Aaron Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Please help....good investment needs some work but where to start????? I bought my '95 Eldorado the other day for $800 dollars....body is perfest except for 3 shopping cart dings...interior is a little ragged but nothing I cant handle...back seat is mint...seat belts dirty and dont retract well and the carpet will need a couple heavy runs with a seam cleaner..... beside all of this I was able to drive it home....with caution though....this is where I need the loving expertise of all of you caddy enthusiasts out there and this is what I have come up with so far Engine overheats starts hard runs rough at idle (possibly due to owner using reg. fuel?) pulled the front four plugs...lots of carbon build up and 1 was wet took thermostat out and it looked horendous as does the water pump itself (do you have to remove the entire water valley to replace the water pump....cause if thats the case it looks like a pain in the you know what...lol) oil in the intake tons of carbon buildup in the butterfly fans not kicking on leaking coolant but havent had a chance to find out where thought of a head gasket but when driving home I kicked it down across the bridge (3 mi.) and it hauled butt where should I start? I've read the threads you guys are extrordinary when it comes to this engine...please help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 The first thing you want to do is get the OBD I codes and post them here. Here's how to get them: http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html The plug that was wet -- what was wetting it? If it was coolant, then you know that you have head gasket leakage. Check the oil -- if it looks like milk or smells like coolant, then you have head gasket leakage. You can have the coolant checked for combustion products at any good raidiator shop (and most good general mechanics). If none of these raises a red flag, I would Change the oil and filter, and put in top-quality 10W-30. Put a tank of high-test in it. Change the coolant, replacing it with 50% anti-freeze and 50% distilled water (50 cents a gallon at WallMart). Look at any other service that is possibly overdue, such as transmission flush. Check all other fluids, such as power steering and brake. Then, take it for a liesurly drive, with extended cruises at about 45 mph. This should clear most of the cobwebs out of the car. I haven't changed a water pump myself. Others will have inputs on this, but first make sure that you need one. The best way to find coolant leaks is to have a pressure check. Again, any good raiator shop or general mechanic should be able to do this. -- 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Thank you very much sir.....this is definitely going to be a help.....what should a good cylinder read on a compression test? for the time being the vehicle is ripped apart so it will be a few days before I am able to tell you what the results of your suggestion were.... so in the mean time thanks again, Your Friend Driveitlikeustoleit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Don't worry about a compression test. A cylinder pressure test would be a good idea to determine if the head gaskets are leaking or not. That would be the place to start. To replace the water pump, you just remove the pump cover. You do need a special Socket to do it though. NEVER flush the trans. Just drain and refill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Don't worry about a compression test. A cylinder pressure test would be a good idea to determine if the head gaskets are leaking or not. That would be the place to start. To replace the water pump, you just remove the pump cover. You do need a special Socket to do it though. NEVER flush the trans. Just drain and refill. thanks for the help bud, I am a self trained mechanic and I have never done a cylinder pressure test before what type of equipment is involved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 If your compression tester has a quick disconnect, you can use that. Screw the hose into the spark plug hole and connect shop air to it after getting the piston to TDC compression stroke. Then look for air bubbles in the surge tank. If your hose is permanently atatched to the guage, you can make an adapter from an old spark plug by grinding the crimp around the porceline and removing it. The tap it to accept a quick disconnect male fitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted October 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 If your compression tester has a quick disconnect, you can use that. Screw the hose into the spark plug hole and connect shop air to it after getting the piston to TDC compression stroke. Then look for air bubbles in the surge tank. If your hose is permanently atatched to the guage, you can make an adapter from an old spark plug by grinding the crimp around the porceline and removing it. The tap it to accept a quick disconnect male fitting. Well...good luck is my name today because I was going to buy a compression tester this morning but didn't, can you recommend a brand and/or model that will have the quick disconnect... is it also going to have a valve to keep the air in the cylinders while switching from shop air to pressure gauge??...I realy appreciate the help that you and everyone else has given me on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Here's a few. I only included one with a quick disconnect at one end of the hose and spark plug threads at the other. You really only need the hose, not the guage. Just screw the hose into the plug hole and connect shop air to the other end. http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/AP-7751.html http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/STR-TU3P.html http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores...catalogId=10101 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?...pid=00999452000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted October 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Here's a few. I only included one with a quick disconnect at one end of the hose and spark plug threads at the other. You really only need the hose, not the guage. Just screw the hose into the plug hole and connect shop air to the other end. http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/AP-7751.html http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/STR-TU3P.html http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores...catalogId=10101 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?...pid=00999452000 So I don't need to worry about it holding a certain amount of pressure for a certain amount of time?...how do you know the difference between leaking rings, head gasket or valve seals....I am sorry if I sound like an Idiot I just want to be sure that I do this right the first time... BTW YOU ARE THE MAN RANGER!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Rings are never a problem, thanks to the agressive cylinder honing which retains oil. They do use some oil, but the rings and cylinder walls will last forever because of it. Likewise with valve seals. I have never heard of those being a problem. When you get the piston to TDC, plug in the air. If you hear air flow, then the exhaust valves are opened and you are on the exhaust stroke. Drop a dowl rod down the plug hole (make sure it is long enough so you can pull it out. 12" should be good) and crank the engine with a wrench on the crankshaft dampener bolt 360 degrees. You will see the dowl lower and rise again as it rides on top of the piston. Now it should be on the compression stroke. Plug the air back in. It should pressurize the cylinder and then be quiet. Sit back and watch the surge tank for a few minutes and pray that you do not see any bubbles. If you do, the air is leaking past a breach in the head gasket and leaking into the cooling system. You might be able to accomplish the same thing by starting the engine with the surge tank cap off and watch for bubbles. You should have a few minutes til it starts to heat up and the thermostat opens. Then you'll have to close it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 I would strongly recommend a set of factory service manuals. It sounds like you're planning to do quite a bit of work on your Eldo and the manuals will be a very valuable aid. They cover everything including mechanical work, suspension work, using diagnostic codes for troubleshooting, and how to get the interior trim panels off in one piece. You can find FSM's on Ebay as well as specialty bookstores on the internet. Good luck with your project Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonie77 Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 FYI, Harbor freight had leakdown testers on sale. It will do the cyl pressure test. It should have instructions too. N*'s do not put coolant in the oil until the head gaskets are totally gone. They run great with good power until the head gaskets are totally gone. Have the combustion byproduct test done (as Jims_97 suggested) but make sure the coolant is in for awhile or you will get a false negative. Don't take it in right after changing the coolant. A radiator shop is usually much cheaper than a mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Just to expand on what Poobah said, Helm Inc. has 1995-2000 factory service manuals on sale half price (while they last) through December 31st. These are the same manuals used by Cadillac dealerships. $67.50 will get you the set (shipped) at: http://www.helminc.com . Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 You can make a cylinder air adapter for just a few dollars and an old spark plug. Here is the one I made shortly after I started working on my '97 STS. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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