23rd Apr 2008, 00:44

Hi, how's it going? I recently bought a 1997 Cadillac Deville.

I love the car and its in really good condition but I haven't really driven it, I probably only drove it 7 times.

So there's this one day that I went to the beach. I know it was really hot and I took the Topanga road, I don't know if you guys are familiar with that road? Any ways, it's going up hill and I get idle engine and 0 oil. My car did not start steaming or anything but I'm worried hearing all these bad stories about the Deville.

I am also worried that I will not get a competent mechanic and get ripped off like some of you guys.

Oh, I turn on the vehicle and do not drive it, and somehow the temp does not seem to stop going up.

Help help, located in the San Fernando Valley help.

11th May 2008, 17:27

Hallo, just bought a 97 caddy, one owner. It has been sitting idle for the last year or so. The body looks good and the engine sounds good too. I am afraid to drive it now after all these comments. Is there anything I should to it before putting it on the road.

29th May 2008, 10:57

I recently bought a 1997 Cadillac De Ville (Base) and I really love it. However, recently I had an oil change done, and prior to the oil change the oil symbol light lit up, so I thought is just needed an oil change which I had done.

QUESTION:

The Oil "RED symbol" sign lights up on the panel, and the other day the message "Low Oil Pressure/Turn Engine Off" came on and scared me. I don't want to damage the engine, but I just had an oil change done l month ago. What could this problem be and is it expensive to repair this? I was told it could be that the oil switch is not working and it may need to be replaced, but I'd like to know if someone knows if this could remedy this matter, and would it be expensive to repair?

I'd really appreciate a reply from someone one who knows. Please send a reply to me at.

Sergio1015@sbcglobal.net.

Please include "1997 DeVille reply" in the subject line.

Thank you so very much!

2nd Jun 2008, 21:24

For all of the owners of the 97 DeVille, rest assured that if you take of your Caddy, it will take care of you!

I bought mine in 2001, and yes it does burn a couple of quarts of oil, it does lose a little coolant, but keep in mind the Northstar is a very large engine. I advise anyone that wants longevity out of it to buy a Haynes manual, and if you can afford it, an OBD-II scan tool, and stay away from the dealerships unless you REALLY need them. Most problems are easy to fix, and with the scan tool easy to diagnose. The only thing you may dread is if you need a starter replacement, which is located in the middle of the engine next to the intake, which requires some special tools and some mechanical ability.

I do agree that you can not baby the engine, because it is a high-performance engine so occasionally don't hesitate to put it on a nice long stretch of the highway, because city driving decreases fuel averages.

As far as the air-ride control, I converted mine over to passive conversion struts 260.00 dollars (suncoreindustries.com), and it rides just as good at a huge fraction of the cost to have it done at a dealership.

So if you are smart and you want to save the life of the engine, change your oil frequently, make sure if you do flush the coolant, that you use 2 packages of Bars stop-leak, and make sure you crush the pellets to almost a powder (make sure you pour it in the upper radiator hose and only use dexcol for GM cars).

djscottieb@aol.com

12th Jun 2008, 11:44

Just remember for a GM car 96 and older... it's Green not Dexcool :)

Valvoline fluid tech line.

25th Jun 2008, 17:19

I've got a Caddy. It has 120k or so on it and has an overheating problem. Mine needs a new radiator, it would leak enough out to get hot through a small leak (my theory is that the plastic shields underneath held the water till it dried up). It turned out that after I ran it a lot, while checking it out, the crack opened up wider and started leaking.

The reason I don't think it's the head gaskets is that there is no exhaust in the water, and there is no steam in the exhaust.

Don't get took, shops will do that if you don't keep them accountable.

The water pumps are insanely easy to get to and change, and the radiators cost 130-200 new, and they are not a hard job either.

29th Jun 2008, 22:46

2002 Cadillac Seville bad head bolts, replaced under warranty 12 months ago. They are now pulling out of the block and the engine has to be replaced. Seems to be a bad design; is Cadillac in any way responsible for the cost of the repairs?

Al Poll.

29th Oct 2008, 01:29

When I got my 99 Deville it used a qt of oil every 500 miles, but it was driven by an older man. I have changed my oil consumption from 500 to 1500 miles per qt buy doing 2 things. One using Kendall motor oil, which has always had a detergent that really keeps and engine clean, and also making sure I take the car out and running it very hard once a month if not more.

A standard Deville shuts off @ 112 and I try to run it several miles as close to top speed as I can. There is something to what they say about carbon build up in the ring groves in the pistons. And they don't seem to stay seated well without letting the engine use some of its performance it is able to produce.

But I am different; I guess using some oil doesn't bother me if I am not fouling plugs.

23rd Mar 2009, 06:55

I bought my 1997 Deville two years ago. So far I put on about 20,000 miles. Like others have said, it does use oil, but by doing WOT every month it helps out a lot. As for one person saying "just buy an import", I used to own a 1996 Eclipse and had to replace the engine twice. American cars in my opinion are a heck of a lot easier to work on. If taken car of properly however, any car will last a lifetime and then some.