1995 Cadillac SDV

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I'm thinking about purchasing a 1995 SDV for use as a daily driver given my age and the little long distance driving I do now. One has surfaced close to home and I was wondering if there was anything I should look for other than the things noted on line, such as windows falling down, the electronic tab on the ignition key, and the fuel guage/fuel filter problems.

It's had brakes, fuel pump, radiator, new plugs and ignition wires and nearly new tires. 136K on the clock. I'd appreciate any hints before I go look at it tomorrow.

[smokuspollutus]

Barry, I know very little about the 1995 Deville, but I do know that the last year GM offered a white interior was 1993...yet this car appears to have white seats? Possibly part of the d'elderly package?

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Final year for the trusty 4.9 Liter which was only installed in the base DeVille.  Check for rust bubbling under bodyside moldings, otherwise check all the usuals- undercarriage, accessory operation, condition of the body, paint, interior, and so forth.

The white leather with dark blue seam piping is something I never saw on any Cadillac DeVille of this generation. It may have been one of unusual Spring or Liberty editions. The roof on this car is aftermarket however- not that it matters.

What's it priced at?

D'Elderly package - that's a good one. 

**EDIT: Check the gas gauge. Seems a common issue on these. Usually due to bad sending unit (integral with fuel pump) in tank.

 

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Ad stated that the white seats were custom ordered. Asking price is $2900 and hope to get it for $2400-$2500. I'll ask if the sensor was replaced when the fuel pump was installed. It's hard to see on a white car but I think there is a mushed spot on the RH rear quarter as well as a dimple nearby. Since it has a front plate holder installed, it may be a Southern car. Indiana has only one plate and when I was selling these, we never drilled the front bumper and left the holder in the trunk.

I'd just as soon not have the roof as it will sit out. '79 and the '81 get snuggled up in the garage. (If I can move the Seville over to one side with scoot pads that I've never used, I might be able to get all three in the garage.)

Hey, I was out on the sun porch a while ago and found the cleaning girl had not hooked up the box fan after using the receptacle to sweep Wednesday and I didn't have to have help getting up after hooking  the fan back up. d'Elderly indeed.

[Rich S]

FYI:  The White Leather seats with blue (or other color) piping/laces were a dealer installed accessory in 1995. I recall looking at several at Bayview Cadillac dealership in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, back when these were new. They also installed them on several Sedan DeVilles in 1996. They looked like the factory sew pattern on the seats. Maybe Katzkin interiors made them? They are still around offering after-market leather seat upholstery in the factory sew pattern for several makes of cars. Good luck--it also has other dealer accessories (including the chromed wheels with different center caps compared to the factory design)--and the top does not look like a factory installed (i.e. "Spring Edition") simulated convertible top.

[James Landi]

4.9 is a terrifically durable engine... sure looks like a well maintained, beautiful, and ultra-optioned  car for under $3,000.   Would be hard to pass up! love those white interiors-- very special.  Happy day,  James

[D.Smith]

I say go for it Barry.

As for white leather?     I have photos in my archives of this 95 SDV with white leather.  Doesn't appear to be a special edition. (Photos are from 2013)

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

FYI:  The White Leather seats with blue (or other color) piping/laces were a dealer installed accessory in 1995. I recall looking at several at Bayview Cadillac dealership in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, back when these were new. They also installed them on several Sedan DeVilles in 1996. They looked like the factory sew pattern on the seats. Maybe Katzkin interiors made them? They are still around offering after-market leather seat upholstery in the factory sew pattern for several makes of cars. Good luck--it also has other dealer accessories (including the chromed wheels with different center caps compared to the factory design)--and the top does not look like a factory installed (i.e. "Spring Edition") simulated convertible top.

Thanks for that information Rich. I was not aware of this.

I wonder what they did with the seats they took out...

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I wondered that myself last night about the old leather. Well, we just got back from "looking at it." They forgot to mention that the windshield was badly cracked, and the climate control (hot & cold both) worked "intermittently. And even with a fuel pump replacement (how long ago?) the gauge is not working right.

And, when anything has broken lately (I surmise) like the cover for LH door pull and the reflector on the rear bumper and the carpet portion of the LH front door, they have been ignored. It ran and stopped OK, but there was rubber coming loose on the RR door and the rubber around the headlamp housing had never been cleaned so it was dried out. For such a "nice looking" car, it sure was a mess. So, we're still looking. Oh, he was heavy, so the front seat bottoms were really worn. Evidently not as good a quality as regular Cadillac ones as most are still in excellent shape in the pictures I have seen.

Hope springs eternal. There is a black one with a roof in Joliet that has always been garaged, so I might see if it's still available. Glenn said that Fred Butalla might be able to look at it for me. Thanks for the tips and good wishes. "Watch this space..."

