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$120 to fix huge coolant leak?


Cadillac STS

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I dunno. It's impossible for us to know what they're doing without you telling us. ;) Once you get the car back and let us know what they did, then we'll make the judgement!

By the way, $120 for reconnecting a hose would be a rip. $120 to replace the water pump would be a steal. Anything in the middle may be reasonable. Let us know what they did when you get it back.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I sure hope your not getting ripped off. Personally i do not take any car to the dealer. The dealer is always going to be more expensive than any other place. The dealer will get the job done right, but at a higher expense. Other places will get the job done, juss got to find the right place. I would go with what jadjock said in the pricing.

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For 125 your not getting a new pump! I'm sure it must be a minor repair at that price :huh:

Thats what i said!

I'm stupid for not knowing exaclty what they will be doing...I wasn't thinking, i guess it was because the car was about to over heat. it was exceeding 250 F and i got desperate...MAN :blink: The dealer was right down the stret and i had no choice...i will call tomorrow and confirm the problem and if it is something simple I will be taking it to an independent shop

Sorry guys...im one of the dumb caddy owners...

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Mostly you want to establish what they are charging you $120 for. Let's say it's diagnosis and repair of a torn/broken hose which was leaking. At my local Cadillac dealer, shop time is billed on customer pay at $90/hour as I recall. So they may be charging you for 1 hour of labor and a $25 hose.

If you elect not to have them fix the hose, they may still charge you for 1 hour of diagnosis time at $90 or whatever. I think that your only hope is to tell the Tech Writer that you're embarassed to report that you paid $120 for a new hose, and ask him if he can give you some consideration on the repair.

I sometimes joke that the dealer only knows repairs in $500 increments -- it either costs $500, or $1K, or $1500 etc when you stop by. I'd be happy to escape at only $120.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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I sometimes joke that the dealer only knows repairs in $500 increments -- it either costs $500, or $1K, or $1500 etc when you stop by. I'd be happy to escape at only $120.

Ha! Sometimes very true!

Bruce is right -- you're going to need to pay them for their time...that's not unreasonable. And I think every dealer's labor charge is going to be different. I thought mine was closer to $60/hr, not sure. Either way, when you get in touch with them, ask what they're going to replace. My guess would be at least one hose and a thermostat. And if they'll do that for $120, that's not bad. Just have to check with them and decide what sounds reasonable to you.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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okay guy called me up and says the water pump was falling apart and that they "replaced it" which fixed the coolant leak and such...all this done early morning... its about 10:50 am and thwey usually open up at 8 am...are they for real?

Very simple....Ask to see the old part! By law, they have to present it if requested.

That's a heck of a deal for a Northstar water pump..This could be interesting..

'93 STS.. opened, dropped, wide...fast.

user posted image

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You can do a Northstar water pump in an hour easy. It's the easiest water pump to change I've ever done! That sounds like a great price for a water pump, but if they've got the old one to prove it (good call Bob D.), you just got a hell of a deal on a water pump change (assuming it really fixed the problem)! Maybe they just meant the water pump seal?

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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You can do a Northstar water pump in an hour easy.  It's the easiest water pump to change I've ever done!  That sounds like a great price for a water pump, but if they've got the old one to prove it (good call Bob D.), you just got a hell of a deal on a water pump change (assuming it really fixed the problem)!  Maybe they just meant the water pump seal?

his exact words "your water pump was just falling apart man"

but maybe you are right, maybe he meant the seal :rolleyes:

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The water pump was weeping coolant in my '96 SLS in the fall of 2001. I didn't have the removal tool at the time so I checked with my local dealer. He quoted $425. The part was $70 and I asked him if it was a five hour job based on the numbers he provided. He went on to tell me how complicated and difficult the Northstar was to work on...I told him there was no way in hell that I was going to pay them that kind of money to install a water pump and left.

I rented the tool from Bruce Nunnally and bought the Delco pump and was prepared for an all day job and finished it in 1-1/2 hours! The Northstar water pump is the easiest water pump to replace.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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got the car back !

He assured me again that they had replaced my old Water pump with a new one....

one hing i forgot to mention is that i payed the mechanic under the table...

So the computers dont have any record of my car and the water pump replacement... i gave him $110 in cash and $10 in check

the guy was real nice and told me to call if i ahve any problems...

He also said i need new engine mounts...something along the lines of $150?

is that a good deal..he said i don't need it just now but it does look kinda worn out...

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I did mine last summer, took about an hour. The Autozone rebuilt price was around $50.00 Ask the dealer if gold seal was added to the coolant with the repair of the water pump. I'm surprised that no one brought this up earlier. It seems to be a fairly common issue discussed on this board.

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As the owner of an aging Caddy, I am glad to know that this seems to be one of the easier jobs out there. I am sure my day will come when I will be in the driveway doing this repair.

Brad

----------------------------

1999 Deville Concours [sOLD]

Blk/Blk w/gold package

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It's so simple!

You know how on a conventional engine...you've got to remove the fan (if mechanical), remove the drive belt(s), unbolt all the accessories that mount to the front of the water pump, and unbolt the pump. On my old Cutlass, just getting the thing OFF was two hours easy...just to get that "deep" into the layers of "stuff" bolted to the engine. Then you had to screw around with this pie-sized pump housing, trying to get the RTV on there straight, get it lined up and bolted up without the gasket slipping, etc. What a mess! Then you had to bolt up all the accessories that you had to remove or loosen, re-snake the drive belt over the 6 or so pulleys on your engine, etc.

Switch modes to the Northstar. Remove water pump drive belt (a single small belt driven from one of the cams). Remove 5 bolts (IIRC) to remove the water pump cover. Insert $30 water pump tool with a ratchet. Turn about 15 degrees clockwise and remove pump (about the size of a baseball, BTW). Clock the new pump back in (about 15 degrees counterclockwise) and bolt the cover back on. Reconnect the single belt and YOU'RE DONE! No messing with 37 bolts to reinstall and retorque, no messing with RTV or other cork gaskets, no need to tear the front of the engine apart to get at that thing.

It's a pleasure man, a pure pleasure! :P

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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It's so simple!

You know how on a conventional engine...you've got to remove the fan (if mechanical), remove the drive belt(s), unbolt all the accessories that mount to the front of the water pump, and unbolt the pump. On my old Cutlass, just getting the thing OFF was two hours easy...just to get that "deep" into the layers of "stuff" bolted to the engine. Then you had to screw around with this pie-sized pump housing, trying to get the RTV on there straight, get it lined up and bolted up without the gasket slipping, etc. What a mess! Then you had to bolt up all the accessories that you had to remove or loosen, re-snake the drive belt over the 6 or so pulleys on your engine, etc.

Switch modes to the Northstar. Remove water pump drive belt (a single small belt driven from one of the cams). Remove 5 bolts (IIRC) to remove the water pump cover. Insert $30 water pump tool with a ratchet. Turn about 15 degrees clockwise and remove pump (about the size of a baseball, BTW). Clock the new pump back in (about 15 degrees counterclockwise) and bolt the cover back on. Reconnect the single belt and YOU'RE DONE! No messing with 37 bolts to reinstall and retorque, no messing with RTV or other cork gaskets, no need to tear the front of the engine apart to get at that thing.

It's a pleasure man, a pure pleasure! :P

Is it the same procedure on a 4.9 ?

-Eric

Eric

93 Cad Seville 100K

95 Chev Blazer 143K [garaged summers] :)

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No, a 4.9L has a conventional water pump mounted to the front of the engine, which points at the passenger side strut as it sets in the vehicle.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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