Help Please!! 1997 Cadillac Deville head gasket ?

I have a 1997 Cadillac Deville and I have to put coolant in about every other day.  I was told that it may be a blown head gasket.  How would I know if thats it or not and what else could it be.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sandi





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Forgot to mention that I have looked for a leak but its like the coolant disappears.  Nothing found under car.
 
Thanks
 

quote:

ORIGINAL: sburrell78

I have a 1997 Cadillac Deville and I have to put coolant in about every other day.  I was told that it may be a blown head gasket.  How would I know if thats it or not and what else could it be.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sandi

 
Check for water in the oil.  I would go to your local repair shop and have them pressure test you system to see if they can locate a leak first.
 
G.A.R.Y.

If there is was water in the oil what exactly would that mean?

quote:

ORIGINAL: sburrell78

If there is was water in the oil what exactly would that mean?

Blown head gasket, is there any white smoke comming out of the exhaust?

Oh nice!!...Would there be any other reason for the coolant to just disappear like it is??

Sounds like excessive coolant consumption normally associated with head gasket problems. Is the DIS telling you low coolant or are you checking it yourself?  You don't mention overheating either, has this occurred? Sometimes because of the water pump location the pump can be leaking when in use and when hot only and spraying coolant onto the block which evaporates it and conceals the source of the leak. I have read  this on this forum and experienced this myself with my engine in the past. A pressure test has been suggested and this is a good idea but when my water pump went bad it held pressure for the entire hour they did the test. It only leaked when hot.

A water pump repair is not that costly, say $400, 2 hours labour and $200 for the pump kit. It is tricky though and requires a special tool so if it is the water pump make sure that whoever does it has the tool otherwise they can damage the block. You might also get a bottle of Barr's extra strength stop leak sealer and see what happens. it's $5.00 or so.  Read the label and add it to the coolant and see if you get better coolant consumption. If yes that means the leak is probably not that bad and probably not the head gaskets but still needs attention.

The bad news is the head gasket repair is serious money, the number is big and you need to be sitting down to see or hear it.

Thanks for the replies. 
 
This is what happened yesterday while driving home.  I filled up the coolant the day before and yesterday morning the display said to check coolant level.  While driving home display said engine hot, idle.  So I pulled over to wait for someone to bring me some coolant.  He took the cap off and there was plenty of coolant in the resevoir.  What do you think that means? 
 
I changed my oil a couple of weeks ago and didnt notice any water in it.
 
G.A.R.Y - There is no white smoke.
 
Thanks everyone.
 
 
 
 
 
 

I  have a list of codes...
 
P0300 - Engine Misfire Detected
P0603 - Control Module Long Term Memory Reset
P1139 - Heated Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) Insuff. Switching Bank 1 Sensor 2
P1258 - Engine Coolant Overtemperature - above 268°F - Protection Mode Active
P1527 - Transmission Range to Pressure Switch Correlation
B1552 - Keep Alive Memory (KAM) Error
B1983 - Device Power Circuit Low
 
Can someone tell what these  mean or tell me where I can get more information on them and how to repair them?
 
Thanks

It sounds more and more like a head gasket issue.
Search this site, i have posted info on this several times.
 
I wouldn't worry too much amout those codes until you get the overheating issue figured out.

http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/dtcobd2p.html#pow. This is a good link for codes. Generally codes are identified as HISTORY or CURRENT. I would suspect that the B, body, codes are old and the P1527 is probably old too, it is a nusiance code imo, it senses where the transmission is and where the gear selector says it is, it is easy to get an error here. I don't think P0603 has anything to do with overheating so that leaves the P0300 misfire which would be common in an overheating engine and the other two which are overheating related.
 
In an overheating engine it is common for coolant to overflow or appear full so have you checked it when it was cold?
 
If it is full then it would seem like you are not circulating the coolant through the engine. This would point to Water Pump or Thermostat or both. There could also be a blockage in the system if incorrect coolant was used in the past or it is really old it gets sludgey. You say no coolant in the oil and no white smoke. I hope you are right.
 
Get the car to a good shop.

Go check out Blown Head Gasket thread under Sevilles. There is a product link there that looks like it fixes the head gasket problem.

Well, I changed the water pump just to see if that was the cause and it appeared to be going out.  The weird noise my car made while cold is gone so I fixed something.  Not sure it has fixed the coolant problem or not so we will see.  If not I may try the product from that link under Seville.  Thanks for pointing me in that direction.
 
