I own a 2004 with 30K miles. Every once in a while after the car has sat for a few days when it is first started the engine seems to shake. It also has a noise that seems to come from the rods. I have had it at my dealer three times for this and of course they can not find anything wrong with it. Nevertheless this past time they told me that if anything happens to it that it has been documented and it would be covered by the warranty. Any suggestions out there?

A STRONG SUGGESTION: The first thing I would do is buy the extended GMPP warranty for up to 7 years.

JUST GUESSING---I am also thinking that oil is not moving through the system as it should during startup. A oil pump may be the works.

The dealer can drop the oil pan and check the crank and rod bearings for exessive wear.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Regards

You say it sits for a few days but that's pretty vague. Oil pressure does bleed off and the longer the car sits, the longer it takes to rebuild after startup.

I've noticed a shake and rough idle on several XLRs that subsides just moments after starting. The fact that yours is accompanied by a noise does raise some concern though.

Has the dealer been able to reproduce the same condition you've complained of? If not, I see no reason to disassemble the engine to check anything (and I doubt most Cadillac reps and/or service managers would either). If the noise is being reproduced and is recognized as being abnormal, then teardown can easily be justified. If not, the only way to have the internal components of the engine checked out would be to authorize the inspection costs yourself. Obviously, if there was a problem detected, your factory warranty would then cover all associated costs.

Are you possibly describing lifter bleed down?

Hydraulic lifters do sometimes bleed down slowly if the valve is open (and if they get worn, they will bleed down on any valve). This results in a 'tick' on startup which will go away very quickly as the oil pressure builds, but while the valve lifter is restoring the correct clearance that cylinder will run differently from the others which could lead to mild uneven firing. This is likely to be considered normal if it is mild. IIRC GM considers 'ticking' on startup as normal provided it has stopped inside 30 seconds (it might be inside 5 mins even on a cold day).

If you blip the gas pedal does it go away? Have you got the right oil?

Jonathan

The first thing before I even bought the car was add the GMPP for 3 years. The dealer can not replicate the engine noise. They did "decarbonize" it but the sound is still there. It is not a constant sound however a couple of times it has done it it gives you that sickening feeling in your stomach. They did change the oil and filter as per GM's specs. I got them to save me a sample of the oil and it did not show any bearing material or carbon deposits. The last time it was there they told me that it was documented and that if anything happened it would be covered by the warranty. I guess the XLR is supposed to have the Northstar engine but it would be a screamer with a Vette engine (I know I am going to hell for even thinking that).

Well Hogster works on these things but from my experience it would be nice to know that they at least tested the cranking and cold start oil pump pressure. It just sounds like you have a problem getting oil to the upper part of the engine at cold start.

As far as a Vette engine (ZR-1) or a XLR-V, I would suggest that the "V" will definitely surprise you. If it doesn't make you happy then go see D3 or Lund Cadillac for some upgrades.

BTW: I like Corvettes too and think the ZR-1 is a great car as well.

Regards

Sorry I have not replied to the last thread but the car has had other major problems. Although I don't smoke and have never used the lighter, about three weeks ago I accidentally pushed the lighter. Within seconds there was smoke coming from everywhere. Thank God I was at home and own an air compressor since I used it to extinguish whatever was behind the console and dash. Long story made short, the car's entire wiring harness has to be replaced. The dealer had the regional rep authorize the work under warranty. According to my service writer this is the 6th or 7th XLR this has happened to. I was there this past week and the car looks like a skeleton. The harness cost $4,000+ and it must weigh about 50 lbs. It will not be ready for another couple of weeks, I told them I did not care how long it took as long as they did it correctly! My wife found a picture of an XLR with the similar problem that began at the cigarrette lighter, except this one was a total loss.

Remind me not to try the cigarette lighter on mine! I would think it would have been fused to prevent this from happening. Actually now that I think about it I have plugged my Garmin GPS into the lighter socket, just have not used the actual lighter. In fact my car did not have the lighter in it when I bought it, non-smoker car.

A few months ago I bought a 2007 Chevy truck at auction that someone had cut the wires to the lighter to install some kind of radio. The radio was removed, but the wires were not taped off and shorted together. It blew the fuse and would have stopped there, but someone kept putting larger and larger fuses in the underhood fuse block until they melted the wiring in the harness. I pulled the dash out, removed the harness, and repaired all of the melted insulation and reinstalled it. Took me two days, but didn't cost me anything. The only permament damage was the lighter fuse in the fuse block. I can't imagine having to do this on the XLR though! Man what a mess.

Hi Steve,

Do you and anyone else besides me get the impression that vehicles make some kind of attachment to their owners?

Examples:
In 1966, I purchased a new Dodge Charger with the 383 Police Interceptor power train and sold it in 1981 with less than 80K miles on it.
The kid I sold it too only had it for a month and beside going thru 4 almost new tires (lead foot), blew the engine.

In 1981, I purchased a new 1982 Ford EXP (Escort 2 seater coupe) and drove it for 4 years and put 58K miles on it back in the Washington, DC and Nokesville, VA areas without a bit of problems. When my oldest daughter graduated from High School in 85, I gave her the Ford. She had the car for only 1 month when the timing belt broke. Luckly, we hadn't changed the registration and Ford rebuilt the engine at no cost to us.

In 1985, I purchased a new Toyota MR-2 and I only had 63K miles on it when I sold it in 2003. The person that bought in flew down from Oregon to take dilivery and drive it back home. An hour after he left for home, he called and said the headlamps would not come up. These were retrackable head lights and he said the lights themselves were on, they were not turning up mechanically. I told him to try rotating the switch, turning the lights on and off and after a couple of times, they deployed.

In 2004, I purchased a new Chevy Impala and gave my daughter my 1986 Cadillac Fleetwood De Elegents. She had it for several months without any problems then sold it to her boyfriend who shortly after breaking up with her was driving to work on the 405 freeway when the wiring under the dash suddenly caught on fire!

Get the picture?

Jack