TireSmoke.org

Looking at the extensive service history on that Cadillac,
I bet the tie rod ends have been replaced more than once.

So I got the rear tires rebalanced, but haven't tested that yet (that was Thursday night).

Yesterday I went to rearrange my garages so I could fit the Deville into my house garage and I noticed a few drops of coolant under the car. It was coming from the front so I knew it wasn't the same problem as the coolant leak we repaired last week. After removing the cover shield under the front, I was able to see the leak was coming from the top of the water pump. It didn't look to me like the water pump itself was leaking, just the seal around it. Either way I was going to have to pull the pump apart, so I decided to change it.

Thankfully the guy at Autozone had a '97 Northstar and was familiar. He made sure I got the correct special removal socket when I got it, a new water pump belt, and the correct o-ring seal.

It's not a tough job, but I still had to remove a bunch of stuff to get to it. Here's a picture right before reassembly.




I never did get the garage rearranged.

-BP

Since I'm off for a couple weeks, I thought it would be a good time to get the DeVille all waxed up, touched up, and rain-x'd.

The car looks pretty good:







-BP

Very nice. No rust!

off for a couple weeks? vacation?

I'm in the process of switching jobs, and have a couple weeks to burn in between. I've been working on both Cadillacs, and got the heads on the old one almost done today. The dog loves that I'm home too. Lots of goofing off.

-BP

All I know is that shortly after Paul purchased this car, Tony Soprano/James Gandolfini died of a heart attack. Coincedence?

Think I better sign up for that gym membership now.

So back to the tire balance issue... apparently my rebalance hasn't fixed the problem yet. Anything over about 68mph starts a shuddering from the front end. So today I pulled all four tires off, inspected them very well for broken cords, broke them down to check for fix a flat in any of them, rechecked the balance on all four (I did change the weights on the RF), and rotated the fronts to the back. Guess what? Problem not solved. It does seem slightly better, as in, not quite so bumpy, but the shuddering still seems to be coming from the front end.

It's definitely a speed issue, as it does it in D or 3 at the same speed. All the suspension appears to be tight, and there doesn't seem to be any slop in the bearings up there either. I'm to the point where I'm probably going to take it in to a tire place that also does full mechanical repair and let them try to figure it out. This car should be smooth as silk on the freeway, and at the exact speed I normally drive at, it shudders and drives me nuts.

I'm getting closer and closer to buying something new so I don't have to worry about stuff like this for several years.

It's a shame too, because I really like this car, and I really haven't been able to enjoy yet.

-BP

BP--

I talked to Dan about the problem you're having. Imagine this: his car has the same issue.
He said that "they all have that problem." He's checked through forums and found guys that
have replaced every moving part in the front end and still haven't cured this issue. You need
to call him, he can tell you more of what to expect from this car.

GM

This car should be smooth as silk on the freeway ...

Our 2000 DeVille was. The 2007 DTS has just now begun to have a barely noticeable imbalance but there are 55K miles on the original tires and balance.

I can tell you what to expect... me to trade it in. I drove it to work today and didn't really have the opportunity to get over 68. No problem.

I just found out today that my new company gets GM Supplier pricing. I could usually get within a few hundred bucks of that on my own, but every little bit helps.

The thing I would really miss about this car is the stereo... There's at least 10 speakers and it sounds AWESOME! And, I'm almost to 23mpg in mixed driving.

-BP

If you can get it over 68 try kicking it down to 3rd to see if it goes away. I would also try coasting at that speed in neutral.

My hunch is there is something out of balance in the transmission and cutting the power or kicking it out of lockup mode would help isolate.

I'm not advocating fixing it but I am curious.

It doesn't matter what gear it's in, whether it's coasting or under full throttle. That's why I'm miffed.

It looks like I'm going to be taking some trips for training with my new job too. And three hours while thumping down the freeway isn't going to cut it... back and forth to work is no big deal.


-BP

OK so I missed your post about D and 3.

Long shot #1: Does this car have any type of traction control or stabilitrak? Could it be dragging the brake a little? If you disable the electronics controlling ABS you could eliminate that

Long shot #2: How old are those tires?

Rick says it's a half shaft, they can look good and still be bad.
Said their cheap at Middlefield NAPA.