STSJohn Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 My Father gave me a 98 STS a couple weeks, The Car runs just as good as my 2000 sts but it is due for the 60,000 mile service..so my question is should i bring the Car to the Cadillac Dealer to let them do then Job Which they quoted me $540.00 for or could i bring it to a regular Repair Shop(I didnt get any other prices so i dont know if the 540 is worth it)? just give me your opinions on what you would do Thank you ~john 2004 Cadillac CTS 3.6L VVT Light platinum 39K miles ~Vogue VTXi Package - Corsa Exhaust - K & N Cold air intake - Blacked out tints 2004 Cadillac Escalade 6.0L all-whell drive Pewter 42k miles ~22" Tis 07 Rims - E&G Chrome Vertyical billet Grill - Limo tints - Tv's in the Visor and headrests 1990 Mustang GT Painted Cadillac Diamond White - 604 Rwhp Family Cars: 2004 Cadillac XLR (Mom) 2005 Cadillac STS V8(Dad) 2000 Eldorado ETC (Brother) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 What is due at the 60,000 mile service on your car? Most things are rated for 100K+. If they are charging you $540 for checking this and checking that and an unnecessary other, I would pass. Your manual should show what is needed at 60K miles. Then I would judge based on the price for those specific items. If you don't have a manual, you can register at http://www.mygmlink.com and you can find service info, an online manual, etc. For the CTS, the only service near 60K is automatic trans fluid Automatic Transmission Fluid and Filter Replacement Change automatic transmission fluid and filter. Interval: Every 50000 miles if vehicle is mainly driven under one or more of these conditions: 1) In heavy city traffic where the outside temperature regularly reaches 90 F (32 C) or higher, 2) In hilly or mountainous terrain, 3) When doing frequent trailer towing or 4) In uses such as found in taxi, police or delivery service. If vehicle is not used under these conditions, the fluid and filter do not require changing. but I wouldn't be willing to pay $540 for it. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STSJohn Posted August 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Transmission Was Fluid was done on the at 50k as it stated in the manual. At 60k it says: Check oil life indicator. if oil and filter are are changed. reset indicator (which is currently at 20%) Lubricate Chassis Replace Passenger Compartment are Filter inspect throttle body bore and valve plates for deposites, open the throttle valve and inspect all surfaces. Clean as Required Rotate Tires inspect engine accessory drive belt replace air cleaner filter inspect fuel tank, cap and line for damage or leaks. 2004 Cadillac CTS 3.6L VVT Light platinum 39K miles ~Vogue VTXi Package - Corsa Exhaust - K & N Cold air intake - Blacked out tints 2004 Cadillac Escalade 6.0L all-whell drive Pewter 42k miles ~22" Tis 07 Rims - E&G Chrome Vertyical billet Grill - Limo tints - Tv's in the Visor and headrests 1990 Mustang GT Painted Cadillac Diamond White - 604 Rwhp Family Cars: 2004 Cadillac XLR (Mom) 2005 Cadillac STS V8(Dad) 2000 Eldorado ETC (Brother) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Fenwick Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Aloha, IMHO, I wouldn't take it to the dealer or anyone else for that matter. Unless you have trouble with air flow into the cabin. I undersatand that it is a bear to change the cabin filter. The other items you can do on a Saturday morning, all very easy to do. We can help with anything that you are not sure of, of check the archives for lots of help. It feels good to service the car yourself. Enjoy Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadian95sts Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 At 60k it says: Check oil life indicator. if oil and filter are are changed. reset indicator (which is currently at 20%) Lubricate Chassis Replace Passenger Compartment are Filter inspect throttle body bore and valve plates for deposites, open the throttle valve and inspect all surfaces. Clean as Required Rotate Tires inspect engine accessory drive belt replace air cleaner filter inspect fuel tank, cap and line for damage or leaks. THEY WANT $540.00 FOR THAT????? thats just crazy, John, you can do everything listed there in your driveway, by yourself. To check everything there yourself may take an hour or so, most time consuming thing there would be rotating the tires and cleaning the TB, but both are easily done yourself. If your not sure how to do something listed above, search it in the archives on this site and you will find all the information you need. If not, I'll fly down there and do it for $500 Just kidding, Matt A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...BUT, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "darn...that was fun!" www.madd.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 I'll see Matt's $500 and do it for $450 Man, am I in the wrong buisness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Transmission Was Fluid was done on the at 50k as it stated in the manual. At 60k it says: Check oil life indicator. if oil and filter are are changed. reset indicator (which is currently at 20%) Lubricate Chassis Replace Passenger Compartment are Filter inspect throttle body bore and valve plates for deposites, open the throttle valve and inspect all surfaces. Clean as Required Rotate Tires inspect engine accessory drive belt replace air cleaner filter inspect fuel tank, cap and line for damage or leaks. Check oil life indicator. if oil and filter are are changed. reset indicator (which is currently at 20%) DRIVEWAY JOB, about $12, see owners manual for procedure to reset oil life indicator, its easy Lubricate Chassis (BUY GREASE GUN ABOUT $20 grease lower ball joints and tie rods at every other oil change, do not overfill the ball joints in case they have a ballast that fills up. You need to great these components ONLY if your ball joints and tie rods have fittings, they may be sealed, no brainer) Replace Passenger Compartment are Filter (not critical, some here have done this, do you have good air flow at the