1983 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz 4.1 from North America

Summary:

Mine is all original and all there, and it's a beautiful example of style and comfort

Faults:

The original owner of the car passed away and her sons did not drive the car, allowing it to sit for over 14 years. I am the second owner. It had a lot of issues to deal with, but everything was there, it just needed to be brought back to life.

I went through the car top to bottom. It only had 35,000 original miles on it.

The car now has 70,000 original miles on it. I drove it and never had another problem until just recently. It began to jerk and ping when slowing down and coming to a stop. I have since found out it's probably the TCC solenoid not disengaging causing this. I have someone that knows these cars well, and agrees with me that this is the problem and it's not the transmission failing. We believe it may be the stop light switch that is not giving the signal to disengage the TCC, but won't know until I get it in the shop for a full diagnosis.

General Comments:

This car is unique in that it had only one owner with very low miles, and I am the second owner. The body is near perfect, as is the interior and trunk compartment. It runs and rides very nice. One of the smoothest cars I have ever driven. The engine runs perfect.

It now has all new A/C system, alternator, radiator, brakes, headliner, muffler, converter and a new stereo. The car still has the original paint job and it will need shocks, which I am going to do next. I am thinking of selling it, but not sure about that right now.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th April, 2015

12th Apr 2015, 04:14

Sounds like you've got solid plan :)

Be sure to ask your garage about coolant seal tabs. These were necessary in preventing the mixing of coolant and oil within the engine block.

18th Apr 2015, 23:09

Thank you. I will.

1983 Cadillac Eldorado Biaritz 4.1 V8 4.1 from North America

Summary:

The best car we own.

Faults:

I'm not sure how many others have had this problem, but, at about 93,000 miles my engine began to backfire through the manifold and the fuel injectors. I believe this was caused by the timing being off. I'm not sure if the timing has to do with that or not because this only happens at freeway speeds of 70+. If anyone knows or might have an idea of why this might be happening please let me know so I can take care of it. I also replaced the water pump at 87,000 miles with a brand new one. The major problem I have had is at 102,000 miles I had a wreck on a highway. Luckily not much damage came to the car. The front bumper and the right fender need replacement do to the damage. If anyone knows of a good place to find replacement parts I would be very pleased to know about it.

General Comments:

This car is one of the smoothest riding cars I have ever seen and driven. This is the ride to have. The gas mileage isn't too bad either. Right now I am averaging about 22mpg. The comfort of this car is unbelieveable. I myself have refrained from driving at night because I have found myself getting very tired from its comfort. I did make a modification to the stereo system in the car. The old stereo and speakers were worn out and needed replacement. I now have a Sony CD player with 4 2"/4" Sony speakers in the front and rear. I also have a 760watt Pioneer 2 channel amp powering 2 10" sub woofers. This car turns heads everywhere I drive, with or without the stereo. This is the coolest car we have.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 15th October, 2005

4th Jun 2007, 07:27

22 MPG on highway you mean?

11th Jun 2012, 23:53

The 4.1 V8 is a notoriously bad engine. Probably the worst engine GM ever built. The problem is that the coolant leaks into the engine oil and ruins the engine. Cadillac had a recall on this engine, and the fix was to put a sealer in the coolant water, thus sealing the engine gaskets. Check your oil carefully, and you will find it rises on the dipstick. Unfortunately, the water is filling your crankcase and causing bad readings on the dip stick.

7th Sep 2013, 13:31

I believe it is correct that the problematic 4.1 liter V-8 in this generation of Eldorado can be replaced (without too much modification) by the Oldsmobile 307 V-8. I know that this is possible to do in rear wheel drive Cadillacs burdened with the 4.1, and that Toronados and Rivieras of the same platform as the Cadillac came as standard with the 307. Can anyone confirm or dispute this?