My Car Is Ready To Die(I Think)

[xraytech]

Well, my daily driver is a 2001 Cadillac DeVille, that I typically drive to work to save the 2006 Town Car from getting beaten up in the parking lot and dont want to put too many miles on it.

This morning I was about 2 miles from work and at a red light, my car started shaking and making a thumping sound very badly, it was shaking so hard you could see the hood and hood ornament moving. And the check engine light which was on to begin with started flashing.

I only had one last hill to go before I got to work so I kept going, by time I pulled in the car had a terrible burning odor to it. I backed into the first spot I saw, and I decided to hitch a ride home from work and leave my DeVille there and I will have it towed across town to a garage Monday.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what may be the problem?
Also is it even worth repairing if it is expensive?
And does any one have any suggestions of a replacement that is A)that is NOT a foriegn car, and B)Not a GM product, as this is my 2nd bad experience with a GM car.

Just a side note, the DeVille has been cared for, and only has 78,500 miles and has already got a rebuilt transmission in March.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Sam

 

[ronhic]

Sam,

How long since you've checked the oil?

Did you check anything after you stopped (oil/water etc)?

 

[appnut]

Could be catalytic converter problem(s).

 

[strongenough78]

That sucks!

For a car with so little miles, I'd hate to think it has completely retired itself already. Well, when the check engine light first came on, you should have had the On-Board Diagnostic system scanned to see what trouble codes were in the memory. What the On-Board Diagnostic or OBD-2 system does is monitor all the major systems of the engine and engine components to make sure everything is working properly. When that light comes on, that means it has indicated a problem somewhere. You can buy a Scan-Tool and check the codes yourself or take it to a mechanic to have them pulled from the computer. I recommend buying your own Scan Tool anyway, since both of your cars will benefit from it. The tool is universal so you can use it on ANY make or model of car from 1996 to present. When your check engine light starts flashing, that means the OBD system has detected a misfire, in other words, one or more of your cylinders has stopped firing or is firing irradically. That's why your car was shaking and running rough, not all of the cylinders were producing power.

Now, a few things you can check yourself before towing it into a shop is, check the engine oil, make sure the level is within an acceptable range, and that there is no engine coolant in with it. You'll notice a discoloration or bubbles in the oil on the dipstick if there is coolant in there. Plus, check all around the engine itself. Look for any leaks around the head gaskets. You'll know if there is cause you'll see coolant and probably oil leaking from where the heads meet the block. Also, was your car smoking when this was happening? Like a white or black colored smoke coming from the exhaust pipes?

I just hope you did'nt blow a head gasket or break a major component in the engine, cause that'll mean a complete rebuild. Just remember when your check engine light comes on, ALWAYS have it checked to make sure it's not something major. Sometimes it'll detect a problem with a sensor, or EGR flow and trip on the light. Sometimes you can drive a car for a while with that light on without worry until you can get it fixed. But if you ever have that light checked and it is something pretty important, do not drive the car until you can get it fixed. Otherwise, you'll have a problem on your hands as you do now.

I wish you luck on this, I know what it's like to have a car take a total dump on you, it's the pits! Just let your mechanic know exactly what happened, and that your check engine light was already on. He can still pull the trouble codes from the computer, although, there may be some new ones on there now since it completely broke down. Keep us informed on how it goes. Again, good luck, and sorry to hear about your troubles! Those Caddy's are beautiful cars, and I do hope you're able to get it fixed without it costing you too much.
Take care,
Vern

 

[xraytech]

The shaking and thumping only would happen when I stopped and when I started moving, it would stop.

the oil level is fine, I just had to add a quart 2 days ago, and I checked it last night.

As for the check enginr light, it has been on for the majority of the past year, as soon s I get something fixed about 150 miles later the light comes on with a new error, it has been a loosing battle with this car all the way around.

I have not touched the car since I got to work this morning, and it was running when I parked it, tomorrow when I go in I will have to check it out real quick.
If only the shaking would quit and the light wasnt flashing I would unload this on a new mini van, which is what I should have done last month after the last repair.

 

[hydralique]

There are some good suggestions above to check the fluids, etc., and also on the check-engine light: driving with it on isn't a good idea unless you know what the issue is. Besides the shaking and smell, what were the other symptoms? Did it lose power? Was the temperature guage showing a normal engine temp? Did the oil light turn on or flash? Some of Cadillac's aluminum V8s had a nasty habit of blowing head gaskets, which I believe was the result of head bolt problems. In that case you'd probably see some strange behavior in the temperature guage, like initially showing an overheating condition and then perhaps dropping to cold as the engine loses coolant. Another possibility is that the engine jumped time just enough (one tooth on the timing chain) to upset the valve timing and probably bend a few valves. You'd notice a loss of power in that case, though I wouldn't normally expect a modern car to jump time with so few miles on it.

To be honest if you care about saving a car in this situation then you shound never continue to drive when something like this happens unless your personal safety depends on it. When an engine loses oil pressure or overheats severely it only takes a few blocks to make the difference between a rebuildable engine and one so thoroughly damaged that it can't be saved. If you're lucky this could be nothing more than a bad misfire in the ignition system caused by a loose wire, but that wouldn't explain the smell very well.

