ladiesmanetc Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Hello all, I just got my first ever Cadillac...i've driven it for all of one day. I can safely say I am now a Cadillac man. I'm 21 years old from New Jersey. I've always been into American cars (and, hated European and especially Asian cars) but never had anything like this. My first car was a 1994 Chevy Cavalier...meh....reliable car though. My second car was a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am...LOVED that car, but it died on me. My third car was a 1987 Pontiac Trans Am....loved that car too....but it was darn uncomfortable....and my most recent car I betrayed my beloved GM....it was a 1995 Ford Thunderbird. It was a nice car too, my first V8 so it was kind of special. But that had a nagging problem I didn't want to fix, so I looked for a new car. Among the sea of crap out there, I found a diamond in the rough. A 1995 Cadillac El Dorado. This thing is CLEAN. I'm the second owner, and frankly for a 12 year old car....it looks better than alot of NEW cars on the road. I've always respected the Cadillac marque and never thought i'd have one. Well now, i'm a proud Caddy owner. This is defiantly the nicest car I have ever owned.....and could probably ever hope to own. I'm in love with this car. Everything about it. Clean, bold lines. Luxurious interior. And I think I spent about a half hour drooling over the Northstar V8. I can't beleive how this thing MOVES too.....this thing is DEFIANTLY faster than my Trans Am was. The car is just over 100k, but if you didn't look at the odometer you would never know. The car looks like it came straight from the dealer. I'm gonna try to get some pictures up. But really I just want to say HEY! to fellow Cadillac owners, especially any younger people out there. Caddy's have way too much of a reputation as an old person car......and those people are just missing out. Cadillacs are cars for people who have STYLE, and still respect the American heritage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Congratulations and welcome. You'll probably find that it uses some oil. That is normal and actually good. It likes to be driven hard as it was designed. An ocassional WOT in 2nd gear to about 70 mph and then let it back down to 50 will keep the cylinders from carboning up and keep the rings from sticking. Last, but not least, keep that coolant changed every 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill K Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Well HEY! right back at you ladiesmanetc. Pride of ownership is what it's all about and you landed in the right place. Wecome...P.M. (preventive maintenance) is the key to a smooth running & performing Cad. Fluids are one of the easiest and most necessary PM you can do for your Cad. Change them now and start a regular change interval. There is a lot of info on this site about trouble codes and how to see them & what they mean. Searching is good and questions are fine. Have fun and good luck w/your new Cad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarinov Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 I'm in love with this car. Everything about it. Clean, bold lines. Luxurious interior. And I think I spent about a half hour drooling over the Northstar V8. I can't beleive how this thing MOVES too.....this thing is DEFIANTLY faster than my Trans Am was. Welcome aboard! You'll find this board one of the most helpful and responsive on the 'net regardless of subject matter. The posters here are very knowledgeable and give great advice. I have an ETC from a year earlier and I love it as well (just turned over 105K tonight). The Eldorado is considered a personal luxury vehicle, right along the lines of a T-Bird so it's a natural transition for you. Only you'll notice a lot less of Found On Road Dead/Driver Returns On Foot/Fix Or Repair Daily All kidding aside, at 100K+ MAKE SURE that the coolant is serviced regularly, along with regular oil changes at specified intervals. My Eldo used a quart or so b/wn changes, but it also uses less now that I give it 7.5q + filter each time. Check out this link, along with searching for 'Guru' in the 'Search' section of this forum. http://www.cadillacforums.com/cadillac-tech.html#noil If you're mechanically inclined, I'd purchase a Factory Service Manual from helminc.com (or ebay). Not that collecting enough of BBF (BodyByFisher's) posts wouldn't do the trick Also, did your car come with service records? If so, read up on them and hopefuly coolant servicing was a regular item. Antifreeze becomes corrosive to your N* aluminum heads after about 2-3 years...this has been noted as a cause for eventual head gasket failure (read: expensive repair). The N* is a high-performance engine and likes to be treated as such. Good luck and I hope to see pics. Mark <!--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 December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Wait until you have a chance to check the gas mileage. Cold weather isn't the best environment for good fuel economy, but you can get a quick reality check by using the on-board computer. There are five buttons above the radio that reset the trip odometer, "info reset," a wide "info" button with a thumb depression in the middle, and to its right two buttons that open the fuel door and trunk lid. Press the "info" button and watch the Driver Information Center (DIC) display just below the speedometer and tachometer, between the odometer and trip odometer. You will see these displays, cycling through from one to the next each time you press the "info" button: RANGE (how far you can safely go on your remaining gasoline) AVG MPG (...since this data was last reset with the "info reset" button) MPG INST (leave this one displayed while you drive to monitor fuel economy) FUEL USED (...since this data was last reset with the "info reset" button) AVG MPH (...since this data was last reset with the "info reset" button) OIL LIFE LEFT (reset this to 100% when you have your oil changed and it will slowly decrease; I change mine when this display reads 50%) BATTERY VOLTS (use this one to see how your battery, alternator, and battery cable are doing) TIMER (Displays a stop watch; you can start, stop, or reset this timer. Use it to time commutes, trips, etc.) ENGLISH/METRIC RESET (watching your speed in kph and your fuel economy in l/km for awhile is cool) BLANK (no display; leave it here for the least amount of driver distraction) When you are out on the freeway, watch MPG INST. Reset MPG AVG before you start a trip to get the average fuel economy for that trip. You can also use it to get average mpg for a tank, or a month, etc. I've got the 300 hp Northstar, which gets less MPG than the 270 hp Northstar in the regular Eldorado, and I get 18 mpg overall to a tank and 23 mpg on the road. And, I have a lead foot. Welcome to Caddyinfo Forums. -- 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...
