LINDAL Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 It seems like that cadillac fixed the head gasket problem in the 03's. Am I correct? I am looking at the 03's now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 On the 2000's forward they never had a head gasket problem Only ones usually that have head gasket issues are the ones that have had the engines opened up for on reason or another Most of the time any older car that never had any maintaince (coolant changes) done on them can have this issue not just cadillacs If you are looking at 03's I would try to get one from a cadillac dealer that can do a certified car It will cost you 1k but that is monies well spent If I add up all the stuff done to the 01 I have I'm willing to bet the repairs have been over 15k & climbing maybe more closer to 20k So I made out on the warranty. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 Linda, In 2000 they lengthened the head bolts and changes the thread pitch. They also made some change to the casting process or something to strengthen the aluminum or correct a problem with weak threads. The odds have been greatly improved on the 2000+ engines. You should be able to find an '03 that has low enough miles to be certified. Bought mine a year ago, certified with 17K on it. I would not pay extra for a certification, though they may try to charge more. Certification is just a process where they supposedly check 120 items and fix anything found wrong. I suspect they just pencil whip the list, thus no cost to them, but who cares. If you find anything wrong, it is covered. I found several things that would have been caught if in fact it was truly inspected. I was searching autotrader and cars.com so I was looking nation wide and found mine in Texas. The price was about the best I'd found so I do not believe I paid any more for certification. Good luck in your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 Not to hijack this thread, but I want a 2000 because of what Ranger cited, plus they started using roller CAMs. However didn't 2000 have a problem with its pistons caking up, using oil and rocking in the bore? 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...
Ranger Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 "Caking up"? You mean carbon? Not sure Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 "Caking up"? You mean carbon? Not sure Mike. Yes, caked with carbon. Maybe its a coincidence but I have heard a lot of 2000's having their pistons replaced. 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...
JIMDTS Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 Yes they had the so called cold carbon rap Which the would replace the rings & pistons for high oil consumption I had this done on the 01 dts however they time serted the eng so I have no issues with the eng so far it runs great & NO LEAKS so far The cold carbon rap goes into the early build 03's Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I know that was a "problem" even on older cars. My '97 had cold carbon rap and a much higher oil consumption than my '02 or '03. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95SevilleSLS Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 My '02 did have a huge thirst for oil (1 quart about 1000 miles or so), but after doing a couple of WOT's, it stopped completely. It's no big deal but I didn't really want it to stop completely because I know that when oil is being burnt, there is lubrication up there. -Dusty- - 02 Seville STS, white diamond - 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top - 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top - 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black - 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey - 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 See this thread, Shiden_Kai is a GM mechanic, you might want to read some of his posts http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...ic=2769&hl= 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...
ted tcb Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 Funny thing, Mike, but Shiden-Kai mentions a lot of the newer Northstar motors as being noisy. With the design differences from model year 2000, I notice how silent my 2001 is compared to my 1999. By the way, with all the cool features on this car, the one that makes me smile everytime is the auto-crank start. Just jab the key quickly, and the car takes over the starter motor .... very high tech and classy. Every other car I start seems like an antique by comparison. 1989 FWD Fleetwood, Silver 1995 STS Crimson Pearl on Black leather 1997 STS Diamond White 1999 STS Crimson Pearl 2001 STS Silver 2003 STS, Crimson Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 18, 2007 Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 Funny thing, Mike, but Shiden-Kai mentions a lot of the newer Northstar motors as being noisy. With the design differences from model year 2000, I notice how silent my 2001 is compared to my 1999. By the way, with all the cool features on this car, the one that makes me smile everytime is the auto-crank start. Just jab the key quickly, and the car takes over the starter motor .... very high tech and classy. Every other car I start seems like an antique by comparison. I never heard of that feature Ted. Shiden-Kai had gone toe to toe with the guru at times. He liked the engine but from working on it, he had a real world view of it and was not hesitant to speak his mind. He was quite knowledgable. 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...