vents?) inspect throttle body bore and valve plates for deposites, open the throttle valve and inspect all surfaces. Clean as Required (GM upper engine cleaner and a tooth brush, open throttle body clean throat and the edge and rear of throttle plate, 30 minutes work at most and about $6 for the cleaner, $0 for old tooth brush, good excuse to buy a new tooth brush) Rotate Tires (every 7,000 miles, I bought mine at COSTCO and they rotate and balance them free for the life of the tire), if you don't have costco, find a place that will rotate and balance your tires WITHOUT gouging you by cross-selling. Consider buying future tires at COSTCO the lifetime balance and rotate is cool. inspect engine accessory drive belt, (feel the inside of the belt for voids and cracks replace if necessary, about $38 at most) replace air cleaner filter (AC DELCO about $15 no brainer) inspect fuel tank, cap and line for damage or leaks (check the ASH TRAY to see if it is full while you are at it!) Considering that I just saved you about $500, I will be expecting 50% of that in the mail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STSJohn Posted August 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Thanx Guys for your help! Well anyway i was in the driveway cleaning the car and did the oil change So the new Neighbor came over to introduce himeself to my father who was also playin with his toys so they started talking and out of nowhere the guy says if you ever need something just call him so me like the smart *smurf* that i am Said "Yeah You know Any Good Mechanics" well it turn at hes a Certified GM Mechanic and Works for a cadillac Dealrship in another county..Sooo i put him to work right away! he looked over the car ,checked the fluids,Cleaned Throttle body and Replaced the belt. it took a little more then a hour.. So in all it Cost me about 50.00 for the parts and a gave him 50 for himself (I offered to give him a 100 but he wouldnt take it Lol) + my Father Went to store and bought him a 24pack of Bud's.. the only thing thats gonna be Costly is replaceing all 4 tires. Any Suggestion about tires? Currently im running Michelin Energy MVX4 Plus XSE 2004 Cadillac CTS 3.6L VVT Light platinum 39K miles ~Vogue VTXi Package - Corsa Exhaust - K & N Cold air intake - Blacked out tints 2004 Cadillac Escalade 6.0L all-whell drive Pewter 42k miles ~22" Tis 07 Rims - E&G Chrome Vertyical billet Grill - Limo tints - Tv's in the Visor and headrests 1990 Mustang GT Painted Cadillac Diamond White - 604 Rwhp Family Cars: 2004 Cadillac XLR (Mom) 2005 Cadillac STS V8(Dad) 2000 Eldorado ETC (Brother) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 WOW! Talk about dumb luck. Keep him on your good side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 WOW! Talk about dumb luck. Keep him on your good side. Terrific! Good resource to have around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadian95sts Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I can see it coming," John run next door and ask your neighbour..........." LOL Matt A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...BUT, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "darn...that was fun!" www.madd.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjayzway Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Michelin Energy MVX4 Plus XSE Probably one of the worst tires I ever ran. I have never seen a tire dry rot faster than these! I have Futura tires now, and I am pretty pleased for a Pepboys tire. I always ran Firestones, and these are comparable. Big Jay Life is too short to grow up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I can see it coming," John run next door and ask your neighbour..........." LOL Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Michelin Energy MVX4 Plus XSE Probably one of the worst tires I ever ran. I have never seen a tire dry rot faster than these! I have Futura tires now, and I am pretty pleased for a Pepboys tire. I always ran Firestones, and these are comparable. Big Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Michelin Energy MVX4 Plus XSE Probably one of the worst tires I ever ran. I have never seen a tire dry rot faster than these! I have Futura tires now, and I am pretty pleased for a Pepboys tire. I always ran Firestones, and these are comparable. Big Jay I was thinking the same thing..... "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I have Michelin Energy Radial XSE MXV 4 Plus tires on my 02 DTS and have never had any problems with them. I have driven them at 130MPH+ many times going to a work site in the Mojave Desert and they performed great. Have had them since the car was new with no sign of dry rot or any deterioration. The next time you buy tires, you might check the mfg. date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrothead Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Other than the regular maintenance I think cleaning of the throttle body is very important. I have yet to do it myself but I know they sell a 3M kit to do it. I think my dealer charged me about 250$. I am going to do it myself next time. As far as the cost it's alot but you may want to get it all checked out so you have a starting point and you can do future work yourself. Piece of mind. ~for every vision there is an equal and opposite revision~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Yes the throttle body cleaning helps a lot to have seamless acceleration. As I noted above, cleaning the throttle body is very easy, just don't get a lot of excess cleaner down the throat. A nylon detail brush or a tooth brush is all your need with the GM upper engine cleaner. I do it at each oil change, the first time I cleaned it, the back of the throttle plate was caked with carbon, repeating the cleaning frequently, the carbon is finally gone and easy to clean.