Is this a common problem on 94 Caddys? Burn Repair

[BodybyFisher]

1 hour ago, Logan said:

Maybe the fire was started by someone spraying around searching for the 171/174.

The rubber coupler is under the intake mounted between the throttle body and the intake. About a $20 part at Cadillac. The intake has to come off to replace. They can look great from the top side....but they rot out on the bottom where intake juices collect in the bellows.

I always kept a used, tested coil bank in the trunk.

On a 2001....you only get p0300....you need a scan tool that can display misfires to figure out which cylinder is missing. No such thing as a p0301-0308 code on a 2001.

 

@Logan  You raise a good point, that is possible.

I recall in the past we have used sprays to find the leak in the bottom of the plenum.  I know that is potentially flammable.  Is this method of spraying the area and watching for an RPM change not an acceptable method to find the leak?  Is there a safer method of determining a leak?, Ether Starting Fluid Spray?, at least it evaporates fast or is that too explosive? 

Thanks for confirming my recollection on the coil bank P300 and that you kept a good one for testing and emergencies.

[01Eldorado]

Wanted to update this thread with some info that I hope will be of help to someone else. 

So I came here looking for help resolving the service engine light on my 2001 Cadillac Eldorado ETC which was having a P0300 random misfire code, which was narrowed down to a misfire on cylinder 2. 

I got some sound advice regarding possible causes and solutions and learned most importantly to diagnose the problem properly in order to make the repair. Don't be a "knee-JERK" and throw parts at it because a: Its darn expensive (Really darn expensive) and b: Diagnosis and pinpointing the problem is the proper way to make a repair. 

So after the preliminary vacuum leak checks and the once, twice and three times over of the vacuum lines I determined that none were missing, burnt, or leaking that I could tell. I used the visual, the stethoscope, and the wiggle tests, and replaced any hoses or fittings that showed any signs of wear. 

So armed with my new information, I begun to do some visuals of the ignition system, spark plugs, boots, and coil packs. I got the coil packs off and saw (what I thought to be) excessive amounts of oil in the spark plug chambers, along with factory installed plugs (107k miles currently) removal of the plug showed heavy carbon buildup but the plugs all came free without any problems or headaches. I then carefully cleaned each chamber being careful not to allow any debris to drop into the block and wiped up all the excess oil. I bought 8 new NGK Iridium plugs from local auto parts store, I did not get new boots as the ones on it were very clean and came out very easily and looked like new still. I installed new plugs and still had the P0300 random misfire code. I did a swap of the coil packs and confirmed that a faulty Ignition Coil Cartridge was the culprit. As noted before I am a cheap bastard so I begun to do a daily search for scrapyard inventory additions and last weekend a 2000 seville made its way into a local junkyard located at row 1 ( trust me row 1 sure beats Row 127 in any junk yard) and I woke bright and early to claim them. Successfully acquiring two Original parts and saving myself a good 400$ I replaced the faulty coil pack and have in my trunk now a spare pack in case of future need arises. Staying true to my cheap bastard self I patted myself proudly on the back and am happy to report that the P0300 code issue is resolved.

But the fun does not stop there. 

So the car sounds GREAT, ultra responsive and has gained lost power and runs and idles awesome (never had idling issues just a slight misfire barely noticeable) but was apparent when driving before.  

This is where things get exciting as what I assume that the motor now running like it should begun to put the other systems to test such as the cooling system. The radiator sprung a leak. Dumped all my coolant. A trip back to the scrap yard and I found a radiator that was full to the brim with dexcool (orange colored) coolant, and successfully replaced it with no problems. Refilled and a test run caused another failure at the water pump seal. Dumped all coolant again. Purchased a new water pump and thermostat, rented the water pump tool, and refilled. Test run and everything is good. So I thought.  

Apparently when replacing the radiator I was not careful when replacing the engine oil cooler line to the radiator and ignored the placement of the fitting at a 10 degree angle in order to avoid the engine fans from contacting the line, and when the fan came on it shredded a hole in the line and dumped my fresh oil everywhere. (noob mistake Dont be a noob)

So I fixed this issue by cutting the clamps off the original line, from both the radiator side and left the fitting in the oil filter adapter side on the car slipped in new hose and double clamped the new hose on both sides to ensure no leaks, and made sure to angle it away from any belts or fans. another oil change and all is well again with the cadillac.

So now I decide that all systems are good cooling, oil, and transmission fluids are steady and strong. I got her shining pretty the gold flake in the paint sure is pretty. I decide to do the WOT procedure. I discovered the 800 lb gorilla but he showed himself only briefly as the WOT has caused another coolant leak dumped the coolant again!! (darn this coolant is getting expensive)

Going to go out in the rain today (sunny california?!) and try to find the new leak.

Just wanted to thank you guys for having this place to help us all cheap bastards and the like because I definitely would not have gotten this far without your help. Will keep updating and if you got any more suggestions or things to look for please do tell.

Peace. 

 

[rockfangd]

thanks for the update. figured it was a coil. if you think caddys are expensive try mercedes or a bmw.

[winterset]

Hope you know how to tell a good radiator.  You should consider new as they are cheap enough being made of aluminum and not copper.  Once you start overheating an engine (especially an aluminum one), your problems become very expensive, and possibly unrepairable.  Also please do not skip on safety, and get your brake lines, and suspension checked out for rust, and wear.

[01Eldorado]

On 10/30/2016 at 7:55 PM, winterset said:

Hope you know how to tell a good radiator.  You should consider new as they are cheap enough being made of aluminum and not copper.  Once you start overheating an engine (especially an aluminum one), your problems become very expensive, and possibly unrepairable.  Also please do not skip on safety, and get your brake lines, and suspension checked out for rust, and wear.

Update on this 01 Eldorado ETC.

Found the source of coolant loss to be a loose clamp on one of the green silicone hoses located under the EGR Valve.

A pain to get to and went undetected until i pressurized the system to 15psi. 

I think that i can get the clamp in place and a nut driver onto it to tighten back up.

Assuming the worst and this is not the cause of the leak what could be the underlying culprit?

The fitting the green hose attaches to? The coolant crossover gasket? 

Will this require removal of the coolant crossover?

Seems like I fix one leak and another one pops up. Whats next in line to go?

As always your advice is greatly appreciated.
 

Thank you,

Robert

 

 

[KHE]

That little section of green, silicone hose can be a PITA to replace but here is one way to do it:  Cut the old one off lengthwise.  You must use silicone hose to replace it - You can find it at auto parts stores much cheaper than GM.  Cut the new hose to length of the old one.  You're probably going to have to lower the front of the subframe in order to access the clamps on the heater pipes.  Make sure to disconnect the linkages of the suspension sensors first.  Loosen the clamps so you can move the heater pipe out of the way far enough to install the hose.

[rockfangd]

15 hours ago, 01Eldorado said:

Update on this 01 Eldorado ETC.

Found the source of coolant loss to be a loose clamp on one of the green silicone hoses located under the EGR Valve.

A pain to get to and went undetected until i pressurized the system to 15psi. 

I think that i can get the clamp in place and a nut driver onto it to tighten back up.

Assuming the worst and this is not the cause of the leak what could be the underlying culprit?

The fitting the green hose attaches to? The coolant crossover gasket? 

Will this require removal of the coolant crossover?

Seems like I fix one leak and another one pops up. Whats next in line to go?

As always your advice is greatly appreciated.
 

Thank you,

Robert

 

 

Love that red.  I had a 96 ETC same color but had a jet black leather interior. It really showed off the zebrano wood.

I find it funny that my 97 Seville is red but the Seville red is not the same as the eldo. Love them both