I bought my first Cadillac!

[diarrhearocket]

Hey everyone. Just purchased my first Caddy this afternoon. I love it. First GM in fact.

It's a 1993 DeVille. 187,000 mi..... I only paid $650. I think it was an amazing deal.

But like any car more then 10 years old it has a few problems. I searched the forums the best I could but I am still pretty lost.

So here's what's on the menu:

1.) Runs rough at idle. I narrowed that down to bad injectors. I am going to buy a set of 8 off Ebay for $120. Does anyone know the set I'm talking about? They are rebuilt but the company seems legit and it was the best deal I could find.

Is there any handy tips out there for installing injectors on a DeVille?

2.) Door locks. They only work manually. The rear drivers side door doesn't lock at all. The plastic slider that engages/disengages the lock just slides without any resistance. The previous owner said the door locks stopped working when he removed a computer for an alarm system. I was planning on checking out the fuses/relay in the morning.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I'm not familiar with alarm installs. I'm not sure what relay to check. (I don't have a repair manual yet. )

3.) Blinkers. They don't blink. Going to try to do the usual checks... bulbs/fuses. Just mentioning everything in hope that someone out there will tell me it one of those common problems/easy fixes.

4.) Front windows go up sluggish and squeal. I'm hoping that's just the regulators?

I spent all my extra money buying the car so I won't be able to start ordering parts for about a week. But could you guys please give me a solid checklist of things you might think need a once over? Like I said... I'm new.

[Dave in Texas]

Welcome! The very first tool you must have is a Factory Service Manual for the DeVille. Not a haynes/chilton 'repair' manual, but the real Cadillac FSM. Helm Inc. is the publisher and has brand-new ones for sale, but usually ebay has some for a lot fewer dollars(maybe Craigslist too). If you intend to do your own work, the FSM is the best tool you can have. It covers all systems and contains all the information you need to figure out what is what. Keeping a older Cadillac road-worthy is always a good time...lol

Lotsa Metric tools to go with the normal SAE tools.

Take your time and use your FSM. You paid a nice price for the vehicle and the mileage is ok for a 16yr old car. Hopefully it was well-maintained.

As to parts: always check local pricing first, but go online to RockAuto and see what that price is. Even with paying for shipping, RA usually has great pricing and will have what you want. RA even has a 5% discount code for its customers. I don't have a current code, but I'm sure someone will post one.

[dmk9561]

Hey everyone. Just purchased my first Caddy this afternoon. I love it. First GM in fact.

It's a 1993 DeVille. 187,000 mi..... I only paid $650. I think it was an amazing deal.

But like any car more then 10 years old it has a few problems. I searched the forums the best I could but I am still pretty lost.

So here's what's on the menu:

1.) Runs rough at idle. I narrowed that down to bad injectors. I am going to buy a set of 8 off Ebay for $120. Does anyone know the set I'm talking about? They are rebuilt but the company seems legit and it was the best deal I could find.

Is there any handy tips out there for installing injectors on a DeVille?

2.) Door locks. They only work manually. The rear drivers side door doesn't lock at all. The plastic slider that engages/disengages the lock just slides without any resistance. The previous owner said the door locks stopped working when he removed a computer for an alarm system. I was planning on checking out the fuses/relay in the morning.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I'm not familiar with alarm installs. I'm not sure what relay to check. (I don't have a repair manual yet. )

3.) Blinkers. They don't blink. Going to try to do the usual checks... bulbs/fuses. Just mentioning everything in hope that someone out there will tell me it one of those common problems/easy fixes.

4.) Front windows go up sluggish and squeal. I'm hoping that's just the regulators?

I spent all my extra money buying the car so I won't be able to start ordering parts for about a week. But could you guys please give me a solid checklist of things you might think need a once over? Like I said... I'm new.

Blinkers that don't blink is almost always a bad flasher relay. They're less than $10 at any parts house. Dealing with electrical problems on a car that used to have an alarm and doesn't anymore is not something that should be done without a service manual. I forgot: can you lock and unlock the driver door with the key?

[diarrhearocket]

Blinkers that don't blink is almost always a bad flasher relay. They're less than $10 at any parts house. Dealing with electrical problems on a car that used to have an alarm and doesn't anymore is not something that should be done without a service manual. I forgot: can you lock and unlock the driver door with the key?

