SDLo2 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 This site is awesome, and for not having this car for more than two weeks, I have learned a lot about these cars. I am not experienced at all, but at least the info acquired here points me in the right directions. I recently purchased a 97 De Ville with 71,000 miles from a private seller, and everything seemed awesome for the first couple of days - dream come true. Then, I started to notice a leak from the front of the car which seems to be the radiator. Dexcool on the ground, and coolant level low sign coming up. Never seemed to overheat at all really, I always kept an eye on the coolant temp. Stayed between 196 - 212 range, and it is hot here. Took it to go get smogged, and it didn't pass. He said there were too many hydrocarbons so he failed it. When he put a load on it on the dyno, he said it started to overheat and dumped coolant on the ground too! I pulled the codes which were: PCM P0300 (misfire) P1520 P1527 MSM B2110 B2119 B0856 - (all seats problems which need to be fixed) Don't know if they have ever been cleared before. I don't have a lot of money to be timeserting, or pulling heads and fixing them. What can I do? Feel like I am up a creek with no paddle!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDLo2 Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 This site is awesome, and for not having this car for more than two weeks, I have learned a lot about these cars. I am not experienced at all, but at least the info acquired here points me in the right directions. I recently purchased a 97 De Ville with 71,000 miles from a private seller, and everything seemed awesome for the first couple of days - dream come true. Then, I started to notice a leak from the front of the car which seems to be the radiator. Dexcool on the ground, and coolant level low sign coming up. Never seemed to overheat at all really, I always kept an eye on the coolant temp. Stayed between 196 - 212 range, and it is hot here. Took it to go get smogged, and it didn't pass. He said there were too many hydrocarbons so he failed it. When he put a load on it on the dyno, he said it started to overheat and dumped coolant on the ground too! I pulled the codes which were: PCM P0300 (misfire) P1520 P1527 MSM B2110 B2119 B0856 - (all seats problems which need to be fixed) Don't know if they have ever been cleared before. I don't have a lot of money to be timeserting, or pulling heads and fixing them. What can I do? Feel like I am up a creek with no paddle!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 First get a block test kit from Napa to test for exhaust gases in the coolant. That will either condemn or clear the head gaskets. Then you'll know which way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDLo2 Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Thanks, think that is the first step in ruling out the worst possible. I didn't fail by much at all, it was like 3 points off in the 15mph range, and everything else passed no problem. Probably should replace radiator as well. How long can I drive like this?! Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Thanks, think that is the first step in ruling out the worst possible. I didn't fail by much at all, it was like 3 points off in the 15mph range, and everything else passed no problem. Probably should replace radiator as well. How long can I drive like this?! Adam Hard to say. Depends on what the problem is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Adam, There is a purge line , a hollow bolt which might be clogged and cause overheating. You better check it first. You can search archives or someone can guide you through the procedure. Unfortunately, a 1997 Northstar may pull the headbolts (the worst scenario). The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 it does not seem clear what your coolant leak is from. you said there was a small leak but no overheating till the inspection test. my car used coolant but i never once had an overheat situation. i did have to do headgaskets but the motor never got hot. i see many posts online about overheating though. a leaky radiator and headgaskets. the daily double. keep your fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSchlossmann Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 What ADALLAK suggested is a very simple check to perform. We want to ensure that the air purge line isn't obstructed. If air is prevented from being purged from the system the water pump can't properly circulate coolant through the cooling system and over heating occurs. On my 93 Eldo, on the front of the coolant reservior there is a rubber hose which I believe leads all the way to a nipple on the cover of the water pump. You don't want the overflow hose adjacent to the radiator cap on the reservior. Remove the hose from the reservior, the one that goes to the water pump and blow into it real, and I mean real hard. If the hose is open you should have coolant coming out of the nipple on the reservior were the hose was attached. There is one more hose on the bottom of the reservior. This hose also needs to be open so the coolant can easily pass back and forth between the reservior and the engine depending upon wether the engine is hot or cold. My concern is that people have a small leak, they incorrectly add stop leak or Bars Gold to the reservior and end up causing a restriction or blocking one of the smaller hoses. You may even want to remove the reservior and give it a good cleaning. Changing gears... Years ago my 1980 AUDI failed an emission test. (Hydo Carbons) This was caused by one of the spark plug wires shorting to ground. This caused raw gasoline to enter the exhaust. At night, with the engine running, observe your spark wires to determine if any of the wires are shorting out. You may even want to spray a little water mist on the wires. Others on this forum recommend changing the anti freeze every couple of years. The main purpuse for doing this is to keep the rust inhibitors working properly. I probably don't change my anti freeze as often as recommended but I do add a can of rust inhibitors every two years. My Eldo has 205k miles and I never had a problem with over heating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Your misfire code is causing your failure, causing unburned fuel, you must track down the cause, check plugs, wires, coils, etc P1520 - Transmission Range Switch Circuit P1527 - Transmission Range to Pressure Switch Correlation The "P" codes will probably cause you to fail inspection, are the codes CURRENT? 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...
