Texas Jim Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 Now that I've chilled out and examined everything carefully, I've got some conclusions. First of all, I have no coolant flow through my purge line. I disconnected it, put it in a bottle, and started up the motor. Nothing. Revved up the engine, and maybe a a small amout shot out. Not a steady stream of any kind. ...and that's my dysfunctional update for today! Hope everybody is having a great weekend! I have read over and over and over...no coolant flow thru the purge line = OVERHEATING. Take it off at the other end and clear the hollow bolt. That may be your only problem that is causing the overheating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 Yup. First thing you have to do is clear that line so you have flow. Then get yourself a refractometer because you CANNOT get all the coolant out of the engine. If you did not add 50/50 mixes, you don't know where you are and won't after a drain and refill until you test and adjust several times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 I said this in my post #6, "Good luck and do all diagnostics" GOOD JOB!! This is good news, I hope clearing the 'bolt with a hole in it" fixes your problem. Remove the bolt and THEN clear it out However, I thought we were talking about a mis here, this is the first I heard about overheating, this has nothing to do with the mis, have you been overheating? 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...
BostonETC97 Posted August 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 The overheating only started in the past week, before I changed out the plugs. I use the term 'overheating' liberally, as the car has never actually got to the red-line, or produced any warning messages. I noticed a week ago, driving on the highway, the car got up to 239 after a long up-hill run in 90-degree weather at 75mph. It cooled back down to 215ish, and stayed there. Similar situation occurred yesterday... up to 242, quickly cooled to 210. No boil-overs, but just running hotter than I've ever seen. My car has always had the needle parked right in the middle of the gauge. I'm not used to seeing it move around the upper-half, and it's increasing my pucker-factor BIG TIME! As of now, I'm treating the misfire and the running-warm as independent problems. The car has a moderate to heavy misfire regardless of temperature. Now that the new plugs are in, I'll do the wires once they arrive, and report back on the misfire. The cooling system looks like it needs some attention, so I'll start by clearing the purge line, and getting the new 'stat and hoses installed. Looks like I have a fun week ahead! I can't thank everybody here enough for all the insight and feedback. If it wasn't for this forum, I highly doubt this car would even be in my possession any longer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 the car got up to 239 after a long up-hill run I hate to say this, but that is not a good sign. In fact it is a classic HG symptom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonETC97 Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 And if the HG's are gone, I read over at the other board that there's a shop nearby in Boston that did a great job installing the Northstar Performance studs. I figure I can't buy a new car for $1500-2000, and this one is too nice to let go. If that's the case, I'll do the repair, and enjoy the car for another ten years! I bought a new alternator that I didn't end up needing last winter... so if we pull the motor, it'll be the perfect time to install the new alternator! (Not that a new alternator is much motivation for pulling the motor!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Yeah that's the place I was referring to in my earlier post. At least you know where to go if you need to. Best of luck to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonETC97 Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I cleaned out the purge line, and haven't seen any overheating yet. However, I pulled the sparkplugs this morning, and think I may have confirmed my fears. The entire front-bank looked dry/sooty-black/normal, but #1 and #3 on the rear were "clean and wet." Didn't smell like gasoline, either. After gently drying them with a towel, I re-installed. Surly, my misfire was gone, car idled like new again. Went for a drive, misfire slowly returned, but not as badly. Coolant never got above 220, and would often cool from the 220s right down to 208. I think it's safe to say I'm in the early stages of HG issues. I still can't believe I'm saying this... but I just love this car too much to walk away over a known and repairable issue. I'd rather sink the money into it, knowing that will probably last me another 100k miles, than go out and buy something else. I really haven't thrown any significant money at this car in over 3 years, and they way I justify it, three or four months of car payments (lease or purchase) will be more than the cost to fix and drive this car for most likely several more years. Don't mind my above banter... it's just the way I make sense of things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 on my car, cyl's 1,3,2,4, had white exhaust valves after i added a good amount of head sealer in a bottle. ended up doing the hg's about 2yrs ago. i wish i could upload the pics but they are a bit too large. i think each pic is about 70kb or so. i don't have any photo resizer software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 ok, redid the pic. just realized the cylinder numbers were backwards. seems 5,6,7,8, are the funky cylinders. further away from cam sprockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 ok, redid the pic. just realized the cylinder numbers were backwards. seems 5,6,7,8, are the funky cylinders. further away from cam sprockets. joe did the bolts securing those cylinders seem loose? 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...
BostonETC97 Posted August 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! Awesome picture of the heads! When I have the heads pulled, is there anything that needs to be done as maintenance while they're out? I don't seem to have any lifter noise, and the car really ran flawlessly right up until it started misfiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 no, the headbolts all seemed fine. seems the headgaskets wore away between the cylinders. most agree here that NS motors will hit 150k miles with ease. besides the headgaskets, that is. there is a shiny area between the 2 left cylinders and it seems darker between the cyls on the right side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 no, the headbolts all seemed fine. seems the headgaskets wore away between the cylinders. most agree here that NS motors will hit 150k miles with ease. besides the headgaskets, that is. there is a shiny area between the 2 left cylinders and it seems darker between the cyls on the right side. Thanks Joe, they look like they took a beating. Are you in the Caddyinfo Hall of Fame for timeserting your NS? 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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