Replacements? Well if it's not gonna be from GM, and you're restricted to cars made in North America, then that leaves Ford unless you're especially brave and willing to chance Chrysler products. Taxi drivers and cops seem to love Crown Victorias (and bear in mind the Grand Marquis is the same thing). They're cheap to buy, cheap to fix, and evidently can run hundreds of thousands of miles if maintained. On the debit side they use a lot of fuel and have a very mediocre chassis, but if that doesn't bother you a nice pre-owned Grand Marquis is probably just the thing, and ought to be more reliable than the Caddy.

 

[a440]

It could be something as simple as a spark plug wire that is arching. This would cause this type of shaking at idle. When you give it more gas there is more power going through the bad wire, and it will run okay. At idle there is less power going through the wire.
The burning smell would be the rubber burning?
With such low mileage on the engine, and I assume you keep up the oil changes, I can't imagine anything bad to the engine. If you blew a gasket you would know it from the smoke coming out of your tail pipe.
I think it is something minor!
Keep up posted.
Good Luck!
Brent

 

[perc-o-prince]

I just had to add a quart 2 days ago

On a car that's only +/- 8 years old???? Why is it losing/burning so much oil? I've run 2 GM cars (1987 Camaro and 1994 Transport) to 150k+ miles and never had to add oil between changes. Sounds like there's a problem that you're addressing the symptom of, and not the problem itself. Maybe that's the heart of your trouble?

Chuck

 

[xraytech]

When this happened the temperature gauge was where it usually is, it had never moved, and it was still at the same level when I parked.
The oil light did not come on.
There was no smoke from the exhaust, or anywhere else.
I had forgot to mention earlier that the burning smell was a burning rubber odor.
I did not have a loss of power at all.

Somone at work suggested that it may have been a broken engine mount. Does this sound like it could be the problem?

and hydraulique, as a replacement I love the crown vic/grand marquis. I had a loaded crown vic lx I traded up for the Town Car of the same year but it only had 6,200 mi on it. I get about 22 mpg average which I think is great. I also like the body on frame build of these cars, even though I would like to have a wagon of some sort.

 

[hydralique]

You're probably in luck then as most of the truly bad things I can think of would involve an obvious power loss or overheating. An engine mount could make the car shake at idle, but it's kind of rare for a mount to fail so suddenly and voilently on a large and intrinsically smooth running engine as a Cadillac V8. A failed mount on an older large capacity four cylinder would be more likely to cause the shaking. I'm now wondering if all the bolts and fasteners holding the engine to the transaxle, and the transaxle to the body mounts were put back correctly after the transmission rebuild. Remember too that on modern cars with automatic transmissions the powertain management ECU talks to both the engine and gearbox. A communications failure can lead to all sorts of crazy behavior as the ECU may be getting incorrect information. This could be as simple as a bad ground wire or loose connection, but it can be a bitch to find. Make sure you mention the trans rebuild to wherever you take the car - the timing of this new failure seems a little suspicious.

Another possibility might be failing coil pack on one cylinder which could be melting down, but in such a case I'd expect both a loss of power and some shaking once under load.

 

[qsd-dan]

I just had to add a quart 2 days ago On a car that's onl

Since the introduction of the Northstar engine, the factory claims it perfectly normal to add 1 quart of oil every 500 miles on Cadillac's 8 cyl engine. Yeah, I don't get it either, but then again it's one of the MANY reasons I'd never own a Cadillac..........even if it was brand new and given to me for free.

 

[spankomatic]

perfectly normal to add 1 quart of oil every 500 miles

Reminds me of my 1974 Chevy Vega....

 

[goatfarmer]

I'm guessing ignition problem. Coil pack, spark plug, etc.

 

[davek]

I've had broken engine mounts and mount bolts fall off before and had it cause strange shakes with a normally pretty smooth engine (GM 3800). It would not cause the check engine light to flash, though. The other possibilities offered above are good guesses, and I'll add the Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF). It could cause those problems and would certainly put the light on.

 

[perc-o-prince]

even if it was brand new and given to me for free.

Oh, I'd own it in that case. Pay the tax on it and $ell it as quickly as possible. I didn't say I'd own it for long!!

A quart every 500 miles? Makes me ashamed to be a member of the GM family (almost).

Chuck

 

[strongenough78]

davek

I totally forgot about the MAF sensor. I should have remembered since my brother went through about 3 of them in 2 years on his 96 Camaro (3800 V-6) before he finally threw a rod in it.

 

[xraytech]

Well, today when I went to work I stopped at my car and turned it on for a minute, it just shakes and there is no smoke from the exhaust, and the engine light is not flashing.

Anyways if ti is only a few hundred dollars to fix I will then trade it in, if more,it is going as is. I went car shopping before work and found 4 prospective replacements.
1)Ford 500 Limited AWD, I believe a 2005
2)Mercury Monterey minivan, fairly well equipped, I believe 2005 also
3)2006 Chrysler Town and Country Touring Signature Edition
4)2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT
I am leaning by looks and appointments liking the Mercury best, just depends on the price, hopefully the white nightmare will be gone and I will have a new buggy by the end of the week

 

[spankomatic]

I would check Consumer Reports on the vehicles on your list. See which ones are duds. You may find some others that have a better repair rateing. I would also check crash test rateings. It may change your decision.

Jim

 

[iheartmaytag]

78K

That's a pretty long life for GM car isn't it?

I want a SMART car, but the family thinks they want to ride along so I need more than a two seater. I wish they would sell the four-two here.