb a$$ forgot to put a rag over that end. After I cleaned up the mess :blush: I went to blow it again and the air didn't go through.. So I blew it the opposite way and a bunch of crap came out that way.. After that I was able to blow it either way with no crap coming out :blush: and the air blew freely.. So it's possible that the hose was clogging up on it.. I haven't tried it out yet because I don't have any antifreeze and it was about to rain. I'm thinking of just adding water and take it right to Goodyear and let them flush it again and add fresh antifreeze.. I had that done in July, but there's a lot of orange muddy looking crap in the purge tank.. So hopefully that was the problem.. If not I gotta sell all my cars and get a Corvette.. That's what I'm supposed to do anyways since I turned 50.. Either get a Vette, Bike, or a young girlfriend.. I don't think the wife would like the girlfriend idea. She look 30 anyways so I'll stick to a Vette.. :D

Now, I didn't put anything back on the bolt when I put it back in. Was I supposed to put something on the threads? Is it gonna end up leaking there?

I don't have any new pics to post.. I'll try and get some next week..

Thanks!!

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I would take the surge tank out (it is not that difficult) and flush it out with a garden hose. Then reinstall it and fill the system with antifreeze.

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

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I would take the surge tank out (it is not that difficult) and flush it out with a garden hose. Then reinstall it and fill the system with antifreeze.

You know, I may just do that tomorrow.. I've got nothing to do.. Either way I'm gonna take it in next week and get it all flushed again..

Now, how do I keep squirrels and or rats out from under the hood??

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Now, how do I keep squirrels and or rats out from under the hood??

Let them ride 'shotgun'?

LOL.. If I knew for sure it's a rat and not a squirrel I'd put some traps under there..

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I would take the surge tank out (it is not that difficult) and flush it out with a garden hose. Then reinstall it and fill the system with antifreeze.

You know, I may just do that tomorrow.. I've got nothing to do.. Either way I'm gonna take it in next week and get it all flushed again..

Now, how do I keep squirrels and or rats out from under the hood??

No need to take it back in if the crud is coming from the surge tank - pull it, flush it with the garden hose, reinstall and you should be good to go.

As far as the rodents go.... buy some aluminum foil pie plates and put some anti-freeze in them. Place the pie plates around the car. The rodents will not be able to resist the sweet taste of the anti-freeze and you will quickly kill them all - end of problem...

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

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I would take the surge tank out (it is not that difficult) and flush it out with a garden hose. Then reinstall it and fill the system with antifreeze.

You know, I may just do that tomorrow.. I've got nothing to do.. Either way I'm gonna take it in next week and get it all flushed again..

Now, how do I keep squirrels and or rats out from under the hood??

No need to take it back in if the crud is coming from the surge tank - pull it, flush it with the garden hose, reinstall and you should be good to go.

As far as the rodents go.... buy some aluminum foil pie plates and put some anti-freeze in them. Place the pie plates around the car. The rodents will not be able to resist the sweet taste of the anti-freeze and you will quickly kill them all - end of problem...

That wouldn't be good to do. Dogs, cats, and anything else could get at that. I don't mind the rats dying, but nothing else. If I knew for sure it was a rat I'd set traps under the hood..

Oh, I keep thinking your profile pic/avatar is a hot pepper... LOL

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That wouldn't be good to do. Dogs, cats, and anything else could get at that. I don't mind the rats dying, but nothing else. If I knew for sure it was a rat I'd set traps under the hood..

Oh, I keep thinking your profile pic/avatar is a hot pepper... LOL

If you keep the antifreeze pans under the car you should stop any dog and mayme a cat from getting at it.

My avatar is a tail light from a 1980-1992 Cadillac - in my opinion, the most classic Cadillac out there! I love the chrome tail light housings the Cadillacs used to have.

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

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This is a beautiful 96 Deville. I loved my 96 Deville also, that are terrific riding cars and amazing on a long trip with the family.

We learned something new here that does not happen very often that besides the bolt, the hose can clog, very interesting,

This is a terrific thread

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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KHE - I thought that your avatar was an acetylene wrench. Thanks for clearing that up.

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. I like the avatar also. I knew it was a taillight because if you look carefully you can see more than 1 bulb.

I think the 96 was the best year they ever made . I have owned other years but still continue to love my 96.

GM FAN FOREVER

Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile

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I think we're finding out why GM quietly stopped using the sealant tabs. Besides, I think the porosity problem with aluminum castings has long been solved, and really was by the time the 1995 and later blocks were cast.

