mikeheid Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 Hi guys, I bought my 96 seville sts in feb.The gentleman i bought it from said he had the coolant serviced not too long before i bought it. He said he took it to sears automotive.My question is when they changed it would the crushed up tablets they put in these drain also? It has green coolant in it now so i know it was changed but i wouldn't think sears would know to put these tablets in.It sill has the crushed tablets in it thats why i was wondering on this.If they drained it from the petcock would this leave the tablets in it?Just curious about this! Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 No, when it is drained, the tabs drain with the coolant. I would not trust Sears to put it in. If they did, the coolant will have a muddy brown appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted June 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 hi ranger, When i look into my resevoir tank i can see the crushed up tablets in there.So i guess this would mean they added them then? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 If you put the sealant tabs in the tank, they tend to stay there and not circulate through the cooling system. This can clog the 3/8" hose at the bottom of the surge tank. Some shops use a new "universal" coolant, and Prestone doesn't sell the old stuff anymore. See http://www.prestone.com/products/antifreezeCoolant.php I don't know which products are silicone based, if any. -- 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...
Ranger Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 hi ranger, When i look into my resevoir tank i can see the crushed up tablets in there.So i guess this would mean they added them then? Mike Jim is correct. They should not go in the tank. What exactly are you seeing? A brownish color or muck at the bottom (that would be hard to see). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Hi Ranger, The last time i opened my cap to have a looksy there was what looked like a divider of metal down the center Like there was two sides to it.One side was clear and the other side was the muddy stuff which i'm guessing is the crushed tablets. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted June 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 The little hose that runs from top of the resevoir right by the cap if the car is running and i pulled that hose is coolant supposed to come out of it?Everytime i open my cap i am not seeing antifreeze at all i am able to see is the muddy stuff which i guess is from the tablets.It sits pretty close to the top and i can grab some of it with my fingers.My car is not overheating stays around 196 to 201 all the time.I did get the check coolant level once i added very little and hasn't come on since.The little hose by the cap though does not spit out anything when the car is running.Could this be clogged?Or should it spit out coolant at all.The guy i bought it from said he had the coolant serviced less than a year ago.Just turned 100,000 miles not to long ago.Not being able to see coolant though makes me nervous.Should i just go get it serviced again? Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrow11 Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Hi guys, I bought my 96 seville sts in feb.The gentleman i bought it from said he had the coolant serviced not too long before i bought it. He said he took it to sears automotive.My question is when they changed it would the crushed up tablets they put in these drain also? It has green coolant in it now so i know it was changed but i wouldn't think sears would know to put these tablets in.It sill has the crushed tablets in it thats why i was wondering on this.If they drained it from the petcock would this leave the tablets in it?Just curious about this! Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrow11 Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Hi guys, I bought my 96 seville sts in feb.The gentleman i bought it from said he had the coolant serviced not too long before i bought it. He said he took it to sears automotive.My question is when they changed it would the crushed up tablets they put in these drain also? It has green coolant in it now so i know it was changed but i wouldn't think sears would know to put these tablets in.It sill has the crushed tablets in it thats why i was wondering on this.If they drained it from the petcock would this leave the tablets in it?Just curious about this! Thanks Mike mike, oops on first reply just signed up and saw your note and read some responses. pellets go in lower radiator hose and are only used to stop leaks. my 95 deville has a 4.9 liter engine with oil and tranny coolers. to fix major overheating i started with mobil 1 synthetic oil, 185 thermostat, green antifreeze(recommended by the dealer) at 70% antifreeze solution with water. finally went to new radiator and have been totally satisfied to date. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Hi guys, I bought my 96 seville sts in feb.The gentleman i bought it from said he had the coolant serviced not too long before i bought it. He said he took it to sears automotive.My question is when they changed it would the crushed up tablets they put in these drain also? It has green coolant in it now so i know it was changed but i wouldn't think sears would know to put these tablets in.It sill has the crushed tablets in it thats why i was wondering on this.If they drained it from the petcock would this leave the tablets in it?Just curious about this! Thanks Mike mike, oops on first reply just signed up and saw your note and read some responses. pellets go in lower radiator hose and are only used to stop leaks. my 95 deville has a 4.9 liter engine with oil and tranny coolers. to fix major overheating i started with mobil 1 synthetic oil, 185 thermostat, green antifreeze(recommended by the dealer) at 70% antifreeze solution with water. finally went to new radiator and have been totally satisfied to date. good luck. The Mobil 1 is not necessary in the 4.9 and may increase your oil consumption in the hot weather and amplify the number 1 main bearing knock if you have one. My 4.9 HATED synthetic. The PCM expects the OEM stock thermostat and the 185 does nothing to stop overheating, you should put back the 192/195 that your car calls for. Your car does take green, but moving up to 70% has no impact on overheating at all.. The radiator was probably your problem. 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...
