mmarinov Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Hi all: First off, this forum has been a godsend w.r.t. maintenance of my N*. Thanks to all who have posted past and present; this forum has saved me hundreds in maintenance just over the past few months. After reading the archives and current posts, some maintenance history records are making more sense...more or less. I have an invoice from about a year prior to buying my car ('94 ETC) which the dealer (non-GM) presented to me as "Cadillac put in a brand new engine". After my initial analysis (prior to joining this forum), I determined that it basically got new head gaskets. I went in to this car knowing that it was not a "new engine" (anyone able to read an R.O. would know that!) Now reading with my more informed eyes, it had cracks in #3 and #5, and the dealership (Superior Buick/Cadillac, Kansas City, MO) replaced HGaskets and planed cylinder heads. OK, great, but I see an entry with the nomenclature "Helicoil", quantity 20. *heart sinks into stomach* On a good note, I see "ADDDED OPERATION CASE HALF SEALS LEAKING" to the tune of almost $1,900. From readings here, that is a good problem to have had fixed. Let me ask the gurus, what exactly is the HeliCoil repair? I posted a couple of weeks ago with the description of the repair and to me it sounded like TimeSerts (reply correctly indicated that maybe, it depends). Obviously I was wrong based on the parts ordered. She runs like a CHAMP after I tuned her up and I want to know what pitfalls I need to avoid with the repair they did. Hopefully, giving up my bi-weekly WOT's isn't anywhere in the answer I replaced my green coolant and put in tabs last night; the last time the coolant was replaced was 5/26/2004. Thanks for any info/opinions you can add! Mark I replaced my green coolant and put in tabs last night; the last time the coolant was replaced was 5/26/2004. ...Let me add that 5/26/2004 was also the date of the HeliCoil, etc. repair. MM <!--fonto:Arial--><span style="font-family:Arial"><!--/fonto-->2007 DTS Performance - 50K <!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc--> As a matter of fact, I <i>am</i> driving 70 MPH in a phone booth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 A lot of people don't know the difference between a Helicoil and a Timesert. No dealer would use helicoils in a Northstar head bolt hole. Timesert makes Bigserts to fix engines that have had helicoils. I would expect that helicoils would pull out before you got the engine together. -- 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...
WarrenJ Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I would expect that helicoils would pull out before you got the engine together. I think that's a bit harsh. While I'd certainly prefer Timeserts, several here and on the other forum have had Helicoils installed with good results. Heck, mmarinov is proof of that. Of course, the dealer was woefully remiss in installing Helicoils instead of Timeserts. 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...
BodybyFisher Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I highly doubt that heli-coils were used by a dealer, they would have to be idiots. As Jim mentioned a heli-coil probably would not survive the initial torquing procedure. The time-sert was designed for the NS, I would question the dealer's service manager and ask them specifically if this is a computer glitch that spits out heli-coil when they meant time-sert. I would find it hard to believe they used heli-coils and if they did, you might have cause to have them do the correct repair if they failed. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I agree with Mike - unless the dealer was a complete idiot, I doubt they used Heilicoils - they would not last a year after the repair. I'd double check with the dealer to make sure though. By the way, Heilicoils are an excellent product and work well for many applications, EXCEPT for Northtstar head bolt hole repairs. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbrantlee Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Don't worry. I had my engine timeserted at a dealer and the invoice also listed helicoils. But they were timeserts. It's just a generic computer term, probably used by all GM dealers. Treat it like you stole it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarinov Posted November 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I highly doubt that heli-coils were used by a dealer, they would have to be idiots. As Jim mentioned a heli-coil probably would not survive the initial torquing procedure. The time-sert was designed for the NS, I would question the dealer's service manager and ask them specifically if this is a computer glitch that spits out heli-coil when they meant time-sert. I would find it hard to believe they used heli-coils and if they did, you might have cause to have them do the correct repair if they failed. Thanks for all of the replies! That sets my mind at ease. I think I'll be prudent and give them a call, just so I know for future reference. (Back to driving it like I stole it, and then kept it ) MM <!--fonto:Arial--><span style="font-family:Arial"><!--/fonto-->2007 DTS Performance - 50K <!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc--> As a matter of fact, I <i>am</i> driving 70 MPH in a phone booth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OynxSTS Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I highly doubt that heli-coils were used by a dealer, they would have to be idiots. Unfortunately, I am slowly and painfully building a list of dealers who would be included in the "idiot" category... Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac, I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I highly doubt that heli-coils were used by a dealer, they would have to be idiots. Unfortunately, I am slowly and painfully building a list of dealers who would be included in the "idiot" category... Yeah - the one that did the first Timesert job on my STS qualifies as an idiot... 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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