97 Aurora---many problems

[d21156]

I recently (8 weeks ago) purchased this vehicle used. I took it to a garage and they (susposedly) inspected it and I was told it was a sound car. I had an oil change done 6 weeks after I bought it. 2 days after that the oil pressure was low and kept alarming. I parked the car immediately and called the garage back. It was towed there, and I was told the oil sending unit had gone bad. This and an O2 sensor was replaced. Within a few days of these repairs, I started running hot. Took it back to the shop and was told the cooling system needed to be flushed. Had this done....still running hot. Finallt took it to the Cadillac dealerdhip and they are saying I need a whole new engine. My question is this...How can I need an entire new engine when it still has all kinds of power, makes no noises, etc. I have blown engines in other cars and knew it right away. Other than getting hot, this one doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. I checked the oil, coolant, etc. All levels are fine. This is just not making sense to me.
Thanks..
Deanna

[tjm]

Ouch - you must be having trouble sleeping now.

I have a '97 with losta miles; 192,000. Still great.

Head gaskets are know to go bad but lets not jump to conclusions. There are MANY reasons why Auroras run hotter than they should.

How many miles on it?
What are the characteristics of temperature gauge?
how hot on the highway?
how hot idling in traffic?
any boilover?
do the hoses get hard after 15-20 min of driving?
do the fans run? (1 at first and then the 2nd one after 230*+/- i think)

[d21156]

Originally Posted by tjm

Ouch - you must be having trouble sleeping now.

I have a '97 with losta miles; 192,000. Still great.

Head gaskets are know to go bad but lets not jump to conclusions. There are MANY reasons why Auroras run hotter than they should.

How many miles on it?
What are the characteristics of temperature gauge?
how hot on the highway?
how hot idling in traffic?
any boilover?
do the hoses get hard after 15-20 min of driving?
do the fans run? (1 at first and then the 2nd one after 230*+/- i think)

It has always ran hotter than what I was used to, around 220. But I thought maybe the bigger engine, etc. I had it checked at the garage. They flushed the system, and told me that on a scan, the fan didn't even kick on till 229. It gets hot very quickly. (around 240 maybe) If I am on the highway and drive fast- 70 or over, and turn on the heater, it will go back down to around 220. ( I know this from the first time it happened. I was out and had to get back home) If I am idling it just keeps climbing. Never has been any boilover at all. I don't know about the hoses getting hard. (Usually to busy trying to watch everything and keep it inder control)
Deanna

[tjm]

Lets assume that your engine is fine and take it from there...

Do you ever smell coolant?

Your thermostat may not be opening and needs to be replaced. I would start there; it's cheap and a good thing to eliminate.

Mine, and most others run 199 on the highway and will go up to 220 in traffic with occational tips above 220. You have 2 fans and the second fan should turn on at about 240 (the first one comes on much sooner).

Pressure is important to the system and you have to be sure that it can build up that pressure. If the hoses get hard then you have pressure. If they don't then you have a leak.

With the car COLD, remove the cap and be sure the coolant is up to the mark on the tank (just above the seam) do not top it off. Check this a few mornings in a row to be sure all the air is purged from the system. When the car gets hot (20 min) check to see if the hoses are hard. If they are not hard then look for a leak.

Worst case would be that a head gasket is bad and a cylinder is drawing coolant out of the system and you would have to add coolant very often. This situation would cause performance anomilies like rough idle when you first start the car in the morning.
OR...
The head gasket is bad and is adding hot exhaust gasses to the cooling system. This would typically build up too much pressure and coolant/gasses would purge out of the cap. The hoses would be hard with pressure but the 15 psi cap would relieve the excess and you would see it.

[d21156]

I have never smelled coolant...hot steamy smell, but not the coolant. The car has 112,000 miles. I checked the coolant the other day when it was cool, and it was fine. Right where it was supposed to be. I will check your other suggestions when I get home from work. I really appreciate your help. I really hope it is nothing major. I really love this car!

Originally Posted by tjm

Lets assume that your engine is fine and take it from there...

Do you ever smell coolant?

Your thermostat may not be opening and needs to be replaced. I would start there; it's cheap and a good thing to eliminate.

Mine, and most others run 199 on the highway and will go up to 220 in traffic with occational tips above 220. You have 2 fans and the second fan should turn on at about 240 (the first one comes on much sooner).

Pressure is important to the system and you have to be sure that it can build up that pressure. If the hoses get hard then you have pressure. If they don't then you have a leak.

