In reply to 84FSP :
The only obstacle encountered with the bottom seat skin was the power seat switches, other than that they are a snap to replace.
In reply to 84FSP :
The only obstacle encountered with the bottom seat skin was the power seat switches, other than that they are a snap to replace.
The last part........
Whelp, it was time to swap in the last part in this mechanical odyssey. The door lock...
In this day and age of key fobs, it would be easy to ignore the door lock.... but I'm old school and using a key to unlock the door is engrained in my DNA. Changing the lock cylinder was straight forward and without drama.
The warm and inviting cabin trimmed in rich leather is not too shabby for a $510.00 hooptie.
.......and done!
Nice work. That was a pretty quick turn around given all the work needed.
Great work. That generation Caddy rules.
In reply to ShawneeCreek :
Thanks!
My motivation for getting this done ASAP was the amount of space all the parts occupied. Today I'm sorting through the extra junk and getting ready to scrap the parts car.
As you know this was a massive nuts and bolts project, The only real problem solving was trying to figure out how to move all the big parts
To give an idea how extensive this project was, this tiny A/C bracket is the only original part under the hood of the car.
Catching my breathe here boss, wow that was quick.....great job!! and you really changed the rear susp's using a floor jack and jack stands....woof . Unfortunately ,I'm looking at a similar exercise with annoying 'popping' noises emanating from the left rear susp and a fuel leak(wetish) from the top of the tank making me not too happy......sure wish I had that two arm lift........
In reply to 759NRNG :
The rear subframe with the suspension is of course very heavy but is really easy to lower with a single floor jack under the differential. The hardest part of the whole job is disconnecting the parking brake and the hydraulic brake lines.
Pretty much self explanatory......
Pretty much self explanatory
According to OBDII Wan Kenobi there is a disturbance in the force.... Let's take a look.
I'm betting the spark plugs are the cause, but just in case I'll also move the coils. If this code comes back on a different cylinder then we will know for sure.
Changing the plugs on one of these engines is a lot of work for a typical Cadillac owner. There are half ass short cuts that can be done, but the proper way is to face the situation and do it right
The issue that scares a lot of folks is the upper intake manifold needs to be pulled to gain access to the plugs, however it ain't that simple. The intake manifold won't come off unless you remove a bunch or other stuff. Since I pretty much know this car inside and out, this will be a walk in the park.
This took about a half hour to disassemble
This cartoon looking box actually contains spark plugs. I'm not a big fan of gimmicky spark plugs and these may be a little over the top. Word on the street is the 2.8 will run better on platinum so nix the Iridium's.
New plugs are set to Richard Petty 43 thousands. The old plugs looked OK but were well past 50 thou on the gap.
New plenum gaskets were installed. Interestingly enough the genuine GM gaskets were less money than aftermarket.
Wishful thinking?... perhaps.... Anyway a week after replacing the plugs and the check engine light has not come back.
Stay tuned!
Now a non-hooptie! Great job Doc.
In reply to Agent98 :
Thanks!
Indeed, the Caddy is no longer a hooptie... it's actually a somewhat respectable car.
This cartoon looking box actually contains spark plugs. I'm not a big fan of gimmicky spark plugs and these may be a little over the top. Word on the street is the 2.8 will run better on platinum so nix the Iridium's.
New plugs are set to Richard Petty 43 thousands. The old plugs looked OK but were well past 50 thou on the gap.
That spark plug box looks like the background from a magazine ad from 1999 for something like Prolong or Slick 50. "Rev Up the Action in Your Car with Slick 50!"
That Petty picture is too fun.
Doc B.....looking at removing the entire dash in the 'V' to gain access to the mode actuator that resides behind the magnesium wall of 'pain'. In this thread you mentioned you had help with this rascal.....is that due to the sharp edges only or is weight/sharp edges when aligning for reinstall the deciding factor ? Any info is much appreciated before I disconnect the neg cable on the battery (SIR).....thanks
Oh my,
Unfortunately the best way to get behind the magnesium wall of pain to to pull the whole dash.
