Finally got a car!!!

[WantOneSoBad]

I finally got me a car today. It is a damn yacht though, a 1990 Cadillac Brougham De Elegance. Overall its pretty nice, interior is roomy as hell and in real good condition, body is in good shape and runs pretty good except it takes awhile to warm up. You have to start it a couple times and give it a little gas and then it will run at idle a lil rough but a few minutes later its running nice and smooth. Anyone know what could cause this, someone told me that air/fuel ratio adjusting should be the first thing I try. Everything else is good, transmission shifts good (thank god) and it rides real nice. Paint has got to go though, ugly baby blue with no clear coat at all, rather have primer gray. I'm happy though, its nice and big and gets a lil better mpg than my 91 9c1 Caprice and back seat is big enough for me to sleep in if I cant find a place to stay.

[Cobra25]

Good luck with your new ride!

[BillyGman]

You have to start it a couple times and give it a little gas and then it will run at idle a lil rough but a few minutes later its running nice and smooth. Anyone know what could cause this, someone told me that air/fuel ratio adjusting should be the first thing I try. I'd have to also say that to begin with the small and inexpensive things first. especially those things that you can do yourself. I'd begin by changing the sparkplugs, and fuel filter since those are routine maintainance things that you'll want to stay on top of anyway. When it comes to sparkplugs, nothing fancy. Just standard plugs which should run anywhere from $16 to $32 for a set of eight.

If those two things don't change anything (particularly the plugs) then you haven't wasted any $$ since those are things that will now be out og the way and taken care of, and then you can move on to the air/fuel ratio if needed. ;)

[RoyLPita]

I wish you the best with your new ride. You are still welcome here regardless of what you have to drive.

[MarauderMark]

Good luck with it ..My first car was a 70 cadillac sedan de ville took my drivers test in it..

[Bradley G]

Be proud of what you have accomplished!
I hope you are able to get the car you really want ( in due time)
Congradulations and enjoy.
Bradley G

[teamrope]

Beats LPC's by a long shot. :)
(Thats the acronym for Leather personel Carriers. aka boots.)

[wsmylie]

Congratulations....even if it wasn't what you really wanted at least you're mobile now and it sounds like its reliable. Color your hair with a little grey and you could probably fit right in driving that bad boy to the early bird special at the local diner.

[jgc61sr2002]

Congrats and good luck with your new ride. :D

[Donny Carlson]

15 years old, too. Well, at least it runs, eh?



http://www.classiccars.de/Oldyrent/plz4/images/49500.jpg

[TAF]

The "Bro-Ham" is a VERY popular car in the A-T-L...

Congrats!

[Bradley G]

Yea!

Who's try'in to wreck that car with the skinny whitewalls?
Bradley G

The "Bro-Ham" is a VERY popular car in the A-T-L...

Congrats!

[the_pack_rat]

I finally got me a car today. It is a damn yacht though, a 1990 Cadillac Brougham De Elegance. Overall its pretty nice, interior is roomy as hell and in real good condition, body is in good shape and runs pretty good except it takes awhile to warm up. You have to start it a couple times and give it a little gas and then it will run at idle a lil rough but a few minutes later its running nice and smooth. Anyone know what could cause this, someone told me that air/fuel ratio adjusting should be the first thing I try. Everything else is good, transmission shifts good (thank god) and it rides real nice. Paint has got to go though, ugly baby blue with no clear coat at all, rather have primer gray. I'm happy though, its nice and big and gets a lil better mpg than my 91 9c1 Caprice and back seat is big enough for me to sleep in if I cant find a place to stay.

Is it a Olds 307 car ?.

8th digit of the VIN a "Y" or "9" ?.

Or did they start using the FI Chevy/corp 5.7 350 in those by then ?.

If it's the Olds - you have the electronic feedback 4 bbl carb. There is a mixture control solenoid & a TPS in those things ... never a big fan. Had an 85 Toronado that was always throwing TPS codes.

A heavy car like this sounds like a great canidate for loosing all the computer feedback BS ... & getting an Olds motor of 350+ cubes in there one day.

Best thing that ever happened to my 84 Cutlass was loosing the 307 & all the feedback crap.

79 403 - regular 4bbl - regular HEI distributor - regular TH 350.

Oh & PS ...

Those 307's ran aluminum intake manifolds.

Aluminum vs cast iron ... wasn't good on the "turkey tray"(metal intake gasket). These are NOTORIOUS for springing a coolant leak just behind the alternator ... keep an eye on that.

[Patrick]

Its a great start!!!! :2thumbs:

[Ryans PI]

Looks good.

[WantOneSoBad]

I appreciate you'lls comments and suggestions. Few more problems have arose now, seems like I bought someone elses problems. First it has a digital dash and is throwing error codes where the odometer is suppose to be and gives an incorrect fuel reading, changes every time I start the car. Doesn't want to hold engine coolant and accelerates very sluggishly, like I'm pulling a trailer or something. I plan on taking it in and getting a new battery, fuel, air, and oil filter, tune up, oil change, replace belts and hoses. Hopefully, that will help it run a little better. We'll see.

[the_pack_rat]

Make sure they actually _DO_ all this stuff.

If that is a 307 Olds car ...

I wouldn't expect much out of the acceleration dept ... esp a 307 AFTER 1985 w/the swirl port heads & roller cam.(sorry that is just the reality of it - those 307's aren't exactly powerhouses 1980-1984 as it is).

The coolant thing ...

Make sure the intake mainfold behind the alternator is NOT leaking. This could also be contributing to a vaccum leak at the intake as well - causing it to run crappy.

And speaking of vacuum ...

Have ALL the vacuum lines REPLACED ... it's like a pot of spaghetti under there !.