TDK Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Folks, I drained the coolant in the '94 (was the older greenish-brown, silicate-base) via the lower rad hose, added a few tablets to the hose itself and then refilled with the 50/50 prediluted Prestone for all makes, colors etc. No problems and that was probably 30,000-miles or so ago. Jim, that was a nice link to the Prestone site by the way. Who would have thought they made so many kinds of antifreeze? I agree that they could have discussed the chemistry a bit more, but I think the universal (all makes/colors) is probably based on a poly-phosphonate, low pH scheme (for corrosion protection) - as opposed to the older-style silicate-based schem for corrosion protection. The anti-freeze component is probably still ethylene-glycol based in all the products - but the RV, which would be proplyene-glycol. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts96.html Mike H, I would consider removing the lower rad hose to drain the system and collect the coolant to re-fill withit. Rinse out the coolant overflow tank and add a couple more tablets in the lower rad hose before replacing the collected coolant. Good luck, Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 i believe the highlighted portion of the 2nd quote is incorrect. the pellets are used on all the aluminum engines and are added at the factory. one is supposed to add the supplement at each coolant change. also, you need to remove the tank, clean it out and make sure the hose is open can cleared. this is critical for the cooling system to work properly where one adds the pellets or ground tubes makes little difference as long as it is NOT IN THE RESERVOIR. the GM SPEC is the identical stuff sold as BAR's GOLD / GOLDEN STOP Leak. BAR's sells it to GM. see pics quote: ORIGINAL name withheld by request (GM power train Eng.) much has been written about the coolant pellets. Search using GM coolant supplement or something like that. In any event, the Pellets are simply a sealer or stop leak if you like. There is nothing magic nor mysterious about them. They are simply ground up ginger root and walunt shells and are the same material that BarsLeaks puts in their sealer minus the dark soluable oil. The dry, powdered BarsLeaks "Gold" in the clear plastic tube at Walmart is the exact same material. The sealer or stop leak is recommended for the all aluminum engines due to the increased likelyhood of a tiny seep or leakage due to the difficulty in sealing aluminum at gasketed surfaces and the chance of porosity opening up in the diecast aluminum parts. Almost every manufacturer of engines installs the cooling system sealer at the factory....Cadillac, Chevy, Gm, Ford, RollsRoyce....etc. The list of buyers that BarsLeaks ships to is long and distinguised. You can even buy the stuff at the Chevy parts counter as Chevies use it too.... mike, oops on first reply just signed up and saw your note and read some responses. pellets go in lower radiator hose and are only used to stop leaks. my 95 deville has a 4.9 liter engine with oil and tranny coolers. to fix major overheating i started with mobil 1 synthetic oil, 185 thermostat, green antifreeze(recommended by the dealer) at 70% antifreeze solution with water. finally went to new radiator and have been totally satisfied to date. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 The little hose that runs from top of the resevoir right by the cap if the car is running and i pulled that hose is coolant supposed to come out of it? No. that is the overflow line. The purge line is the 3/8" line that is attached to the side of the tank near the top. That line should flow coolant. Everytime i open my cap i am not seeing antifreeze at all i am able to see is the muddy stuff which i guess is from the tablets. Sounds like you are low on coolant. It should be 2" below the base of the filler neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted June 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Hi ranger, are you saying 2" down from the top?Could the tablets be absorbing it and thats why i'm not seeing it? And would the dic tell me everytime i am low on coolant? Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 2" from the base of the filler neck. That is to say, 2" of air space in the tank. No, the tabs will not absorb it. yes, you should get a CHECK COOLANT LEVEL message if the sensor is working and you are low on coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted June 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 i believe the highlighted portion of the 2nd quote is incorrect. the pellets are used on all the aluminum engines and are added at the factory. one is supposed to add the supplement at each coolant change. also, you need to remove the tank, clean it out and make sure the hose is open can cleared. this is critical for the cooling system to work properly where one adds the pellets or ground tubes makes little difference as long as it is NOT IN THE RESERVOIR. the GM SPEC is the identical stuff sold as BAR's GOLD / GOLDEN STOP Leak. BAR's sells it to GM. see pics quote: ORIGINAL name withheld by request (GM power train Eng.) much has been written about the coolant pellets. Search using GM coolant supplement or something like that. In any event, the Pellets are simply a sealer or stop leak if you like. There is nothing magic nor mysterious about them. They are simply ground up ginger root and walunt shells and are the same material that BarsLeaks puts in their sealer minus the dark soluable oil. The dry, powdered BarsLeaks "Gold" in the clear plastic tube at Walmart is the exact same material. The sealer or stop leak is recommended for the all aluminum engines due to the increased likelyhood of a tiny seep or leakage due to the difficulty in sealing aluminum at gasketed surfaces and the chance of porosity opening up in the diecast aluminum parts. Almost every manufacturer of engines installs the cooling system sealer at the factory....Cadillac, Chevy, Gm, Ford, RollsRoyce....etc. The list of buyers that BarsLeaks ships to is long and distinguised. You can even buy the stuff at the Chevy parts counter as Chevies use it too.... mike, oops on first reply just signed up and saw your note and read some responses. pellets go in lower radiator hose and are only used to stop leaks. my 95 deville has a 4.9 liter engine with oil and tranny coolers. to fix major overheating i started with mobil 1 synthetic oil, 185 thermostat, green antifreeze(recommended by the dealer) at 70% antifreeze solution with water. finally went to new radiator and have been totally satisfied to date. good luck. Hi , I'll do that remove the tank and rinse it out good.The hose your talking about is it the hose at the bottom of the tank? How do i make sure its cleared?If it is clogged how do i unclog it.If it was clogged would i be overheating?If its clogged would this make me loose coolant or why i wasn't seeing coolant in the tank? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Pull the bottom hose off of it and it should drain out. If not it is clogged. Fill it with water and try blowing enough pressure to clear it with your mouth. If that doesn't work, try a coat hangar from the bottom where you removed the hose. Then flush it with a high pressure garden hose. I would expect if it were clogged, coolant from the purge line would overfill it and you would overflow. Then you would end up low on coolant and overheat, so my guess is that it is not clogged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 that be the one - the little hose allows coolant to flow between the reservoir and the radiator during the process of expansion & contraction created by the heating and cooling.. if the little hose clogs, you can end up with air in the cooling system and if enough air get in there, water pump will cavitate, which means it stops pumping, always at high rpm/speed. i forget what your car has, but many, if not all N* engines even have air bleeder under the "look pretty cover" to remove air from the system. IMO, is pretty important to keep that reservoir clean and free of debris and mud to assure that one never has air in the cooling system. when i clean such things out, i take the lazy-man way out. using the garden hose i blast inside to remove deposits and blast through the little hose to clean it out. that works pretty much all the time. some remove the tank and scrub it .. i see little point to that unless you have a SHOW car. either way, this is not a lot of work and the reward is running w/o overheating, assuming all else is A.OK. you dont mention any overheating but you do need to clean out the tank before something goes wrong. if it be me, seeing the tablets in the tank, i assume they did all the wrong things, and i redo the 50/50 coolant & supplement. i mean, how expensive is that and assure that you never have a overheat issue? other important notes: change coolant @ < 24 months, 50/50 mix, add supplement, make sure the rad cap (if your car has one) is working well, belts show no cracking & tensioner is good, hoses are not soft/swelling, ... Hi , I'll do that remove the tank and rinse it out good.The hose your talking about is it the hose at the bottom of the tank? How do i make sure its cleared?If it is clogged how do i unclog it.If it was clogged would i be overheating?If its clogged would this make me loose coolant or why i wasn't seeing coolant in the tank? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 i forget what your car has, but many, if not all N* engines even have air bleeder under the "look pretty cover" to remove air from the system. It is called the purge line and all Northstars have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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