Yeah. Drivers door unlock/locks with key. Found out why the rear left door doesn't work. The handle is broken. Previous owner removed the assembly completely and didn't bother replacing it. Does that explain why the manual lock has no resistance? It just slides up and down freely. Is the front interior door handle the same part # as the rear? They look the same with the door panels on.

I also noticed when I push the switches for the power locks there is a small metallic ping coming from behind the glove box. Does this have anything to do with the power locks being bad? I don't have a my manual yet and I have no idea what's behind the glove box.

Thanks for your help.

[diarrhearocket]

Ok! It's been about a week and I have learned a lot about my car. But I came across a few things that were interesting but idle is still rough. I took the air intake off the TB and saw that a valve cover bolt was really loose. Went through all my tools and guess which tool was missing! My 10mm wrench! Needless to say I could run out and buy one at 2:30 a.m. (I have insomnia) so I had to wait till this morning. I bought that and I saw some seafoam on the shelf. I know what some people are going to say "snake piss" or whatever. But I've heard more success stories then horror stories. Tried it...nothing! The smoke was nice though. But I noticed something interesting while I was pouring it in. There was a lot of smoke coming from the rear exhaust manifold. Is that normal when using Seafoam? Or could the knocking sound be an exhaust leak.

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who uses caddyinfo. I have learned SO much about my new (used) car in the past few days it's ridiculous.

Oh...one last thing that's been bugging me. WTF is a twilight sentinel?

Thanks again.

[KHE]

There was a lot of smoke coming from the rear exhaust manifold. Is that normal when using Seafoam? Or could the knocking sound be an exhaust leak.

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who uses caddyinfo. I have learned SO much about my new (used) car in the past few days it's ridiculous.

Oh...one last thing that's been bugging me. WTF is a twilight sentinel?

Thanks again.

Sounds like there is a leak at the rear exhaust manifold.

The Twilight Sentinel automatically turns on and off the headlights and parking lights based on ambient light conditions. When it starts to get dark, the lights come on automatically. In the mornings, when it gets light enough, the lights turn off. When you park the car, the lights will remain on for a delay period set by the lever on the dash. The time varies from 0 seconds to three minutes.

[diarrhearocket]

Thanks for the info. KHE.

UPDATE: I narrowed the rough idle down to the #6 cylinder not firing. Going to pull the plug and see what it looks like when the engine cools off a bit. I know it has injector problems. Maybe the plug has fouled out?

[diarrhearocket]

UPDATE: I'm screwed.

I thought I was getting a great deal. Guy says it needed injectors. Seemed like it could have been the problem.

Pulled the plug and it's getting spark and it smells like gas but it's not firing. DEAD CYLINDER!!! I think I totally got ripped off.

I don't even know how to rebuild heads. I really doubt I could afford paying someone else to do it.

Any advice?

I really need transportation.

Is there anyone in the L.A. area that's done this before?

[Texas Jim]

UPDATE: I'm screwed.

I thought I was getting a great deal. Guy says it needed injectors. Seemed like it could have been the problem.

Pulled the plug and it's getting spark and it smells like gas but it's not firing. DEAD CYLINDER!!! I think I totally got ripped off.

I don't even know how to rebuild heads. I really doubt I could afford paying someone else to do it.

Any advice?

I really need transportation.

Is there anyone in the L.A. area that's done this before?

Don't jump to conclusions.

How do you know it is getting spark?

What tests were run to determine that it is getting spark?

List the steps that you used to determine this.

You stated earlier that it had injector problems.

How was this determined?

List the steps that you used to determine this.

Some good, basic troubleshooting is next on the agenda.

Your question about the smoke from the manifold...

it could be a loose, broken or missing bolt, or a cracked manifold.

And yes...it may or may not make a noise when idling...but will on acceleration.

It could be mis-interpreted as maybe being a knocking sound.

There are a bunch of good guys and a lot of knowledge on this forum.

(I don't necessarily include myself in the knowledge part)

You can get a lot of help here.

Just ask questions and provide feedback.

[diarrhearocket]

Don't jump to conclusions.

How do you know it is getting spark?

What tests were run to determine that it is getting spark?

List the steps that you used to determine this.

You stated earlier that it had injector problems.

