Within 500 miles of me buying the car, the serpentine belt shredded itself.
I had to replace the belt tensioner, air pump, and alternator.
This happened again within 500 miles.
This car was a sweet ride.
Really comfortable, decent power, decent gas mileage to.
It handled and drove really well.
I would always clench my teeth when starting it, thinking I would hear the slappety slap slap of the serpentine belt tearing apart again.
I ended up spending more at the shop for repairs than I did for the car (and that was on my first visit).
At the shop they told me these 4.1 liter V-8s are basically just a money pit.
It's a shame cause it was a nice cruiser.
At least you can sleep in the thing after it breaks down.
I had one of those little Front Drive Cadillacs with the 4.1 and it wasn't all that bad reliability wise. But it was an '86, maybe they'd improved by then.
But there's no doubt the 4.1 was terribly inferior to the Oldsmobile 307. Does anyone know if it is an easy job to just switch the 4.1 for a 307?
I think Cadillac made a major mistake putting the 4.1 motors, which is way too undersized for a full size luxury car. I think they should've replaced the 368ci V8 with a Oldsmobile 307 motor, although they eventually did so from 1987 onward.
The 4.1 was one of the worst V8s ever made!
They did make that body style with the 305 (5 litre) as an option, and both the 305 and 350 smallblock (5.7) will bolt right in. Do that and you got yourself a hell of a cruiser.
Actually they made that bodystyle with the Oldsmobile 307 V8 from about 86-90. The 305/350 didn't come along untill about 1990 onwards.
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