Cadillac Repair: oil leaks, dealer estimate, oil leaks

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have owned a 95 DeVille and am looking to purchase a 99 DeVille with 32 valve Northstar.  Both leak oil at the seal between the bearing cradle and block.  Dealer estimate $1800 to repair!  I'm told by the dealer Cadillac has no program to help with cost.  This is definitely a manufacturing defect that "can lead to fire" and "they all do it eventually" regardless of mileage(so says the dealer and other Cadillac techs).  
1 - Shouldn't this be a safety recall?
2 - Is there any way to get Cadillac to repair this either free or with some sort of deductible?
Answer -
Hi Dan, I would have thought by '99 that GM would have a handle on this oil leak problem but apparrently they don't because there is an updatted bulletin explaining how to reseal the engine another way. Once you are out of the warrenty period of eithor time or mileage then the only way to get Cadillac to pay is if you are a good customer and owned the car new and returned to the dealer for service then the service manager might try to help you out. You could call the Cadillac zone office and see if they will offer any assistance. If you purchased the car used then they will probably turn you down but sometimes they will offer assistance. However if you complain that it isn't enough then they may withdraw the offer and then you are left to pay the whole bill yourself. Having done a few of those reseals myself and watched other techs also it takes about 25 hours labor time plus parts to do the work and that is why the cost is so expensive. I suppose if enough people complained to the traffic and safety commission and they saw alot of cars catching on fire due to the oil leak then they would turn it into a recall but I am not aware of one at this time. If the '99 is a leaker and the store won't repair it before the sale then they would need to discount it enough to cover the repair costs or I would look for another Caddy to buy that isn't leaking now. Bill
THANKS BILL.  You mentioned there is a bulletin on how to seal the engine another way.  Can you tell me what is involved there, what the bulletin is so I can refer to it when speaking with the dealer and roughly how much it is compared to the conventional $1800 fix?

Answer
Hi Dan, The bulletin number is 03-06-01-027 published 10/06/03. It explains how the engine is removed, disassembled and then reassembled useing a differant sealing technique. I have heard where some techs do the work with the engine inside the car to try and come close to what Caddy warrenty pays but if the oil isn't cleaned from the engine surfaces then the sealer doesn't stand a chace to seal and the work will need to be done again in a short time. The bulletin is rather lengthly and doesn't give any suggested times although it does cover the northstar engine from 1993 to 2004. Actually if you are charged for the 25 hours that it takes to do it right times $75 an hour labor that the big city dealers charge then you are already up to $1875 without parts or sales tax so it just depends where you go and how much they want to charge. Hope that helps. Bill