QuestionI have a 1981 cadillac deville on the fan cover it says it comes with a 4.1 but it is not the original motor in it the guy that i got it from said it might be a 6.0 . How can i tell if its a 6.0 and if you would happen to know the firing order for the 6.0?
AnswerHello,
Makes me wonder if this was one of those diesel to gas conversions. The common engine for 81 was the 4-6-8- 368 c.i.. If so, should be noted on outside of car. Some, rarely used a 307 olds and my memory is not good enough to tell you if they even used the 4.1 in 81'.
To figure out what you have from the factory can be decoded from the VIN and you should be able to get this information from the dealer. I remember the "N" used for diesel. If it does not have the factory engine in it, you will need to find the engine number and the problem with that is that there are different locations on the blocks for different engines.
Take a pic of the engine and possibly I can tell you what it is by looking at the pic.
It was common for the 4.1 to have chrome valve covers where the 368 I remember as being blue or green. The 368 also had goofy valve covers if I remember right for the 4-6-8. The 368 was a real good engine if you had it run at all times 8 cyl which was just a matter of disconnecting one wire.
The 4.1 (I still don't think it was available that year) was either good or bad. Many came from the factory with a knock.
The olds engine was easy to identify because it had the oil filler tube in the front of the engine.
Hope all this helps. I am really straining my memory here.
Rob