Sandi

Just curious on the water pump job cost. Mine was done under warranty so I never really knew the cost. It's a tiny thing compared to say a Chevy small block pump. Because it is a Northstar the first thing most folks think of when it overheats is head gaskets but a bad pump or thermostat will overheat the engine too. Often overlooked and not really that expensive to repair. I hope you changed the thermostat too. Anyway we all have our fingers crossed for you. Let us know if that was the fix.

I changed the pump myself and the pump was only $46.00 but you have to have a special tool to get the pump off and it was right at $30.00.  Very easy to do (coming from a females point of view...lol).  I checked my coolant level after driving around alot yesterday and there was plenty in the res.  Normally it would have been empty.  So hopefully I have fixed my problem.  I also reset my codes after I changed the pump and my service engine light has gone out. 

Sounds fantastic Sandi. I think your problem is solved. I'd still be inclined to get some Barr's stop leak. It was common service protocol to put sealer in the Northstars in the past although I undersatnd that now there is a difference of opinion on this, I'd still do it. If your problem is fixed I am going to gloat a while for sending you to the water pump...and to think, I'm an Accountant!

Hey Sandi, It's Saturday, Feb, 24th, hows your coolant level? any new error codes?
 
All this coolant talk so I checked my vehicles this morning too. Deville is good but the darn Suburban had an empty overflow, rad was good so I topped up the overflow tank. It's -10 here in Toronto but you can still overheat them in the dead of winter. Usually when your heater is not as warm as it should be is the first hint of a low coolant condition.

I had a check coolant level display this morning.  But....this is the longest I have gone without it popping up.  Its almost been a week.  My boyfriend said that the coolant/water that I put in there after replacing my water pump may have been sucked thru everything that it goes thru and that I just needed to refill the resevior.  I hope thats it!!  I have no new error codes since I replaced the pump.  I was getting the 0300 engine misfire.  I am gonna check the plugs and wires when I get a spare minute.  And I think I may get some of the bars leak.  I know they have several different kinds of liquids and a powder.  Which one do you prefer?  I have heard that one may be better for Cadillacs than the others. 

Thanks,

Sandi

But it did not Overheat!! I'd go with the bottle with the pellets in it. You can shake the bottles and hear them. Correct procedure is to put it in the lower radiator neck, but you won't be able to do that with a full system so into the reservoir. How much Coolant did you have to add? Couldn't have been too much. It is possible for the coolant to settle But....we're keep our fingers crossed.

No it didnt overheat.  I got to thinking.  It gets hotter when im just sitting at a light or something then it cools off while driving.  The temp got up to 252 and of course i wanted to start cussing cause I thought I had it all fixed.  Once I was driving the temp went down to 206 pretty quick and it normally stays between 196 and 206. I dont think the thermostat opening all the way.  I am going to change that after I get off work today.  Im also gonna get a new cap and get the pellets.  I havent put anymore coolant in yet.  I was going to but I thought I would change the thermostat when there is less coolant/water.  Ill let ya know.

Katzman - What year is your Cadillac?  Saw the pic and it looks exactly like mine. 

It's a 98, one owner retired gentlemen named Norman Katzman who owned Normetals. That's where I got my handle from. I purchased Katzman's Caddy from a GM Dealer when he traded it in on an Impala. Deville's from  97 - 99 pretty much identical. Is your's Moonstone metatlic as well?
 
On the overheating, you need to have the proper coolant level in there to keep circulating through the engine and rad and heater etc.. Cadillac dealers here in Canada put in a water pump kit when they do the job which consists of the pump, thermostat and new rad cap. Good luck.

Mine was a one owner as well.  It is in very good condition, only paid $2400 for it.  Worth more than that in my opinion.  I just love it.
 
I am not sure what the color is but it looks exactly like yours.  Ill let ya know how the new therm. and cap work out tomorrow.  Thanks for all of your information.
 
Sandi

If all you paid was $2400 I'd say that was quite the deal. If you think about it you can spend a few thousand and still be ahead.

quote:

ORIGINAL: sburrell78
I got to thinking.  It gets hotter when im just sitting at a light or something then it cools off while driving.  The temp got up to 252 and of course i wanted to start cussing cause I thought I had it all fixed.  Once I was driving the temp went down to 206 pretty quick and it normally stays between 196 and 206.

 
I just got to thinking, how's your fan working?  If it is not working properly  that could explain the heat rising during stops when the car is at low RPM and not moving coolant through.