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 think we're finding out why GM quietly stopped using the sealant tabs. Besides, I think the porosity problem with aluminum castings has long been solved, and really was by the time the 1995 and later blocks were cast.

If I remember correctly, the guy at Goodyear said you're only supposed to use the Dex-cool and some pellets or something like that. I came across a page about the Dex-cool and now I see what's in my tank. That's the orange mud in the surge tank.. The system was flushed and Dex-cool added only 8 months ago and not even 2000 miles.. And I'm pretty sure he said he added some kind of pellets that are supposed to go with it.. Should we stay away from the Dex-cool or is that what I need to keep using???

Here's the page about the Dex-cool.

http://www.sancarlos...om/dex-cool.htm

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There's nothing wrong with DexCool. The mud is probably from the pellets. You should change your coolant every three or four years. It's probably due. I would skip the pellets unless you have a mild coolant smell after changing. If that happens, use four pellets in the lower radiator hose (not in the surge tank). Get the pellets at Amazon:

A mechanic's trick to check your coolant for being used up is to use a voltmeter. Put the black terminal on a good ground on the engine block and put the red one in the surge tank down to the coolant and read the voltage. If it is below 0.5 Volts (positive or negative), you are good. If it's more than 0.7 Volts, change the coolant ASAP. A reading between 0.5 Volts and 0.7 Volts is marginal and you should plan to change your coolant soon.

As far as I know, no new car has been designed for green antifreeze since 1995, but some mechanics even now swear that red/orange/yellow antifreeze is bad for any one of a variety of reasons, none of which stand up to a web search or other fact checking, and some of them will put green antifreeze in your car without asking or telling. If your car has ever had green antifreeze in it, it's practically impossible to get all of it out, and it will cause Dexcool to lose its anti-corrosion properties sooner. You should change your coolant every two years or sooner if you have ever had green antifreeze in your car.

One thing that's hard on any antifreeze is to run low on coolant. This can allow hot spots in the head to be above water when the car is cold or under other conditions, where the antifreeze can fry, and fried antifreeze is not a good thing for coolant, no matter what the color. But some people run low on coolant for years and never know it. When in doubt, use the voltmeter test.

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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Most of the bad information on Dexcool was from the cast iron Chevy 4.3 V6 where owners would let the vehicle run low on coolant and the internals of the cooling system would rust. When coolant was added, the rust would wash into the coolant and the sysle would repeat until the system was full of rusty "mud". The root cause was running the engine low on coolant, not the coolant itself.

It is possible someone added too many pellets to your system and that could be what is causing the issue.

The link talks about a 150,000 mile "maintenance free" cooling system - there is no such thing as a maintenance free cooling system... and the replacement interval on Dex is 100,000 miles.

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

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Thanks for the info.. The system was flushed and Dex-cool added only 8 months ago and not even 1,500 miles. Maybe they put the pellets in the surge tank from the start and that's the problem? It looks like it because it looks like globs of orange mud.. Also, back in 06 I had to replace the radiator because it was leaking. I had the system flushed and Dex-cool added. Again, back in 09 the system was flushed and Dex-cool added. I always made sure I kept up on the cooling system because of what I heard about the head gaskets. If the pellets are used after the flush, where are they supposed to put them in at? Thanks again for the info.. :blink:

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If the pellets were added to the surge tank, that is most likely the cause of the problem - there is very little circulation there and the pellets will clog the system as you have found. The pellets need to be added to the lower radiator hose when the system is empty.

The surge tank should be removed and cleaned (flushed with a hose).

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

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yes because the pellets are supposed to be added to the lower radiator hose and never the surge tank. I used the pellets on my 96 last year and all I did was crumble them and put them in the lower hose, then refilled coolant.

I only use what the vehicle calls for. I have changed the coolant in both of my caddys and have no problems with dexcool. other than the fact that I would never expect to get 100000 miles or 5 years out of it. I think that was a big mistake alot of people made and ran into problems. I still change mine every 2 years no matter what it is

GM FAN FOREVER

Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile

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Dexcool is 5 years or 100,000 miles - whichever comes first. Since the Northstar does not have block drains, you can't get all the old coolant out during a drain and refill. Only about half comes out. I change my coolant every 2-1/2 years for that reason.

If the cooling system has been contaminated with silicated (green) coolant, you must change the coolant every two years (even if Dexcool is put back in) as the silicates that have plated the internals of the cooling system will deplete the corrosion inhibitors in the Dexcool. Again, since only half comes out during a drain, you'd need to drain and refill yearly.

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

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