3rd Sep 2002, 12:35

Well...I don't know why everyone seems to love the mid-80s Devilles. NIGHTMARES!!! I bought my 1986 Deville Touring Edition new and it has 48,000 miles on it now. I don't drive every day, and I never drive very far. Transmission slip and noise started at 25,000 miles (out of warranty period), AC constantly broken even with new compressor last year, engine leaks and just blew the intake gasket (common problem... again out of warranty of course). Window guides break, digital dash flickers, door locks freeze up, alarm won't turn off, trunk won't close, power steering squeels, replaced entire braking system due to lock-up, and everything seems to leak or rattle. Nonetheless, the car rides great (when it runs) and I love the looks. It is a shame that I have had to spend $4,000 in repairs over the last 2 years. I have spent too much to junk it at this point. But the car won't bring any money of I try to sell it. I would never recommend buying one used by ANY MEANS. My mecanic has 6 of them sitting in his back lot broken beyond repair. I am stuck with a car that I love, but that is unreliable. And the Cadillac dealer never wanted to face the issue that this car was (and is) a lemon. I should have sued when I had the chance!!

13th Sep 2002, 00:00

I have just finished converting a 1987 De Ville from the infamous HT4100 with the 180 hp 4.5 liter out of a 1990 Seville. It fit the car like a glove. However there are some changes that you need to do to make it work. First off you need to put the intake off the HT4100, on the 4.5liter.You need to use the original exhaust manifolds.. The emission controls from the HT4100.And swap the motor mounts over to the 4.5liter.I was originally told I had to switch the valve covers over to, but I seen no point in that. The car runs the best it ever has, and has a lot more power than id ever imagined. The best part about it was it was inexpensive to do. Considering I did all the labor myself, it cost about 400 dollars total. I am just writing this to let you all know your caddy never has to go to the salvage yard. The 4.5 liter is 1 of the far best engines Cadillac has placed in there cars. The oil pressure problem was fixed and the performance was improved greatly.

So don't lose hope and throw ya caddy to the heap just because you are all sick of the HT4100 engine problem. They are far to good of a car for that.

26th Jul 2003, 06:12

I have an 85 flwd with 246k miles on the original 4100 engine. A few necessary repairs over the years such as main bearings, timing chain, motor mounts, and water pumps. Otherwise it is a good engine.

3rd Aug 2003, 11:55

I addition to my 1988 Cadillac Coupe Deville, also have a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado with that god awful 4100 engine. I can't wait to find a good running chevy 350 engine to swap it with, Those 350 Chevy engines never die if you treat them right.

30th Dec 2003, 23:33

I bought an '87 Cadillac Deville about 5 years ago. Yes, it was owned by an old lady, and hardly driven. Her son sold it to his neighbor, who sold it to me.

There were so many who said I'd made a mistake! One Caddy 'expert' said "flat cam", and so did a few other A.S.E. certified mechanics who were ' friends' of mine

A shade tree mechanic checked it out by sound of the engine alone, said it wasn't a flat cam, and fixed it. Turned out to be a broken lifter! It had 53,000 miles; now has 110,000, and runs like a top. A few minor problems, like tilt wheel is loose, driver side window a bit reluctant, but I LOVE THIS CAR. Don't listen to opinions... just decide, and buy it. Just my opinion.

10th Jan 2004, 15:02

I have a 1987 Deville which I bought used in 1996

It has the so called infamous HT-4100 engine in it and has not given me any problems. The car is great on gas and has been very reliable. I now have over 240,000 Miles on it and it still runs great and looks great.

19th Jan 2004, 19:59

I recently bought a 1987 Cadillac Sedan De-Ville. It is beautiful! One owner, 73,500 miles. It runs great, but seems to maybe have the idle set too low... when it warms up it dies at intersections if I don't left-foot brake so I can give it a little gas. it has the famous 4100 engine in it. its getting checked out now... this is far more beautiful than the 2003 Monte Carlo that sits in the garage. bought the caddy so I wouldn't put too many miles on the Monte...

20th Mar 2004, 03:45

Hi, although I have an '88 Sedan Deville from eBay it has just under 350,000 miles and needs all kinds of mechanicals that all add up, the theory of swapping 4.5 to 4.1 cars is a good one, GM designers were able to work from the HT4100 to the 4.9 by making only slight mods to the original engine bay and car width. I've owned an '84 Biarritz that has somewhere near 100K on it for a short time, the HT4100 was underpowered to be sure, but in my case, worked pretty good, however flooding with the injectors was a problem and the fuel pump went as well. Most mechanics charge $50 or more an hour, even these days, so if you can't find someone cheaper it never hurts. I pay a friend at work, if I can talk him into a project. The downsized years were GM's worst Cadillacs because they weren't big or stylish, but they are still a joy to drive when the don't suffer from 'General Malfunction' syndrome.

-B.

26th Feb 2008, 02:49

1986 Sedan deville.

By far this is the best Cadillac I have ever owned. I bought it slightly used in 1989, and it is still going strong to this day. Now has 321k on the odometer and is just starting to use oil (about 1 qt. every 2000miles). The HT4100 is a very very VERY reliable motor (after changes in 1985) if you don't ask too much of it. It is not a race car and therefore is a bit lackluster in power, and many people are not as patient with these motors as they have to be.

With proper care and maintenance, this car will take you a very long way with all the comfortable features that were available at the time. It has outlasted my 94 Seville's Northstar engine twice, and in my personal opinion, it is a very sharp looking car even compared to the new cars today. Decent acceleration, posh interior, cloud like ride, and very reasonable V8 fuel economy are the top features this car provides for a used vehicle.

Car is EXTREMELY easy to work on, and new parts are cheap as well. (Great first car for a teenager)

10 out of 10 car!

"Take care of it, and it will take care of you" is the motto with this car!