How was this determined?

List the steps that you used to determine this.

Some good, basic troubleshooting is next on the agenda.

Your question about the smoke from the manifold...

it could be a loose, broken or missing bolt, or a cracked manifold.

And yes...it may or may not make a noise when idling...but will on acceleration.

It could be mis-interpreted as maybe being a knocking sound.

There are a bunch of good guys and a lot of knowledge on this forum.

(I don't necessarily include myself in the knowledge part)

You can get a lot of help here.

Just ask questions and provide feedback.

Yeah. I don't want to give up just yet. It's just so frustrating. My girlfriends visiting me from Australia and this car is ruining everything. I feel like she flew all the way to L.A. to be trapped in this apartment.

I pulled the plug and let it arch onto a bolt. Getting spark just fine. I think it's possible that the wet gassy smelling stuff on the spark plug could have been unburnt seafoam that I ran through the brake booster vacuum line (out of desperation) I am going to try and get a compression tester when I can spare $25. Don't lose your jobs guys. It's hell out here in unemployedland.

The guy who sold it to me just said it was having injector problems. It made sense when I bought it. But now $650 for a really nice Caddy kind of seems like I was asking for it. I feel pretty stupid at the moment.

Is there a way of checking that specific injector? I have very limited tools but I can borrow some hopefully.

Thanks guys.

[Cadillac Jim]

The first thing I would do is run the OBD I codes. Here's how:

http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html

And, yes, head problems are quite rare but ignition wiring problems are less so. I know very little about the 4.9 liter engine but there are lots of people here who are real experts on it.

[diarrhearocket]

Hey Jim.

Thanks for the link.

I think I pulled the codes right.

I held the off and warm buttons until the little LCD screens completely lit up.

Then an "E" appeared

Then I got E61 and E62

Then it just said .7.0

Was that everything? Seems like there should have been more to it. Is there a way to shuffle through the codes? I just assumed it would be like a slide show until it went through all of them.

[Cadillac Jim]

P061 (E061) Cruise - Vent Solenoid Problem

P062 (E062) Cruise - Vacuum Solenoid Problem

P070 (E070) Intermittent TPS Signal

If that last display is code E070, it could account for the rough idle. It could be a loose connector or it could be the sensor going bad. The first two look like a connector is off on the cruise control solenoid(s).

I don't know how an OBD I readout is supposed to go. Others here will comment on whether your experience is typical. I do miss the History or Current indication, and apparently the only code you got were from the ECM, and there was no sequence of "No Codes" messages from the other modules.

[diarrhearocket]

So I was doing my morningly tinkering with the DeVille. (I can't afford a compression tester until Friday)

I am starting to think it could be a bag injector on #6 AND an exhaust leak.

I am not really hearing a tapping like I originally thought. It's more like a TSSST TSSST TSSST TSSST sound coming from the rear manifold. It's even louder under the car.

I rested my finger on the valve cover right about #6 and I didn't feel anything unusual. Not that that's an accurate test but I figured if it was a valve it would feel something maybe?

I took it for a small drive to see how it sounds under load. It's hard to believe this thing isn't firing on all cylinders. I put my foot on the gas and it really moves.

Is there a trick to finding exhaust leaks at home?

[Texas Jim]

If it was missing..I think it would throw a code that would have shown up when you pulled the codes.

[diarrhearocket]

If it was missing..I think it would throw a code that would have shown up when you pulled the codes.

Yeah. I was hoping I missed something when I pulled the codes. I'll try it again now.

[diarrhearocket]

So I went outside to pull the codes again last night. The battery was dead. Apparently my car has been stolen in the past because I discovered you don't even need the key to start it. I guess last time I was in there pulling codes I didn't completely turn off the ignition and it died. I was able to get it started after scraping the rust off these jumper cables from the Titanic. It took an hour of scraping just to get enough contact to get the DeVille to turn over.

I tried pulling the codes again and I got a E30 this time. The other codes didn't come back. Is there something I am missing? It just goes as follows:

E

E30

.7.0

Is that really all I have to do? Just hold OFF and WARM until the displays illuminate and just wait for the codes?

Going to autozone to borrow a compression tester today hopefully. I'll report back in after that.