With the car COLD, remove the cap and be sure the coolant is up to the mark on the tank (just above the seam) do not top it off. Check this a few mornings in a row to be sure all the air is purged from the system. When the car gets hot (20 min) check to see if the hoses are hard. If they are not hard then look for a leak.

Worst case would be that a head gasket is bad and a cylinder is drawing coolant out of the system and you would have to add coolant very often. This situation would cause performance anomilies like rough idle when you first start the car in the morning.
OR...
The head gasket is bad and is adding hot exhaust gasses to the cooling system. This would typically build up too much pressure and coolant/gasses would purge out of the cap. The hoses would be hard with pressure but the 15 psi cap would relieve the excess and you would see it.

[djw353]

Sometimes i smell engine coolant in my 96 aurora. Is this a bad thing?? My car does not leak coolant, but I smell it when i park it in the garage or when the fans are running. Please advise

[Sweet William]

The water pump may have a small leak thru the weep hole. If it only leaks a few drops it's enough to smell when you say, but not enough to make a puddle. If you listen closely while the car is running you may here bearing noise from the pump.

[tjm]

Originally Posted by djw353

Sometimes i smell engine coolant in my 96 aurora. Is this a bad thing?? My car does not leak coolant, but I smell it when i park it in the garage or when the fans are running. Please advise

give it the sniff test with the engine off (after running a bit). SW has a good point but another spot to sniff is the top or the radiator on the passenger side. It's a typical spot on the classics that you can't see. There is a mounting post built into the radiator where the plastic commonly cracks. The leak is so slow that the coolant generally evaporates before it leaves a puddle. Sometimes you can see the residue as gravity draws it to the engine side of the plastic and is trickles down past the oil cooler lines.

[d21156]

It is going to the garage this morning! This guy is suppossed to be pretty good - even has his own radio talk show on WLW....I am keeping my fingers crossed it turns out to be something minor! Thanks for everyones imput, it is really appreciated. Deanna

[tjm]

you're welcome
Keep us posted

[d21156]

so far, no news! Not sure if thats good or bad!

[zephram22]

Originally Posted by d21156

I recently (8 weeks ago) purchased this vehicle used. I took it to a garage and they (susposedly) inspected it and I was told it was a sound car. I had an oil change done 6 weeks after I bought it. 2 days after that the oil pressure was low and kept alarming. I parked the car immediately and called the garage back. It was towed there, and I was told the oil sending unit had gone bad. This and an O2 sensor was replaced. Within a few days of these repairs, I started running hot. Took it back to the shop and was told the cooling system needed to be flushed. Had this done....still running hot. Finallt took it to the Cadillac dealerdhip and they are saying I need a whole new engine. My question is this...How can I need an entire new engine when it still has all kinds of power, makes no noises, etc. I have blown engines in other cars and knew it right away. Other than getting hot, this one doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. I checked the oil, coolant, etc. All levels are fine. This is just not making sense to me.
Thanks..
Deanna

Don't feel bad, I'm have the same problems with the 2002 I bought 10 weeks ago.

[zephram22]

Originally Posted by Sweet William

The water pump may have a small leak thru the weep hole. If it only leaks a few drops it's enough to smell when you say, but not enough to make a puddle. If you listen closely while the car is running you may here bearing noise from the pump.

Hey, thanks for pointing that out. You may have saved me a lot of time.

[zephram22]

Originally Posted by tjm

Lets assume that your engine is fine and take it from there...

Do you ever smell coolant?

Your thermostat may not be opening and needs to be replaced. I would start there; it's cheap and a good thing to eliminate. {snip}

Tjm,

Have you ever heard of a thermastat opening and closing at random while driving? I ask, because as I'm sure your aware of my coolant issues, etc... Seems to happen after the car warms up. Temp is fine, temp gage then goes crazy and DIC goes nuts, etc. No visible signs of overheating in the engine. Turn car off, then back on after a minute and let it idle and gage drops back to normal. I normally wouldn't be concerned, but the car is doing this on an increasing basis. About 2 - 3 times a day now. And, of course, there is evidence of air in the coolant lines as I have mentioned in other posts.

[d21156]

Originally Posted by zephram22

Don't feel bad, I'm have the same problems with the 2002 I bought 10 weeks ago.

The car lot is finally going to go get the car. They did not want the private garage to do the work, but rather the garage they use. My plans are to take it right back to my own guy as soon as they finish and if it is not right, (as from what I am reading here, these engines can be quite sensitive) the car dealer is getting it back PERIOD! We have had this car since June, drove 8 or 9 weeks, the rest of the time it has been sitting at a garage, and we have been making the payments right on time! I am just tired of the whole mess!! The Aurora is the sharpest looking car on the market, but I need it to run!!!