The air conditioning and heater pipes pass through the firewall and to avoid damaging them it takes two people to pull the dash.
I didn't take many pictures of the dash procedure, but getting the dash stripped to this point is ideal before pulling the dash.
Something to consider.... The magnesium dash is split and riveted together near the HVAC assembly. It looks like you might be able to drill out the rivets and pull the right side of the dash, thus exposing the HVAC thingy. I have NOT done this and it is only speculation. I still have the old magnesium dash and I could drill out the rivets to see what happens.
If you have to pull the whole dash, then this picture shows the firewall side of the procedure. The spike circled in red is what aligns the magnesium dash to the firewall. The gold panel that the green arrow points to has to be pulled with dash.
You will need to pull the steering column, disconnect the parking brake, purge the Air conditioning remove the heater hoses, unbolt the master cylinder ( leave the hydraulic hoses connected) and pull the brake booster. The brake booster has a locking tab that needs to be pushed in and the booster is then rotated counter clockwise to be released from the firewall.
DocB thanks for your response, from what I can discern thru alldatdiy I'm ONLY looking at disconnecting the steering column,releasing the clutch pedal assembly....and then the wall of pain.....where upon the MODE actuator should be somewhat 'visible'.....all $47 worth from gmpartsdirect (excl S&H)......can't even imagine (yes I can) what the local dealer would charge...does $1200 sound about right?
I reckon $1200 is about right, possibly on the low side.
I'm not a big fan of alldata. They claim the clutch pedal can be removed, however it is impossible.... I spent a whole day trying.
Anyway, I had a look at the 2003 dash yesterday afternoon and it appears that the actuators can be removed without pulling the magnesium wall of pain. If you can wait till this afternoon, I'll shoot some pictures.
You’re a much better man than I. I long for the days of my carbureted Samurai’s and their MB-3A simplicity.
Doc Brown said:I reckon $1200 is about right, possibly on the low side.
I'm not a big fan of alldata. They claim the clutch pedal can be removed, however it is impossible.... I spent a whole day trying.
Anyway, I had a look at the 2003 dash yesterday afternoon and it appears that the actuators can be removed without pulling the magnesium wall of pain. If you can wait till this afternoon, I'll shoot some pictures.
Many thanks Doc....I have plenty of time..awaiting your reply .
ebonyandivory said:You’re a much better man than I. I long for the days of my carbureted Samurai’s and their MB-3A simplicity.
Having the center console out of the 'V' to tighten the pinch bolt on the shifter awhile ago, I was hoping for a procedure with a little less drama.....that and I'm a cheap ba$tard
In reply to ebonyandivory :
When I started this project, I was way outside of my comfort zone. This car has too many gizmos and whatnot. The good news is it has a manual transmission so I don't have to worry about all the automatic trans BS.
The HVAC motors.......
I started taking a lot of pictures, but then had a brilliant idea.... why not make a video. Grab a beverage and some popcorn and enjoy!...
Doc B watched most of your vid thank you so very much.....if the wall of pain was left in place,could one actually remove the mode actuator ...the one closest to you with a little jiggle or am i'm looking at the full monty....wall of pain, yadda yadda....gimme some hope BRAH!!! better yet text ate3twofour6fiveone2twosix....late and mucho thanks!!!!
I'm not sure what motor is the mode motor, however it looks like all the motors can be replaced without pulling the wall of pain. There will be some blood, but nothing a band-aid can't fix. 
when facing the dash it is the module just right of the the center stack .....the one you fiddled with briefly first .....what had me wigged out was this whole mess 'out of the car' floating around in your garage.....so if the wall remains in place....in your opinion, i can retrieve this cursed mod actuator..but not without some 'skin' in the game ????
With the dash in the car all the motors are accessible. The motors right of the stack are the easiest to get too. You will need to remove the glove box to gain access to those motors.
removing the glove box.... well that is a bit of a pain. I'll have to shoot a picture tomorrow to explain.
waiting patiently.....thanks
You'll need to log in to post.
