Car Question?

[CLL]

I have been looking at 1998-2002 Cadillac's just to have something nicer and more comfortable ;D to ride in on trips. The biggest problem I have found is it seems a lot of the northstar motor overheat and warp the heads. Can anyone tell me if and when(what year) it was fixed? Captain, I know you helped before so any information will be appreciated.

[stonebroke]

we have a 1999 with a northstar. It will run 227 degrees.  It got up to that temp about twice in five years and did not seem to have any adverse effects.That is what the factory says. We have never had a problem with it.I think you can actually run it without coolant for fifty miles. It shuts off the cylinders for a very short time to let them cool down.

Stonebroke

[moosehunter]

imho
There are many cars that are as comfy without the problems of a caddy.
I know there are those that will take offense to that statement, but I work on cars for a living, and if someone gave me a caddy I would sell it without ever driving it ;D

mh

ps, GM doesn't even turn on the radiator fan until 222-225 deg, so 227 is not a bad thing.

[CLL]

Mooseherder, I've also looked at buick park avenue's, lasabre's. I want a big car, have a Nissan Altima now, good car just a cracker box.

[Captain]

Although through its lifetime the Northstar has been considered a great performing powerplant, it has its share of issues with oil leaks and consumption until the early part of this decade.  Most of the improvements were put in by 2001.  Not that the older versions can't be great, they're just not always all that they can be ;)

By far the best car powertrain GM has produced through the last 2 decades is the 3.8L V6 with the 4T60E/4T65E (your Park Aves, LeSabres, others).   We own them.  Great reliability, adequate performance, and good fuel economy.

Captain

[DanG]

What Captain said!  In fact, whatever he says about GM cars and trucks can be taken straight to the bank.  You'll not likely run into anyone who knows them better, or be willing to give you a straighter answer.

Moosehunter said a mouthful, too.  Caddys are nice, but they are covered up in bells and whistles that can break.

My folks have a '96 LeSabre, and I drive it whenever they need to go somewhere, since they can't drive anymore.  I can tell you, it is as nice an automobile as a common man should expect to sit in.  That 3.8 liter engine is the best to come along since the 350, IMHO.

[ScottAR]

$2,000 dollars worth of auto adjust shocks will change a man's mind
on a car right quick.  I sell parts for a living and Caddy's are as high
or higher than any import made. 
These are cars made for folks who only own it for the warranty
period and trade.  Repair costs can exceed the value of the car
most quick. 

The others are correct, the 3.8s in the Buicks etc. are good engines
requiring little than basic maintence and the occasional coil pack.

If your not married to GM products, you might look at a Crown Vic
or a big Mercury.  Stay away from any air or auto adjust suspension
or one is the same pickle as the Caddy. 

[Howdy]

The wife and I have a 2003 Buick LeSaber that we purchased last year.  If anyone had bet me I would ever own a GM product, I would have even offered odds as I have never had good feelings about them.  However the Buick has been a solid ride and very comfortable, with no repair issues at all.  We got a car with about 50K miles and it is tight, quiet, and gets great mileage (22 around town, 30+ on the road).  Roomy enough for the grandkids and easy for Grandma to drive every day. Hard to beat for a car. 

[Sprucegum]

Interesting thread...

My wife wants a car. She doesn't drive but she would like a more comfortable ride than she gets in my 3/4 ton dodge, especially when we make the 2 hour trip to the city. I told her go ahead and buy what you want, I will drive anything. She had no idea so when we were walking through a parking lot, Costco's I think, I told her to point out a car she thought she might like. She says

"I like this one , that one and that one."

A closer look and we see they are all Chev Impalas, just different years and colors  :D  :D

[Captain]

Impalas can be had with a 3.8L and a 4T65E also....my dad has one....

[sawmilllawyer]

CLL, wife drives a 2005 Cadillac Deville, we bought with 27,000 miles on it. Has the Northstar engine and run like a bat out of h3ll. Gas mileage is not so good 17 to20 mpg in town). Car handles exceptionally on snow and ice. All in all a very good purchase for us. My mother and father both drive Buicks (LeSabre & Lucerne) with the 3.8 V6 motors. Much better gas mileage but a lot smaller car. I have a large family 6 people so the Caddy got the vote. Like Howdy, said if you would have told me that I would be driving a GM car five years ago, I would have said no way.  Now, a GMC truck that's a different story.

[CLL]

Appreciate all the views, I've have a couple of cars with 3.8's and they last forever. Just sort of liked the looks of the caddy's. I am more into serviceably more than looks though.

[rebocardo]

A Caddy is just a GM you pay more to repair  ;)

Go for a Crown VIC, RWD, has a frame, fairly easy to work on as newer vehicles go, and is fairly cheap to insure. I think it is either A or B class.

[CLL]

Rebocardo, tried the Ford route once, actually twice, once with car and once with truck. FoMoCo is absolutely nuts when it comes to repairs, the prices for a simple water pump was 3X the price of one for my chevy truck. When I had to pull the bed just to put in fuel pump it was goodbye.

[ScottAR]

Pretty much all vehicles built in the last 10-15 years have
the pump in the tank.  Most of em are in the $200-$300 range.

I can think of only a couple that don't.  Actually, taking the bed off
is the easiest way to get em out.  4-6 bolts, some wiring, and there
it is.  Might be different in the rust belt. 

The newer chevies water pump is $100.00, has a $20.00 thermostat
bolted on the bottom.  Cheap parts are over as all the makers have
mostly abandoned the old designs.  Guess I shouldn't harp on GM so
much, they keep my job secure. 

[sawmilllawyer]

Changed the in tank fuel pump on my 1999 GMC Sierra P/U by dropping the tank. Not so sure taking the bed off would have been easier. The straps that hold the tank up only have two bolts and with an air rachet it is fairly quick. Pulled the tank, after un hooking the filler hose, dropped the tank, unhooked wiring, pulled the fuel pump and filter, replaced same and put tank back in the truck in less than 4 hours by myself. I did use a hydraulic floor jack and air tools but all in all, not bad. Didn't miss a day of use of the truck. The fuel pump and new strainer filter with sock costs $298.00 or thereabouts with tax(NAPA). (that kinda hurt). Oh yeah, fortunately for me, there was less than a third of a tank of gas.

[pineywoods]

Don't complain too much. I've got a bad sender unit in the tank on my motorhome. It's a 90 gallon plastic job mounted up between the frame rails right behind the front axle. Right now I'm inclined to just ignore the non-functional fuel gauge and keep track of miles driven since the last fillup  >:(

[Don_Papenburg]

I used a 1/16" weld eraser wheel to make an acess door in the floor of the 89 chevy . Was going to remove the bed but the bumper plates covered one bolt and there would have been four more rusty bolts to remove . The access panel took all of 15 minutes to open and less than five to but back with tec screws.