[Cadillac Jim]

If you are getting an E030 right after a dead battery, the code is Current and you have a problem with the ISC. The computer senses that the ISC is trying to do something with your idle speed and the engine isn't responding. I would check the contact from the connector to the ISC and see if that fixes it. If not, the ISC stepping motor may be bad.

Anything is possible, but as far as I know, burned valves and other stuff that would cause a cylinder to fail a compression test are really rare on any Cadillac motor, including the 4.9.

Before you tear into anything, get the battery and cables in good shape and fully charged, get that cylinder firing, and clear the codes again. Sometimes cleaning the throttle body can fix an ISC code too, and it's free. And, you are looking at the ISC stepping motor in your hand when you do that, you can clean and inspect it and do a resistance check on it, and you might decide to replace it -- or not -- based on what you see.

That TSST-TSST-TSST sound is likely a loose exhaust manifold, or loose flange. Your nose should tell you if it is. A good muffler shop should be able to deal with it unless you are inclined to take it on yourself.

[diarrhearocket]

I decided not to do a compression test out of fear of bad news.

So I ordered stuff to do a tune up and some remanufactured injectors. I got everything in today. I woke up early to get to work and hoped to have it on the road by now. But guess what! I don't have a 15mm socket. Until next payday...

[BodybyFisher]

I decided not to do a compression test out of fear of bad news.

So I ordered stuff to do a tune up and some remanufactured injectors. I got everything in today. I woke up early to get to work and hoped to have it on the road by now. But guess what! I don't have a 15mm socket. Until next payday...

PM me your address, Ill send you a 15 mm, I have a few

[diarrhearocket]

I decided not to do a compression test out of fear of bad news.

So I ordered stuff to do a tune up and some remanufactured injectors. I got everything in today. I woke up early to get to work and hoped to have it on the road by now. But guess what! I don't have a 15mm socket. Until next payday...

PM me your address, Ill send you a 15 mm, I have a few

Thanks for that. But I ended up borrowing a set from my mothers friend.

So I finished the injectors. Went pretty smooth other then breaking one injector clip and ruining that tiny hose that goes from the throttle body to the bracket that the tps plugs into. Little rubber elbow just turned to sand when I pulled on it. So no there's a vacuum leak. But it's small. But no fuel leaks!

It's running smoother. Can't smell gas anymore. But it's still bucking a bit and it's still a bit loud.

I found the exhaust leak. Well it found me. It's the main flange on the rear manifold. Whole thing is loose. If you stare at it for a while you can actually see the ring gasket inside rotating. Could this explain the bucking? Going to do a tune up today or tomorrow. I figure between a tune up, fixing the exhaust and replacing that vacuum line I ruined, it should be running smooth.

[diarrhearocket]

Ok found out what's going on with the exhaust manifold. You know that flat ring that pulls the flared pipe towards the manifold? One of those studs is missing. What holds those studs in? I don't know how common this is but it seems like an easy fix.

[Texas Jim]

Ok found out what's going on with the exhaust manifold. You know that flat ring that pulls the flared pipe towards the manifold? One of those studs is missing. What holds those studs in? I don't know how common this is but it seems like an easy fix.

Look REAL CLOSE...the stud may be broken where it screws into the manifold.

If it is not broken...it is an easy fix.

Just replace the stud.

[diarrhearocket]

Ok found out what's going on with the exhaust manifold. You know that flat ring that pulls the flared pipe towards the manifold? One of those studs is missing. What holds those studs in? I don't know how common this is but it seems like an easy fix.

Look REAL CLOSE...the stud may be broken where it screws into the manifold.

If it is not broken...it is an easy fix.

Just replace the stud.

Good news. I stuck my finger in the missing stud hole and there's nothing there. Pretty sure it just fell out. No chance I can find the proper stud at Lowe's is there? Because that would be super. Does anyone know the part # for this Warlock? I'm not even sure what it's called. I don't wan't to order a stud that holds the manifold on. Thanks Bros.

Oh yeah... before I try and fix this. Lock-tight would be pretty useless with the heat from the manifold right?

[diarrhearocket]

I was able to use a regular Chevy exhaust manifold stud. It came with a spring but the other bolt didn't have it on so I didn't use it. I think it may need the springs because it's still lose and still leaking. Can't get it tight enough to close the gap. Going to get a second spring and try again.