JasonA Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Welcome Ladiesman! There are five buttons above the radio that reset the trip odometer, "info reset," a wide "info" button with a thumb depression in the middle, and to its right two buttons that open the fuel door and trunk lid... This is correct information for a 1996+ car. The interiors of the 1995- cars were different, and had the INFO button and others clustered over on the left side of the instrument panel, near the far left air vent. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Welcome aboard. If I am not mistaken you have the fastest Cadillac in your 1995. Us old guys have known about Cadillac performance for years! As a matter of fact I owned my first Cadillac when I was 20, a 1966 Coupe Convertible 429 cu in when I was in college. My senior year I had a 1968 Coupe Convertible 472 cu in. We try to keep it a secret however, don't tell your friends! Slightly off topic but related to the Ladies Man! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO5Dd3NbF4Q 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...
JimHare Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Hello all, I just got my first ever Cadillac...i've driven it for all of one day. I can safely say I am now a Cadillac man. I'm 21 years old from New Jersey. Welcome to the Forum Laddie boy - whereabouts in NJ are you located? There are a couple of us Eldo owners here in the Garden ( !!! ) State, perhaps we should start a "CEOCONJ" or something... Spend the next two weeks reading everything you can on this forum and the other ones, and you'll quickly come up to speed on your Eldo... Jim "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard P. Feynman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladiesmanetc Posted December 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Thanks for the warm welcome all, I have a question though. How can you tell if the car is an ETC or not? This car at some point in it's life was debadged. I have the fog lights....which as far as I could tell are an ETC feature....but I can't seem to really find anything solid. JimHare: I'm in north Jersey, right along the morris/sussex county border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 See JimD's breakdown of the VIN number here: http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...1290&hl=VIN If you have a 9 or a Y engine will be the first start.... The ETC has a 300 hp engine a non ETC has a 275 HP engine. Once you determine which you have, we can explain the differences. 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...
GreenMachine Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 You'll love it, I going to get a Deville passed down to me when my father buys a new or newer caddy, and although I would really like an Eldorado I do like being able to have more passengers to split the gas bill for any trips I take with friends, plus my dog and brother enjoyed the back seat, dog gone now, rest in piece In any event that Northstar will always bring a smile to your face (unless your working on it, then like any other engine, it gets called names it shouldn't.) The Green's Machines 1998 Deville - high mileage, keeps on going, custom cat-back exhaust 2003 Seville - stock low mileage goodness! 2004 Grand Prix GTP CompG - Smaller supercharger pulley, Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Dyno tune, etc 1998 Firebird Formula - 408 LQ9 Stroker motor swap and all sorts of go fast stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Yes, as BBF said, the 9th character is the tell. 9 = ETC, Y = base Eldorado. I know that in some years (like '97), fog lights were included in both models. The VIN is the true tell. Also your engine speed at Interstate speed. How fast are you driving when the transmission is in 4th gear and the tachometer shows 2000 rpm? If you're driving 75-80, it's a base Eldorado. If you're driving in the 60-70 range, it's the ETC. The ETC has a shorter final drive ratio. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Y = 1950 RPM at 70 MPH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 2000 rpm on my '97 is an indicated 77-78 mph. Technically, 2000 rpm with a .69 overdrive ratio, a 3.11:1 final drive, and 225/60R16 tires, should be exactly 73.84 mph. Sounds like my speed reads a bit high, while your speed reads a bit low. Using a calculator, road speed at 2000 rpm should be: Y: 73.84 9: 61.90 http://www.kabamus.com/garage/gears.html I should have used that calculator in the first place. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Well I say 1950 because my '97 Deville had a digital dash and I always set the cruise at 70. RPM's were consistantly at 1950. My previous SLS as well as my DHS when set at 70 shows RPMs at about 1/2 needle width under 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadillacETC1997 Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 im confused your most recent car the tbird was your 1st v8 yet a car you had before trans am wasnt? trans ams with the exception of the 1989 TTA pace car were ALL v8s The Twins 1997 ETC & 2003 STS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladiesmanetc Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 im confused your most recent car the tbird was your 1st v8 yet a car you had before trans am wasnt? trans ams with the exception of