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjayzway Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I have Michelin Energy Radial XSE MXV 4 Plus tires on my 02 DTS and have never had any problems with them. I have driven them at 130MPH+ many times going to a work site in the Mojave Desert and they performed great. Have had them since the car was new with no sign of dry rot or any deterioration. The next time you buy tires, you might check the mfg. date. The desert? I think I know about the dates of tires. I can show about 3 cars that have had the exact same problem with these tires. In real weather, not hot easy on rubber weather. I could get into how much I really do know about tires, but I will not bore you all with the details. Lets just say, Uncle own a Firestone store. Big Jay Life is too short to grow up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I dunno Jay. If all those Michelins in your neck of the woods are dry rotting I'd look for a common variable other than the fact that they are Michelins. Lots of things will cause a tire to rot. Most tire shine products are good tire rotters. Improper storage is another. I've never heard of any Michelin tire having a rot issue until your post. You seem to be quite biased towards Firestone and or Futura tires. I suppose if I had an uncle that owned a Firestone store I would be too. But since many of us here don't suffer from tire bias I can see why some are incredulous reading your position on tire choice as am I. But hey if you have information regarding tire structure and compounds that many tire savvy members here aren't aware of then by all means feel free to bore us. And if I'm not mistaken wasn't it Firestone that caught flack over tires blowing out? And we're supposed to listen to them? Things that make you go hmmm. You might want to search the archives on the popular tire brand choice among our members. You might find it enlightening. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 I just searched for our TIRE POLL, but can't find it. If anyone knows where it is or what happened to it please post. If I am not mistaken, Michelin won hands down amongst our membership. I myself am a big fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Michelin Energy MVX4 Plus XSE Probably one of the worst tires I ever ran. I have never seen a tire dry rot faster than these! I have Futura tires now, and I am pretty pleased for a Pepboys tire. I always ran Firestones, and these are comparable. Big Jay I was thinking the same thing..... Big Jay, Sounds fishy to me also. Just curious, do you use bleach on your tires? Or use a detailer who uses bleach to clean whitewalls or raised white letters? Or just to clean the sidewall of the tire? Bleach could be the source of your problem. I have run all kinds of Michelin tires, on my Caddy to my P/U truck and OTR trucks. I NEVER have had a single issue of "dry rot" or sidewall cracking. There has to be Something causing what you describe. Michelin is a very well respected name in tires. Possibly better overall customer satisfaction than Firestone. If I were you, I would be looking at what was different, environment wise that would cause your "dry rot" in your area. I have lived in Upstate New York, Texas and Southern Illinois. I have Never heard of such a problem with Michelin. I will say this, in my personal experience, on my personal vehicles I have had more failures with Firestone tires than ALL other brands together! I went through three sets of Firestones on a 1/2 ton pickup when I lived in New York. All of them replaced under warranty. And no, I wasn't abusing them. After the third set, I surrendered and bought a different brand. Which brand escapes me now. (The memory is the first to go!) But when I got rid of the Firestones, that was the end of the problem. I ran the next set of tires until I had to change them due to normal tread wear. When I bought my SLS, it had Firestones. It had a vibration that I could not get rid of. I bought a lifetime rotation & balance service at Sam's Club. (Sam's doesn't offer it anymore.) When they tried to balance the tires, they told me that they were all out of round. I went to Firestone & got the cold shoulder treatment. Went to Wal-Mart & bought Michelin & haven't looked back. Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 Big Jay, Desert "arid barren land".... as per Webster. The temperature rages from freezing in the winter to 120 in the summer and the pavement temp is much higher than that. I'm sure you know how to check on the date, but recently, there have been many articles about mfg.'s/outlets selling out of date tires, and it's becoming a big safety problem. I have never had a bad Michelin and I have used many different types. This has been one of the best I have used. The last time I got a dry rot tire was a recap about 30 years ago I used on a VW bug(that's all I could afford at the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 I just searched for our TIRE POLL, but can't find it. If anyone knows where it is or what happened to it please post. If I am not mistaken, Michelin won hands down amongst our membership. I myself am a big fan. Found the Poll started by Jason. http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...ic=3489&hl=tire "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STSJohn Posted August 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 the ones i have on the car now has about 48,000 Miles on them and have about another 1,000miles of life on them. I have no problems with the Tires i also have them on my 2000 STS with have about 30k miles them. i was just woundering what other people are using and if the tires are worth the $600.00 or if there is something better for a little more or less money.. NO Matter where i am i always spark an Argument! Lol thanx John 2004 Cadillac CTS 3.6L VVT Light platinum 39K miles ~Vogue VTXi Package - Corsa Exhaust - K & N Cold air intake - Blacked out tints 2004 Cadillac Escalade 6.0L all-whell drive Pewter 42k miles ~22" Tis 07 Rims - E&G Chrome Vertyical billet Grill - Limo tints - Tv's in the Visor and headrests 1990 Mustang GT Painted Cadillac Diamond White - 604 Rwhp Family Cars: 2004 Cadillac XLR (Mom) 2005 Cadillac STS V8(Dad) 2000 Eldorado ETC (Brother) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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