Nice write up!

It doesn't end there... LOL! But I wished it did.

Anyway, I have always had a soft spot for these Northstar engines and the SLS and STS Cadillacs... That being the case I figured I would do a little write up about a popular engine. Of course there are many other jobs I don't even bother taking photos of, but this one just seemed to be a juicy job for a write up.

Picking up where we left off,

Here you can see the old water pump installed into the housing.

Here is a shot of my "Special tool" for the removal/install of Cadillac pumps. If you have done gas tank sending units it should be pretty much a snap.  

Here is a look at the old pump being removed after the spanner ring has been let free.

Take a look at how small that o-ring is sealing the water pump! Anyway, you have to clean this area real good and be sure to coat your new o-ring with vasaline to ensure it does not tear when installing the new pump.

This is all that's to the Northstar water pump. Not much but what a PITA!

Getting ready to clean the mating surfaces with my trusty ROLOC pads!

Here is the surface area after cleaning

And on the crossover itself.

Here is a shot of the new gasket kit, clearly you can see how swolen the old ones were.

I'll have some more photos afterwhile.

Hey SELLC,

Great thread & good work ! I must admit to being surprised to see such a l o n g top radiator hose LOL ! ( You'd have nearly thought it easy to redesign the radiator tanks so that shorter hoses could be used. I guess that radiator would be fitted in a few other different vehicles ). Were these engines ever put in vehicles with a rear-wheel drive set up ? A pretty nice looking bit-of-kit that engine, as I can't say that I've ever seen them in anything down in Oz !

Rastus

Here's my dilemma, I have a low mileage 93 Allante. The 93-94 only waterpump belt tensioner have not been available for over a decade, despite the gmparts.com site listing it, selling it, and canceling the order hours later. Occasionally a used one might pop up on eBag for $200, and boneyards have had these cannibalize into Oblivion years ago.

So my question is does anyone know for sure if it would work for he to swap in a 95-99 crossover that would accept a 95-99 tensioner, which are available.

Or if you have a 93-94 tensioner collecting dust?

I'm rather car-ignorant, so I'm falling on the mercy of the forum for my first post. Be gentle!

I bought a 2004 Cadillac Deville from a private seller in February 2015 and it's had a slow leak of one kind or another since I drove it home.

Since then I've replaced the water pump, the oil level sensor, and the power steering line. I've also had it to two separate shops a total of five times specifically to find the remaining leak that no one seems able to track down.

Lately I've been sliding a sheet of white plastic under the car to catch the drips overnight in hope of identifying the fluid. Typically it's just a few drops, perhaps a tablespoon, and it's bright orange, suggesting that it's coolant (Dex-Cool). My mechanic ran a pressure test on Friday and found that the radiator cap wasn't holding pressure. He replaced that, but the leak has continued.  

Today, in the parking lot at my office, I found a puddle of clear fluid, perhaps six ounces. My commute is around 35 miles, and the car's been parked about 7 hours at this point. The weather is mild: overcast, somewhat humid and about 74­°. No rain so far.

When I sopped up some of the fluid with a white paper towel, it had no color or odor, and it didn't feel greasy at all. Lying on the ground beside the car, I can see it dripping from two different places: the first is slightly forward of dead center of the car right along the driveshaft, while the other is just forward of the front axle. I suspect that the leak is originating somewhere else and dribbling along the underside to a low point before dripping to the ground.   Incidentally, I checked the level in the coolant reservoir, and it's fine.

What the heck is going on here? What's leaking? Where is it coming from? How has it escaped discovery despite five separate trips to the mechanic?

When I take it back for service again, what should I tell them to check?

-- Edited by Orrex on Monday 4th of July 2016 01:44:43 PM

Thanks, but I don't believe that I ran the AC yesterday.

Also, would it still be discharging 7 hours after parking the vehicle?

I'm liking this condensation idea more and more.

Over the past weekend I found a few drips of DexCool, but the reservoir is full and that drip seems to have stopped.

The clear leakage also hasn't recurred since I posted, so maybe it was condensation after all.


Thanks for your input!

First off, very nice and very detailed post. Second, I have a sneaking suspicion that I may need to do the same job. Here's a picture of what I found today as my coolant was once again low. I've checked all the hoses for leaks, to no avail, yet it's still leaking. Take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks

Likely just the gaskets? Or would the crossover need replacement too?

In the game late,  took out xrossover(2001 cadillac Deville ) but having hard time keeping the four gaskets on while i reimstall. Any advice? Plus broke a wire not sure where the black and white wire goes? I've attached a pic, wites pulled right out from clip.

Thanks for the response, where do i get the aircraft sealant?
The red wire is really the white wire, I soldered an extension but only had a red wire. I've taken another pick hopefully it helps.

Morning, thanks again for the infomation.
I was wondering if you had a chance.
to look at the new pictures of the wires i attached? Sorry for keep asking.
Thanks again.

The red wire is really the white wire, I soldered an extension but only had a red wire. I've taken another pick hopefully it helps.