blown head gasket and oil cooler bad on 2001 Cadillac Catera

I don't think you will get any help on this one. My advice is to fix it and then dump it. These are one of the worst cars I've ever seen as far as reliability/cost to repair. We all hate to work on the piece's of shit in our shop.

It's very common for the oil cooler cover to leak, it's very common for the valve cover gaskets to leak, the oil then get's into the spark plug holes and wrecks the spark plug wires. Head gaskets are not very common, I'd get a second opinion on that one. The engine is so badly laid out that it's impossible to actually see what is leaking until you've removed the upper and lower intake plenums and the intake spacer.

Items like the spark plug wires are close to 700 dollars just for 6 plug wires. Labour to do "anything" to the motor is high. It goes on and on.

Ian

"shiden_kai" wrote in news:be2eh.443226$5R2.77218 @pd7urf3no:

Did the cylinder heads get warped? WHy so expensive? A head gasket change on most engines is $700 or so. On my '94 TOyota truck, the head gasket blew and the head got warped at about 200,000 miles. A new aftermarket head and gasket set was $600, and I changed it myself. So total was like $600 and like 8 hours work. Hell, I was pissed about dropping the $600 even! That's why I like inline engines -- much easier to work on.

This Caddy problem reminds me of when I was getting the oil changed n the Oldsmobile at a Quickie Lube. Some black dudes pulled up in a 2001 or so Cadillac Seville (Northstar engine). The bays were filled so they just waited. Their engine was knocking loudly and thrashing noises could be heard, ran erractically. Their engine was smoking terribly also. They just sat there, letting it idle like that. The lube guy ran out and told them to shut the engine off. They got The Caddy into the bay next to my car, and it turns out there was no oil in the engine. The lube guy asked if they ever had the oil changed. No they didn't. In one year of owning it, they had never changed the oil. I almost broke out laughing when one of the guys (who was actually serious) actually asked the lube guy: "well can y'all fix it?" He told them no: "you need a new or rebuilt or used engine. Your engine is toast." Their Caddy had those stupid huge 18 inch rims. I felt like telling them that they could have bought 50 oil changes for the price of those rims. :-)

Havent seen a the motor in question have ya?

With a toyota dealers 90+ bucks an hour rate thats over 700 bucks in labor for an Inline if 8 hours is what the job pays. You wouldnt want to touch the CTS for less and guarantee the work would you? Its a nasty piece of engineering with less common parts.

The CTS-V is the only version of the CTS a person should ever buy. Pop the hood, look at the engine, and you should know right away which cars will have cheap or expensive labor times.

The 3.0 liter engine in the Catera is not "most engines". It's quite simply the nastiest piece of engineering that I've ever seen when it comes to motors.

I've only done one set of head gaskets myself, but it was easier to drop the subframe, engine, and trans out the bottom to replace the head gaskets then it is to attempt the job from the top.

Oh, the engine is a European design. That should tell you quite a bit. The only other engine that I can think of that comes close to it was the 3.0 liter v-6 engine that Renault used.....and was used in the Renault cars that were "Eagle" badged.

Ian

I havent seen many Cateras, but passed one on the way to the airport in Houston the other day. When I saw it, I wondered why anyone would buy that thing..

It is small, undistinguished, and not very pretty. I suspect it isnt cheap either.

As far as European engineering, I have no comment. Things here are a bit of a deviation from some things that Americans do. The cars here, for the most part, are very expensive due to taxation, but seem to hold up well, drive very nicely, and are economical.

As I have mentioned before, I drive my sons Peugeot 307 from time to time, and it is a spectacularly smooth and tractable little car. It takes bumps without a rattle, you get some feel of the road but no shimmy and jitter, and the economy is fantastic. (It has to be with gas at $8 per US gallon)

I have asked the question many times, but have gotten no takers: 'What has the auto industry done to enable some of these cars to have such a superior ride?' You may know, Ian...I do not.

Very good reason to buy one. Let's say you have a lot of money, but don't want to buy a three year old Toyota Camry. What to do? Buy a Catera.

I know of one Catera owner. About the third day he was wishing he'd bought something else. Our Caddy dealer in town is also glad he never paid the extra $$$ for the franchise. IIRC, it was $50k at the time.

Its the most inexpensive Cadillac you can get unless you get the CTS-V. The CTS stands for Catera Touring Coupe. The Catera of course is another rebadged Opel. Its not until you add the LS* V8 that it becomes worth having (also has larger wheels which improves appearance). The base Catera has really brought Cadillacs rep down...

Uh they made them bigger? Very generic almost trollish question... I used to have a GM Sedan with air ride that would ride smooth and yet carve corners like a sports car. Now go look up GM's new Magnetic Ride system.

There's really no surprise that there are some who would buy Cateras. They're really clean looking and attractive. It's probably the best looking Caddy there is, in my opinion. Plus, they're cheaper than the other Caddys and can be had used for cheap. And of course, the salesmen at the dealerships aren't going to TELL you that they are junk mechanically and will force you to get a second mortgage at the first major repair. If people would research these cars on the internet before going to buy, they'd find out.

Different rides for different markets. Americans in the past liked that smooth boulevard ride, especially in the big "old farts" style cars. We've becoming a bit more sophisticated.

My 91 Regal was OK, My 97 LeSabre was a softie, but my 01 LeSabre handles much better, closer to the more nimble Regal. I now have an 07 Hyundai that corners great and hugs the road well at high speed. Last week I drove an 07 Grand Marquis and it was a struggle to keep between the lines at legal speeds on a twisting road. Cruised fine on a straight road, but was downright awful on the mountain curves.

You seem to see trolls everywhere. If you have no idea, then you have no idea.

It isnt a trollish question at all. This is a small car. It handles bumps and potholes better than many large cars. It has no trace of the jitter which I feel in a number of new cars. And it is now 3-4 years old

The Buick we own is getting old now, and although it drives quite well, it has the trace of road feedback jitter. It has new tires, new struts, balanced, aligned, etc but does not match the ride of some of these newer cars.

Fords have traditionally, to me, exhibited this behavior. I drove a Hyundai Azera recently, and although it was nicely appointed, it also had the jitters

What I am noticing is a major improvement in drive stability and quietness in some brands and models. And it isnt just this car that has managed it. Some other brands perform as well.

So my question remains...what engineering changes have resulted in this. More precise components or assembly? Improved geometry? ?? Better steering isolation??

The absolutely best riding car I have ever experienced was an Alfa Romeo we rented in Germany. Now, I wouldnt buy one for anything, but this new car had a spectacular ride..

I'm not sure either. I do know that at one time we owned an Audi 5000 (1997) and it rode better then any GM car even when it had over 300K kilometers on it. But the engineering I take issue with is reliability, ease of working on the driveline...etc. The Audi was not fun to work on, parts were very expensive, and while some part were easy to get to (fuel pump thru hatch in trunk), other parts were terrible to get too (heater motor, though this can also be said of a number of GM models too).

You have to see the Catera motor to understand (or not, as the case may be) why the engine appears to be slapped together in the most haphazhard way you could imagine.

Ian