[James Landi]

 So, as the old saying goes, "Pictures say a thousand words..."  (but not if they are taken at strategic angles...)  Happy day,  James

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

So, as the old saying goes, "Pictures say a thousand words..."  (but not if they are taken at strategic angles...)  Happy day,  James

I can attest to that.

I once worked on a car that if the pictures had been taken from even just slightly different angles, the car would have never left USA.   Plus, the description was actually true, but not representative of the vehicle in its' present form.

Bruce.

[TJ Hopland]

I had a 95 for a while.

Those have a power steering filter behind the right front wheel that was hard to find 10 years ago and often ignored leading to power steering issues.  I had to argue with the dealer to get him to look it up and find the part number so it must not have been on many models for very long.

I think that was the car I had where the rear air struts were NLA from GM and there were no aftermarket options at the time other than Strutmasters non air replacements which worked alright.  Their units came with an electronic module that got rid of the 'service air ride' that constantly displayed on the dash which was almost worth the money on its own. 

There is a T fitting in the heater hoses that if you look at it for longer than 3.27 seconds it will just disintegrate.   Its got some restrictions or valving in it so in theory you can't just go to home depot.   That was another part that took time to track down 10 years ago and I felt like maybe I had go the last one left in the world when I did finally get it. 

This engine family is the wonderful design where the oil filter hangs on the top of the block above the transmission.  There doesn't appear to be any way to change the filter without making a mess.   I once asked a dealer how they did it and his reply was 'free car wash with any oil change'.     Oil leaks in the filter area are common but easily fixed.  THere are O rings between the oil filter block and engine block that solved the leaks.

This still has a distributor which for a non truck was rare for that late so don't forget to include that in maintenance.

Fuel pressure regulators seem to go out on these more than other engines from the era.   Not too bad to change and I do the valve cover gaskets when I'm in there because you have to take the same stuff off to access the covers. 

The visible chip key thing is a possible wear problem but is fairly easily bypassed with less than $1 in parts.  Hard part is finding the 2 wires to connect to.  I'm told that there is or was a module available for remote starters that also bypasses it.   

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

TJ, the part you mentioned about disintegrating might be the culprit the owner was thinking of when he said the heating/cooling problem was possibly a vacuum leak. I may do some "looking around" on the web for this and that. We parted amicably and he said to call him if I had further interest.

He chatted with Gay and thanked her for being "so patient" waiting in the car. He also commented that I talked about this and that even more than he did...

[gkhashem]

Barry


Here's another one in Indiana a 4.9L at these miles fuel injectors which were poor on 1st 4.9L should have been replaced. At 104K miles

https://www.ebay.com/itm/322839455351?ul_noapp=true

Looks like a lot of new parts cold AC

Not sure it is near you

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Thank you George, I have a call in to Bill Reedy (same town) to see if he can go look at it for me. (I'll check about the injectors.) I do prefer a slick top.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Cars with 4.9 liter could be programmed from the dash to disable the Service Ride Control message. It's been some time since I did one. I seem to remember having to access the IPC Override from the menu and using the cooler (blue) button to reduce the value to 0.

[TJ Hopland]

The T fitting I mentioned doesn't have any vac controls on it, its just passive.    I think the same or similar part was used on all the mid 90's Cads.  I remember replacing them on Northstar cars too.   Maybe the plastic didn't respond well to the DexCool?     

[smokuspollutus]

The T-fitting is a part of a lot of front wheel drive Cadillacs of this time to keep the heat hot. One of the legs is pinched to slow the flow of coolant down to make the heater core the path of least (or at least slightly less) resistance. I'm not sure when they stopped using it, but they were definitely on the 1993-previous models. Like many plastic parts that are under pressure and subject to huge temperature changes, they do get brittle and break. I have seen similar things happen to the hot water valves of the 70s/80s/90s which have a plastic mouth on at least one end.

[gkhashem]

http://www.chicagoautoplace.com/vehicle-details/used-1994-cadillac-deville-clean-carfax-leather-heated-seats-wood-trim-local-trade-bensenville-il-id-19160140

Another 4.9L car with 88K miles, nice color.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

George, thank you. I have a plethora of choices at present. A  red '92 that the owner hasn't bothered to return my call in NW Chicago, a beautiful '93 Sixty Special in Aurora, IL, and the guy in Joliet finally called back. His phone has been out. A black '95 SDV with a roof is owned by his father (89) that "if anything went wrong, he fixed it." He says that it's always been garaged. I will call Fred Butalla this evening. Glenn Brown thought he might be able to look at it for me. And I believe it hadn't turned over 100K yet. (The ad has disappeared.)