The EGR valve ...

Have it yanked & cleaned - as well as the intake ports.

Read about Olds motors & such here :

http://442.com/oldsfaq/oldsfaq.htm

Again - I'm assuming a 1990 big Caddy is running the Olds 307 ... maybe they already went to the corporate(Chevy in my eyes) 350 by this time.

Hope everything works out for you.

[WantOneSoBad]

Yeah PackRat, its that olds motor making 140 horsepower and 250 pds. of torque. I just got a brand new Everstart Batter, 10W-30 oil change, and replaced air and oil filter, like $84.81 all together. Now something else has come up, the car stalls when put into D. It will also stall out when put in R but not as often. It runs good in P and N and I can accelerate without it stalling but as soon as I shift it into D it shuts off. At first it began with just stalling at stoplights and when braking and now has progressed to this. Any help?

[the_pack_rat]

Yeah PackRat, its that olds motor making 140 horsepower and 250 pds. of torque. I just got a brand new Everstart Batter, 10W-30 oil change, and replaced air and oil filter, like $84.81 all together. Now something else has come up, the car stalls when put into D. It will also stall out when put in R but not as often. It runs good in P and N and I can accelerate without it stalling but as soon as I shift it into D it shuts off. At first it began with just stalling at stoplights and when braking and now has progressed to this. Any help?

Just off the top of my head ... it could be some of these things :

PCV valve
EGR valve
Choke adjustment
Choke pull-off faulty
Idle load compensator
Heat riser valve sticking
Air cleaner inlet door sticking
Coolant sensor that controls misc vacuum functions.
fuel filter
Carburator dirty
TPS or MCS in carburator
Other carburator issues(just might be time for a general rebuild).
Vaccum leaks
General tune up items

A good tune up & replacing of all the basic maintenance items might just do the trick on it's own :

Plugs
Wires
Cap & Rotor
Fuel filter
PCV valve & filter in the air cleaner housing
Vacuum lines

How handy are you ?.

The tune up is pretty easy to do with basic tools & wrenching abilities.

Some of the things mentioned above as possible culprits, can be troubleshooted yourself as well.

A Haynes or Chiltons manual why they might suck somewhat when it comes to certain more complex vehicle "specific" type procedures ...

Have decent general troubleshooting type stuff in them.

Most auto parts stores carry them - just look for one that covers your year & model car. The Haynes books are general smaller or more specific to particular year(s) & model(s) of cars. Chiltons are generally pretty thick & cover wider ranges of vehicles(at least that's the way they used to be).

Here's a link to Haynes :

http://www.haynes.com/

Does the car have a functioning check engine light ?. It should illuminate when the key is turned to run. If it doesn't, you may have a bad bulb or someone yanked it to mask the fact it was on indicating there is a trouble code.

Try the auto parts store again ... many of them will hook up a code scanner for free to see if any codes are present/stored.

Again, the car might just be in need of a good tune up.

Some general 307 Olds stuff can be found here :

http://tlentz.oldsgmail.com/more_power.html

[David Morton]

In 1990, the Brougham had a 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8.

Good engine. If it isn't missing a cylinder under light throttle, don't spend money on plugs and wires and all that maintenance stuff unless it needs it. As I recall, this engine has a coolant temperature sensor that went high sometimes. That is to say it told the computer that the engine was already hot, and didn't need to warm up, so the computer would go open-loop and just act as if it was a hot engine.

Go to a GM dealership for an oil change and ask the service writer if the tech can check for any codes first. Don't tell him there's a problem yet! This one didn't always set a code, but calling back later and telling the same service writer about your problem will tell him you want his advice and that's stroking him the right way.

Or you can take a stab at changing the sensor and roll the dice! If you have access to a scanner, hook it up while the engine is cold and look at the coolant temperature sensor.

[WantOneSoBad]

No my check engine light doesn't work and now its even gotten worse. The car starts fine but runs at idle kinda rough and eventually just cuts off after 30-45 seconds. Also, if I cut it off before then the engine shakes and rumbles for about 10-15 seconds after and eventually settles down. David, the 5.7 L was an option on the 1990 Brougham, you got that engine if you wanted the towing package or the coachbuilders package. Mine is the 5.0 L. I think I'm capable of doing some basic wrench work its just that I have no tools at all, I'm living out of this car for the next couple weeks and I just don't have any money left over to fix it after buying it. I've asked around about this problem and alot of people are telling me its the fuel pump, catalytic converter, and some of the things you mentioned. I can't get it up to the AutoZone store because it won't drive and I don't have the money to tow it.

By the way, the 9th digit of the cars vin is a 7.

[David Morton]

I worked for a Cadillac store from 95 to 96 and never saw one with the 5.0, guess all these old farts down here were always getting the tow package.

I suppose the fuel pump could be intermittently bad but that's a long-shot, that one usually goes bad and stays bad, all the time. Blocked catalytic convertors cause just the opposite, runs good until back pressure builds up and then no-power or shuts off. Wait for a minute (or even less if a cylinders' valves are at overlap) and the car cranks and runs fine again for a minute or two, just like before. Clogged fuel filter is similar except never any power.

No, this one's a classic bad temp sensor symptom. There's a way to bypass the sensor and fool the computer into thinking the engine is cold, unplug it! Or is it unplug it and short the leads at the plug? I forget. Go to the auto parts store and tell them you want to look at the sensor location and give it a try unplugging it. I think the thing is screwed right into the coolant passage at the front of the intake manifold. Might be in the head.

Key-up and not starting, just on, should give you a bulb check for the CEL. If you don't have one the bulbs are real cheap, not too hard to change, just pull the instrument cluster out.

Good chance to learn buddy. Use it. :D