'95 Eldorado ETC fuel injection problems anyone?

[pleptuch]

My 1995 Eldorado Touring Coupe is in the shop (again). I bought the car a little over two years ago with only 42K miles (CarFax report came back clean). Ran great for about 3 months, then the car started running a little rough and stalled a few times driving along. Took it to a shop and had the EGR replaced. The mechanics said there was a lot of carbon built up and they decarbonized it. I had been putting in 89 octane and switched to 93. Was averaging about 21-22mpg (highway+traffic)

About a year after I got the car I started having problems with performance so I had the car tuned up (#1) at about 65K miles and the fuel pressure regulator replaced - mechanic said it wasn't holding pressure. Ran well for about a year. Had the car tuned up again (#2) at about 85K miles because it was starting to run rough again and was putting out a bit of smoke (fuel efficiency dropped about 20% almost overnight ~17mpg). Drove okay until about a month ago then almost overnight (at about 87K miles) the fuel efficiency plunged again and the car started smoking. Had the car tuned up again (#3) and the fuel pressure regulator replaced again, and #7 fuel injector - mechanic said it was dumping fuel. The shop recommended replacing all the injectors, but I decided against it due to cost. Picked the car up from the shop (mileage was still down, only about 19 mpg), drove fine for about a day then started smoking again. Parked it for a couple of weeks, looked at new car prices, and finally decided to tow it in for repairs. This time #5 injector was dumping fuel so I'm having the rest of the injectors replaced ($OUCH$) as they recommended and another tune up (#4). I'll get the car back Monday or Tuesday. Don't know what to expect...

Has anyone else had problems with the fuel injection system on Eldorados? Could the 89 octane for a few months have messed up the fuel injection system? Seems like octane only would matter during the combustion process within the cylinders) Can I expect the car to run properly now? What else possibly could I have to fix?!?! There are no error codes, and I change the fluids regularly.

My shop has warrantied the portion of the work that I've expected them to, and I take the work to a national chain that I've had good experience with in the past (other locations). Is this bad luck? Should I look for a new shop?

I also had problems with the traction control/anti-lock lights coming on, and the shop replaced the sensors - rear, both sides, twice each before the lights went off for good. They put in aftermarket sensors the first time and the problem persisted. Now they'll only put Cadillac parts on. Anyone else have problems with putting aftermarket parts on Caddy's?

The car has been garage kept since new and looks nearly brand new and is fast, smooth and fun to drive when it works. I was hoping to put 150-200K miles on it without a ton of major repairs. It sucks when a car looks so nice but has problems. Has anyone ever gotten over a hump of repairs to have smooth sailing?

[pleptuch]

Got my car back from the shop. Another expensive repair, but such a nice car to drive...

Fuel mileage back up to the 24 mpg on the freeway, about 18 in traffic, probably 20-21 overall. The power is back too...

[DFBonnett]

What was done at the shop this time?

[lilrogue78]

i kinda have the same problem from my 1990 cadillac eldorado 4.5L PFI engine it will run like crap then all of the sudden run perfect and messup again i am getting upto 34mpg running about 60-72mph no problem when it runs fine well i changed plugs/wires and the did nothing changed my cap and rotor ...nothing coil.. still nothing has a miss to it and seems as tho one of my injectors are out i started upiing sparkplug wires to find which cylinder was out and figured out it was #8 so i pulled the wore off the injector and miss continued the exact same which confired the cyldiner being dead well i hooked a test light up (12V) and no light or nothing i have heard it could be the o2 sensor... could this be true? or what else would i be looking at in the way of problems because when it does that i drop my avg mpg signifigantly such as down to 15 mpg and maxing at 22-23 highway and as low as 17 and with being EXTREMELY tight on money as is i cant spend more then i need to so any help at all is appreciated thank you very much
Dave

[DFBonnett]

Pull the codes from the DIC and post back. I believe you can retrieve the codes by turning the key to the ON position, then holding down simultaneously the OFF and WARMER buttons on the climate control.
BTW, your post has some serious problems with capitalization, punctuation, and grammar structure. I won't try to wade through another one like it to make sense of your inquiry. Yes, I am a grammar and spelling Nazi.
FWIW
YMMV

[lilrogue78]

Well i check it and have not found any codes except the usual code i always get that tells me my A/C sensor is bad and that is from the BCM any way not the ECM.... any more ideas?

[lilrogue78]

I checked it for codes and not a single thing on ECM but my BCM has a bad A/C sensor code B112/B111 so nothing serious there my windows work as a good enough A/C for me

[lilrogue78]

sorry about the double post

[pleptuch]

Hi DFBonnett, sorry on the delay in the reply. I had the rest of the fuel injectors replaced as well as the fuel pressure regulator. I don't have any codes showing up now.

[M.A.C]

Originally Posted by pleptuch

Has anyone else had problems with the fuel injection system on Eldorados? Could the 89 octane for a few months have messed up the fuel injection system? Seems like octane only would matter during the combustion process within the cylinders) Can I expect the car to run properly now? What else possibly could I have to fix?!?! There are no error codes, and I change the fluids regularly.

I have never heard of a fuel pressure regulator being replaced twice with under 100K miles. I replaced my FPR at about 190K. Sounds fishy—I hope you didn’t pay for an unnecessary part. The last repair was a couple of weeks ago when I replaced the left front hub assembly with an ACDelco/GM part costing about $180. I replaced it myself so I saved a couple of hundred dollars labor.

Originally Posted by pleptuch

I also had problems with the traction control/anti-lock lights coming on, and the shop replaced the sensors - rear, both sides, twice each before the lights went off for good. They put in aftermarket sensors the first time and the problem persisted. Now they'll only put Cadillac parts on. Anyone else have problems with putting aftermarket parts on Caddy's?

Yes. Aftermarket parts tend to be a waste of money as they are often inferior quality compared to OEM parts. I have had a number of problems with aftermarket parts. If you ask the same question at other Cadillac forums I’m sure you will get the same response. However, some aftermarket parts tend to be up to par with OEM, such as quality brake pads—not the cheap $20 pads. But some aftermarket parts such as oil filters may be inferior. I use ACDelco oil filters because they are tested and validated by GM. The same goes with other ACDelco parts. Aftermarket parts are not tested and validated. Are all aftermarket parts poor quality? No. However, I would recommend using OEM replacement parts because, generally speaking, aftermarket parts tend to be inferior quality.

Originally Posted by pleptuch

Could the 89 octane for a few months have messed up the fuel injection system?

Using 89 octane will not damage the fuel injectors. In fact, your Eldorado, like mine, has an anti-knock feature, which allows the Northstar to run on regular gas. So don’t waste your money with 92 octane. If you feel better using 92 octane, fine. But it’s not necessary.

Originally Posted by pleptuch

The car has been garage kept since new and looks nearly brand new and is fast, smooth and fun to drive when it works. I was hoping to put 150-200K miles on it without a ton of major repairs. It sucks when a car looks so nice but has problems. Has anyone ever gotten over a hump of repairs to have smooth sailing?

Sometimes, there simply is no explanation as to why some cars of the same model and year will be reliable for well over 100K miles, while others will be nothing but a giant headaches. Let’s hope that you turned the corner with your latest repairs and from here on out you will have nothing but smooth driving. Eldorados are nice cars—powerful, good looking, and fun to drive.

Good Luck!

[lilrogue78]

here are my current codes
E015,E030,E049,E052,E053,E099
B111,B112,B552