djazzmo Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I want to get back into a Caddy. I used to have a 98 STS. I found a 97 Eldo that is in good condition except it smokes. The owner thinks it is a head gasket. He wants $950. I haven't looked over the car yet but I wanted some input. How much will this cost to fix? Would you replace the head gasket or get a new/rebuilt motor? Is this a good deal? My budget is to stay under $3000 total to get the car running and dependable. Is this doable? I also found a 97 Eldo that is running with 117K miles for $3800. It has some cosmetic issues and needs a brake job. Is this a better deal? Need some advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 If I knew how to do the work and was prepared to do the job of Timeserting the block, I might take the gamble and buy the $950 car. It also might not be a headgasket problem. Does the car overheat? Do you have another car in case this one fails and you have to timesert the block? If you had someone else do the work, it probably would not be worth it unless you plan on driving the car for many more miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCat83 Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 IMO it's not worth the effort and work involved when there are so many more Cadillacs available for short money and in much better shape. I've Timeserted a Northstar and it's ahelluvalotta work and is to be avoided when you have other options. I did mine because my '97 Eldo had only 91,000 miles at the time and was and still is in show room condition. And about buying a car that "needs work"; do you really want to spend your free time and a lot of loot to try to bring a car such as this back to where it's reliable? Cars that get to this point do so because they have been neglected by their prior owners and you'll spend all kinds of time and money performing remedial work and the car still will never be right - you can't shine $h!t. Are the interiors clean or are they $h!thouses? If either the car had otherwise been well taken care of with no rust, good tires and a clean interior then I think you'd be better-off putting a re-man motor in it. That way you're starting off with a known baseline from which to bring the car back. And what about rust? Are these cars from the rust belt? Cadillac underbodies rust badly and, again, you'll spend a lot of time and money trying to fix a rusted out POS. If you can spend 8 or 10 grand and buy a nice car that has been well taken care of - they're out there. Let these two cars go to the salvage yard where they belong. I've worked on many cars in situations like yours and they just aren't worth the time and money you put into them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Unless you do the head gasket yourself, its not likely you will stay under $3000. Its a huge do it yourself project. As much as I love working on cars, I don't think I would be capable of doing a head gasket on the NS. It requires a place to lay a car up for awhile, possibly a long time if you only work on weekends, a good set of tools, some special tools (torque angle gage/meter, flywheel lock, engine hoist). The job requires a Herculean effort to do yourself, and I bow in the presence of members who have done the job, no lie. At around $5000 you can get a much better car, buy a POS and save up... Glad you are coming back, Mike 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 January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 My budget is to stay under $3000 total to get the car running and dependable. Is this doable? It is doable IF you drop the drivetrain, Timesert the block and replace the head gaskets. Otherwise, forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadillacETC1997 Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 wheres it at ill buy it... The Twins 1997 ETC & 2003 STS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I want to get back into a Caddy. I used to have a 98 STS. I found a 97 Eldo that is in good condition except it smokes. The owner thinks it is a head gasket. He wants $950. I haven't looked over the car yet but I wanted some input. How much will this cost to fix? Would you replace the head gasket or get a new/rebuilt motor? Is this a good deal? My budget is to stay under $3000 total to get the car running and dependable. Is this doable? I also found a 97 Eldo that is running with 117K miles for $3800. It has some cosmetic issues and needs a brake job. Is this a better deal? Need some advice I bought a '97 STS with bad head gaskets in March, 2006. I did all the work myself and had it back on the road in May of that year. I did a lot of extra work - like replacing the HVAC housing cover, etc. while the engine was out. A lot of work but I don't mind that type of work. If I were to do another one (It would have to be a Deville this time) I would drop the entire powertrain and could do it in a week of evenings plus the weekends. Plan on spending about $800 in parts/tools. If the car has the original blower motor with the metal inertial plate, replace the blower motor and install the blower heat shield while the engine is out. It will be a 10 minute job and it is not a matter of if but when the original blower motor will fail... You will definitely discover muscles that you never knew you had... IMO it's not worth the effort and work involved when there are so many more Cadillacs available for short money and in much better shape. I've Timeserted a Northstar and it's ahelluvalotta work and is to be avoided when you have other options. I did mine because my '97 Eldo had only 91,000 miles at the time and was and still is in show room condition. And about buying a car that "needs work"; do you really want to spend your free time and a lot of loot to try to bring a car such as this back to where it's reliable? Cars that get to this point do so because they have been neglected by their prior owners and you'll spend all kinds of time and money performing remedial work and the car still will never be right - you can't shine $h!t. Are the interiors clean or are they $h!thouses? If either the car had otherwise been well taken care of with no rust, good tires and a clean interior then I think you'd be better-off putting a re-man motor in it. That way you're starting off with a known baseline from which to bring the car back. And what about rust? Are these cars from the rust belt? Cadillac underbodies rust badly and, again, you'll spend a lot of time and money trying to fix a rusted out POS. If you can spend 8 or 10 grand and buy a nice car that has been well taken care of - they're out there. Let these two cars go to the salvage yard where they belong. I've worked on many cars in situations like yours and they just aren't worth the time and money you put into them. It all depends on the condition of the car. If the car was a beater, I would agree that it wouldn't be worth repairing. The one I bought was a North Carolina car that had never seen road salt and was in decent shape. When I was finished with repairing it, I had a car that was worth double of what I had into it - all my travel expenses included. As much as I love working on cars, I don't think I would be capable of doing a head gasket on the NS. Ah... Bull$hit! You did the transmission input speed sensor job - you could handle a timesert job. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCat83 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Ah... Bull$hit! You did the transmission input speed sensor job - you could handle a timesert job. I'll drink to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Me too, but I suspect BBF is much like me. My big problem would be dropping the cradle and getting the body off of it. I suspect that is what he meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Like I said, I bow in the presence of our timeserters..... 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...
BigCat83 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I used my engine crane to lift the body of my car off the cradle. Worked slick as K-Y Jelly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 My overall view is that an STS or Eldorado with no major mechanical problems is the better way to go unless you have the prerequisite skill and patience to repair a Northstar head gasket. However, if the Eldorado has an excellent interior and body and no other mechanical problems, I might be willing to buy a rebuilt or a low mileage salvage yard Northstar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 My overall view is that an STS or Eldorado with no major mechanical problems is the better way to go unless you have the prerequisite skill and patience to repair a Northstar head gasket. However, if the Eldorado has an excellent interior and body and no other mechanical problems, I might be willing to buy a rebuilt or a low mileage salvage yard Northstar. There ya go! 'Nuff said. 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...
Cadillac Jim Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Been there, done that, did not stay under $3K because I got a premium reman engine. What everybody said. It was a good deal for me because the car is nice and I am getting another four or more years out of it, a year and a half so far. A newer car in better shape is probably a better deal. The car you describe is a project car at best. -- 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...
djazzmo Posted January 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Okay, yall have scared the sH!+ out of me. I am far from the kind of skill necessary to do the work myself. Since I am sure no one on this board will give me a positive on Heal-A-Seal I guess I'll keep looking. Thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Since I am sure no one on this board will give me a positive on Heal-A-Seal I guess I'll keep looking. You got that right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCat83 Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Heal A Seal doesn't work on Northstars because you DON'T HAVE A LEAKY HEADGASKET but headbolts that have pulled out of the block! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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