Cadillac ETC 32V northstar

>Anything I should be on the look out for?
a better car

>>16822429
One day

>>16822408
Should be looking out for that engine, the north star has an issue with the factory head gaskets failing, there is a fix and its relatively cheap if you do it yourself, but costly if someone else does

Other than that i like the look but would be keeping an eye on that transmission and the electronics as well

>>16822408
It's a "nice" car and very good looking in a very burger way. But to keep it from becoming a scrapped junkyard car, you'll have to first stay on top of maintnance, and not let anything that breaks, go too long. The V8 in these cars is comparable to similar V8's of the era, but has flaws that cause problems, and complicate repairs. I won't go into huge detail, as they are readily something you can research, but the car will go as long as you are willing to stay on top of it. A comparable coupe from mercedes benz or jaguar would be an equal pain in the ass. A lexus SC would b like trying to maintain a Camry in comparison.

Do yourself a favor and don't let people who don't have experience work on these cars. And don't use aftermarket parts. The OEM parts are shit tier enough. The big areas to watch out for will be the cooling system. Get the oil and coolant analyzed first thing. These things love to mix the two fluids. Outside of that, he gave it to you to keep so do so. Taxes and insurance can't be too much. Drive it once in a while and in a decade or two when your domestic -huffing uncle is dead, sell this pos on Craigslist in a iknowehatigots to some new generation of hipster that is into baroque american shit barges, and use the money as a down payment on a Lexus IS350

>>16823585
Here is an example of shit for brains in that era of north star design. The front bank of exhaus manifold and crossover pipe goes through the oil pan. So any exhaust / precat/ exhaust manifold work means partially lowering subframe, disconnecting trans bell housing, and taking off the oil pan.


The shorty star also is undercooled and uses a shit "lifetime" coolant that eats away at aluminum block and heads over time. Also, the engine accessories made out of steel, touch the aluminum and corrode right past the cheap mexican produced gaskets. The engine gets hot spots and will fail in strange ways. Mthe transmission is the 4t80e or 4t65e I think. They are boring as fuck GM fwd transaxle that can live forever, but generally will develop shift issues if not just give up completely for no reason.


The suspension is all jacked up on these cars. Cadillac didn't know if they were selling these cars to geriatric golf enthusiasts or trying to compete against Germany. Like all gm cars of the era, they have enough wheel gap for applying snow chains. So they look like 4x4 Subaru backout or audi all road. Lowering rhem will just make suspension and brakes wear out even faster.

Brakes on these cars are garbage. The calipers seize, the lines rot out, and the boosters fail. But the alternator WILL shit itself out constantly if you don't use genuine delco

Engine sensors fail all the time. Gm used cheap shit sensors during this era. They really get fucked up from short driving cycles like rousing the car to run errands etc. This also impacts the engine's heat cycle and lifetime there. Car becomes fragile if you are using it to live life. It's better for long trips in moderate weather.


It's a nicer car than your taurus, but there is a reason you don't even see them (or their Seville cousin) unless it's an old guy that owns /owned his own shop. Even ghetto niggers don't drive them anymore because they don't run.

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I won't be able to daily drive this though. I was thinking of selling my ford for a few grand and keep this, but maybe not now.

>>16823777
Yeah, it would be better if you kept the Taurus for daily purposes

Put the Cadillac in the garage for date night and drive the Taurus until it dies.

>>16823777
I have an 04 Taurus. Not sure if you have the Vulcan engine(no cams) or the Duratech(DOHC), but they are reliable but sleepy cars. I'd definitely keep the Taurus.

DD it and horn it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9j_0dDpww