rek Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 "I didn't fail by much at all, it was like 3 points off in the 15mph range, and everything else passed no problem"... Before I go for a smog test, with my older cars, I put at least 38 psi in the drive wheels, change oil, make sure the air filter is clean, no misfires, 1/4 tank of gas with 3 (12 oz.) jugs of Iso-HEET (isopropyl alcohol)... After the test, I top off the tank and reduce the tire pressure. rek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 we stopped doing emissions testing where i live but i do recall having to dyno the car when it first failed. putting your car on the dyno and low speed caused it to overheat? yes, you have low airflow then but i am surprised you never noticed this in the few weeks you had the car. a few long uphill runs should have showed the issue. or maybe the coolant level was fine when you got it and than slowly went down and now you have low coolant level and that contributes to the overheating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Then, I started to notice a leak from the front of the car which seems to be the radiator. Dexcool on the ground, and coolant level low sign coming up. Never seemed to overheat at all really, I always kept an eye on the coolant temp. Stayed between 196 - 212 range, and it is hot here. Took it to go get smogged, and it didn't pass. He said there were too many hydrocarbons so he failed it. When he put a load on it on the dyno, he said it started to overheat and dumped coolant on the ground too! The excess hydrocarbons in the exhaust are due to unmetered fuel getting into the mix - possibly by a misfire or by a leaking injector or fuel pressure regulator. Do not jump to the conclusion that you need headgaskets just because it overheated... I would locate and repair the external coolant leak. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDLo2 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 First of all, I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has helped with their input. I really appreciate it. I have never considered myself good with engines, but through guidance, I can troubleshoot things and do the easier fixes. BodybyFisher: Codes are not current, they must have been from the 3 previous owners before me. The only current codes I have are the seat codes, which are the least of my worries at this point. Two new codes popped up which are TCS C1223 and C1224 which are Left and Right Rear Wheel Speed Sensor Input Signal is 0 after smog? Should I clear codes and see if they pop up again? rek: Definitely doing this before I retest! adallak & Bschlossman : Trying to find air purge line. Searched archives here. Is this the right picture KHE : Is the FPR easy to replace? Sorry for all the questions because I am a NOOB haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 That is MY photo, and yes that is the correct photo, its right next to the upper radiator hose connection The FPR is located in the fuel rail, and yes its easy to replace Your P0300 is indicating a random misfire, you must find the reason for that Clear the codes and see what comes back, check the connection connection at the hub bearing at the rear wheels make sure that the connections are good and clean 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 July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 KHE : Is the FPR easy to replace? Yes it is but don't start throwing parts at it in the hope you will cure the problem. With the engine idling, remove the vacuum line from the FPR and let the engine idle. If there is any fuel leaking out of the FPR nipple, the FPR is bad. If there is not any fuel dripping out of the FPR nipple, it is fine. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Steel Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 nice spot!! a leave you a download free wallpapers take a look have good cadillacs prototypes and classics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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