Texas Jim Posted August 18, 2007 Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 Funny thing, Mike, but Shiden-Kai mentions a lot of the newer Northstar motors as being noisy. With the design differences from model year 2000, I notice how silent my 2001 is compared to my 1999. By the way, with all the cool features on this car, the one that makes me smile everytime is the auto-crank start. Just jab the key quickly, and the car takes over the starter motor .... very high tech and classy. Every other car I start seems like an antique by comparison. ted tcb My '06 does the auto start. I think it is pretty cool how it does it. On noisy engines .... I think mine make a lot of noise to be a Cadillac. Especially when you first start it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LINDAL Posted August 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 I did notice that the 2002 started very easy. It was a neat car. Too bad it had the head gasket issue. My husband told the dealer that he was as disappointed as they were in finding out it had bad head gaskets. He did not expect that report from the mechanic. He was pretty shocked when he called me about it that morning. We have learned another valuable lesson, always have it checked before you sign papers. So, 2000 or newer should not have the gasket problem? I wonder how I got lucky enough to pick one that had a problem. Anyway, the ford dealer is looking for one and can't find one in my price range as yet. The Cadillac dealer 35 miles away is looking for me one. My coworkers think I am crazy(I work at a University in the accounting dept). They think I should get a Camry. My parents think I am nuts, they think I need a Dodge or buy a new chevy, ford, etc. My dad is a die hard Dodge buyer. I think he has bought a Dodge van the last 5 times. He has a Dodge Dakota truck, too. Oh, and growing up I drove the family car a white Plymouth Fury. I don't think I would be satisfed if I bought a new anything, it wouldn't compare to the Cadillac. I didn't used to think that way until I bought my first used Cadillac. My husband had one, 1977 Eldorado, when we first started dating and it had front bearing issues, his job fizzled out so he sold it. I didn't really care for it. He loved it, it was light blue with white interior. Since, that time we bought a 94 STS (Montana blue), our son totaled it, a 95 STS (pearl white) , and my son's 97 Eldorado (black). The 97 had issues, in fact we still have the old engine in the garage. My husband has plans to fix it at some point. Not sure what he will do with it. Maybe put it back in the 97 at some point. My son wrecked the 94, but I am glad he was in it instead of a Camry. I like Cadillac because of the quality and the power of the engine. I have driven a few different cars lately and there is no comparison to my 12 year old car in power. The 2002 Deville was getting good gas mileage (28 mpg) for the short time I drove it (2 days). I have others trying to sell me a Lincoln or a Mercury Marquis. They don't get the same gas mileage as the Cadillac. Anyway, I am still looking for the perfect car for me. Just call me crazy. Everyone at work thinks I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonie77 Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 My 2 cents. I haven't had any first hand experience with 2000+ but the changes made shouldn't eliminate HG problems. The problem seems to be corrosion related with the head gaskets actually rusting. I have pics on another site of the rust on the fire ring at the HG and bolt failure. The changes may improve the clamping force and prolong the life but I don't see it being a real cure. I've mentioned this story before. At work the guys were talking head gasket failure. I came into the conversation late. No one mentioned Caddy's...when I asked if they had they ALL gave me a surprised look. "Caddy's too?" I was a pro mechanic in the late 60's and early 70's. Did a lot of valve jobs. I began to realize that a lot of them were not valves at all but were HG's. The shop owner insisted on doing the valves anyway (and I had to agree with him). On a few I pulled the valves to see if anything was wrong...nothing. Clean seats and good guides. I think all these cars had mileage in the 40 to 60K range. The HG was leaking between cylinders. No oil in the coolant, just a dead cylinder or two. HG failure isn't new and as long as we have them they will eventually fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 So, 2000 or newer should not have the gasket problem? I wonder how I got lucky enough to pick one that had a problem. No, the changes made just make it less likely than on the older engines. Like Zonie said, head gasket failures are nothing new and as long as the are head gaskets, there will be failures, especially on aluminum engines. You just had some bad luck. My cousin just bought a '98 last year and called me this morning with a low coolant and overheating problem. I did not enjoy giving him the bad news. I don't think I would be satisfed if I bought a new anything, it wouldn't compare to the Cadillac. I didn't used to think that way until I bought my first used Cadillac. My sentiments exactly. Bought my first one over 30 years ago. Haven't driven anything else since. Ignore the nay sayers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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