the 1989 TTA pace car were ALL v8s Meh, good eye. Nah it's actually a confusing situation. I technically had the T-Bird first. When my Grand Am died, I bought that. It was kind of an "OMG I NEED A CAR NOW!!!!" purchase, it was the first decent thing I found. About a month later I found a (what I thought was) an amazing deal on the Trans Am (which, has always been one of my dream cars). I got the Trans Am, which I consider my 3rd car because I didn't actually drive the T-Bird very long. My brother took up the T-Bird in the meantime. The Trans Am died on me a few months later (meh, it was $800, can't complain), and I took over the T-Bird once again. The T-Bird was a filler car, really. I just needed something driveable. But, it was technically the first V8 I owned, and I consider it my fourth car....even though I owned it before the Trans Am. If you want to go by what i've DRIVEN, it's actually more like.... 94 Cavalier....92 S-10...94 Lebaron Convertible (my mom's...ugh...)....97 Grand Am....95 T-Bird...87 Trans Am...95 T-Bird again....95 Eldorado... I didn't actually own the S-10 or the Lebaron, though, but I drove them for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterset Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Welcome Yes, I'm up for a NJ meeting this summer. I live in Morris Plains NJ. - I'll start a thread in the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 im up for a nj meeting also if you guys have one. im in the poconos now but im from jersey also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Why don't we attempt to see how much interest there is for this, it looks like we have some interest here. Somebody start a thread in the 19th Hole. How about we attempt to have regional meetings in the spring? Northeast, East, southeast, etc... Lets pool our ideas on this Maybe Bruce can make a special category for this? 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...
ladiesmanetc Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 I'd defiantly be in on a meet too. I'd love to meet other Caddy owners! Can't help but think i'll be the youngest one there but what the hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMachine Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 2000 rpm on my '97 is an indicated 77-78 mph. Technically, 2000 rpm with a .69 overdrive ratio, a 3.11:1 final drive, and 225/60R16 tires, should be exactly 73.84 mph. Sounds like my speed reads a bit high, while your speed reads a bit low. Using a calculator, road speed at 2000 rpm should be: Y: 73.84 9: 61.90 http://www.kabamus.com/garage/gears.html I should have used that calculator in the first place. The discrepancy might be where your driving, (downhill? up hill? flat and level, rain) age of the tranny, how much slippage. The digital dashes "round" the RPMs to the nearest 25 interval (25,50,75). Also how does the lockup torque converter work into the picture? The Green's Machines 1998 Deville - high mileage, keeps on going, custom cat-back exhaust 2003 Seville - stock low mileage goodness! 2004 Grand Prix GTP CompG - Smaller supercharger pulley, Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Dyno tune, etc 1998 Firebird Formula - 408 LQ9 Stroker motor swap and all sorts of go fast stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Under normal circumstances, there should be "no" slippage at highway speed, because the viscous converter clutch is engaged. The engine speed at a corresponding road speed is a mechanical formula. Weather, rain, road conditions will not affect that. The only things that can affect that are if the VCC is not locked or defective, different tire sizes, mis-calibrated speedometer, etc. The difference between my reading and Larry's is pretty small, and within tolerances I'm sure. His sounds a little low, mine a little high. We have a '06 Grand Caravan at work, with the EXACT same powertrain and tire size as our personal '03 Grand Caravan. 2000 rpm in OD on our '03 is about 62 mph, but it's about 64 mph on the '06 at work. Same deal -- just a difference in speedometer calibrations, exact tire diameter, etc. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick7997 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 I found out on my last trip to Florida (which I just returned from) that my speedometer is reading a little high.... Car is a 1997 ETC... Some states have those radar things all over, with the readout. At 75 on my speedometer, I consistently show 72-73 on those displays... at 80 on my speedometer, the display board shows 77 consistently... So, if your numbers are slightly off, that could be it. I have the right size tires, according to the sticker in the door.... Car performed flawlessly for a 3000 miles round trip. Nice ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 Just a guess, but maybe your transmission was replaced with a non ETC unit.. I didnt do the math or anything, I am guessing here. On the other hand, if that was the case, and you do have a non ETC tranny/final drive I would think that the PCM would 'see' that and set a code. We have been told over the years that and ETC must use and ETC tranny due to the final drive ratio differences with the non ETC otherwise a code would be set. Maybe that is not the case? 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...
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