Problen with cooling system on Catera
Asked by jigokukaji Jan 18, 2007 at 04:40 PM about the 1998 Cadillac Catera RWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Had this car almost new. Started with it at 14,000 miles, it's now at 92K. This car always has run hot even after Caddilac said that the temp gage had to be reset because the gage made it appear it was running hotter than it really was. I believe it was always operating too hot just based on the heat that standing next to it was giving off and the fact the oil changes were impossible if the car was "at temperature". Since I owned it it has been plagued with cooling problems and now coolant has started leaking externally from the left head gasket. What are my options?
5 Answers
digginfords answered 17 years ago
The engine at on time could have been way overheated and warped a head.I had this happen on a ford 289.had to keep putting head gaskets on it ever 6 months or so.also on gm products repace the thermostat, as they will stick.
I have a '98 Catera and have had very similar problems, including a blown head gasket. The best solution I found was to just replace both of them even though only one was bad. Due to the difficulty in doing it on this vehicle it is much cheaper to replace both.
I currently hav 268,000 miles on my catera and is getting the both head gaskets replace. While the engine is down, they advise I replace the oil pump since the engine is already down. The are also replacing the valve cover gasket as well. Heritage Cadillac does great work and my service advisor is the bomb!
engineer1701 answered 14 years ago
First are really sure that the head gasket is leaking? The reason I ask is that I have a 97 Catera and I have been trying to diagnose a coolant leat (when the engine is running it pours out) that as far as I can tell is not comming from the head but rather it is comming from two possible sources. At the back of the engine on the driver side of the valley there are two coolant devices that I think regulate coolant flow and direction between the intake manifold and the heads. I have the diagram from the dealer that shows these two items. I just do not know how to get to them.
These Cateras have a commom problem with the oil cooler its under the intake and what happens is the oil starts to leak into the coolant and makes a milky peanut butter liquid. It seems like a huge problem to repair but its really easy to fix. YOU NEED A OIL COOLER to say the least
