Cadillac CTS-V - Well i'm making the jump..

Whats up guys, Not really new to the forum kindof trolled for a few years but i'm more or less active on honda-tech, and now here.

I own a Performance business in Louisiana and mostly do imports and recently was making a jump over to a long time dream car of mine. Although i've been after a 09+ LSA, at this time, my budget will only allow me to afford the ls6.
With that said, i've been tuning cars, building motors and etc etc for along time now.. I've also been making custom cams for awhile now too. I'm not new to performance but its a learning curve a bit coming from honda's to this.


More or less I had a few questions about some things about the CTSV i was buying.. This particular CTSV was built at "texas speed performance" I've actually never heard of them and while test driving this car today, the crank pulley fell off..ya, thats right fell off. I'm a audi/porsche tech so i took along time looking this car over and what not, I did a pretty hard pull from 1-2-3, granny shifting kindof cause i didn't wanna scare the guy(lol) After, the A/C quit working, i assumed the belt had popped off.. Well when i popped the hood, not only was the belt cut up, but the pulley had fallen completely off. and also coolant was leaking.


I wanted to know has anyone experienced this? I was also told by the owner that the tensioner is a known " problem" on these cars for the ribbed belt. there is also another CTSV thats bone stock and has 123k miles. Both of these cars are 05's and both are six speeds, i'm more or less leaning towards the stock one because i dont want to inherit someone else's piss ass work.. if this is the case. The stock one would also allow me to do my own mods to it.. as well as put my own custom cam in..

Thoughts? Comments? Maybe a point in the right direction?

The guy was ready to sign the papers and I wanted a test drive, a real test drive before i spent some serious money..the guy acted like this has happened before.

Always test drive a car, always.

I've haven't heard of that happening but I may be wrong. Texas Speed is a well known shop.

Sounds like a coincidence. Heard good things about that shop.

TSP is one of the most respected shops and performance distributors there is for LS powered cars. Not the first time a balancer has fallen off, many threads on that happening. The crank pulley has to seat at 200 ft lbs, torqued to 30ish lbs with a new bolt, then tightened to 140 degrees. It common not to follow every step, but your pulley flys off at some point.

EDIT: Just wanted to clarify the above statement....I have no knowledge of a TSP installed pulley coming off, I meant to say that it is not the first instance of it ever happening.

TSP is among the best. I'm sure if you put the pulley back on properly. AFAIC, that's good grounds for negotiation.

TSP is among the best. I'm sure if you put the pulley back on properly. AFAIC, that's good grounds for negotiation.

Agreed

I'm not comfortable with parts falling off a car that's been worked on anywhere. You use a new bolt and torque it properly, things don't fall off. Period. "Well, it's a nice shop, so it's okay. It happens sometimes." Bullshit. What happens when it's a tie rod end? Or a wheel? How about a rod end? Why not just replace the airbag module with a shotgun cartridge for christ sake? It makes the same noise when it goes off!

In case you can't tell, shoddy work pisses me off.

Look man, nobody is disagreeing with you here...but I would caution you with regards to starting a thread meant to trash a very respected vendor and performance shop over a used car that you have no intention of buying.

In all honesty, unless you have the receipt for the work that was done or have spoken with TSP about the issue, you're just making yourself look like an ass.

Although I have never purchased anything from TSP, I have witnessed the lengths that they go to in order to help people here on the boards (for free). If there is a legitimate problem, TSP will go to great lengths to rectify the situation.

I would focus your attention on finding what you are looking for. Good luck in your search.

I've talked to a close friend of mine, Joseph davis who's tuned quite a few cars from over @ TSP. He speaks highly of them and i'm not doubting them, i've just never personally heard of them, it could also be because i've had limited hands on, in the domestic work.

In any case, i have the invoice of all the work done and a vin and all the owner's info. I plan on contacting TSP and asking them about the car.. like how it was taken care of before it was worked on, owners character etc etc..

I'm not too worried about a pulley falling off, its the fact that It was on a test drive, where i really didn't "get on it too hard" and it fell off..I drove almost 4 hours to see the car and test drive it, it would have been pretty pissy to buy the car and half way back home, the pulley fall off and cause something to go wrong or fly off and hit a car behind me and cause a wreck.
They said they'll have it fixed. The pulley and belt coming off, wasn't really as big of a concern as the coolant leak, which was from the front of the motor, i dunno why coolant was leaking..but..i dunno...i didn't look too hard, he quickly brought it next door to the shop that works on their stuff.

Since i have people's eye's on this thread, what should i look for on these cars? Its a ls6, i mean its almost bullet proof per say aside from reving it higher then 6200rpms..what are some things to look for? It drove smooth, definitely will need a retune, cel is on for cat delete plus it felt sluggish before 3k.

Is there anything that i should look for when buying this car thats already modded?

are you sure texas speed did the work, sounds to me like the previous owner bought a package from texas speed and failed to install the pulley properly.
texas speed customer here and couldnt be happier

I have an invoice for all the work, i just emailed them a full break down and link to the car for sale.. all work was performed by TSP via the owner/seller.

Not doubting their work at all..Infact, i'm hoping they did the work with all the great stuff i'm hearing from them.

Coolant leaks are a known issue on the V's...check the radiator where the hose goes in for any leaks at the base..

Thanks this is the type of information i'm wanting to hear..a better hose / clamp i assume would fix this?

or its the garbage plastic oem rads they came with

Alradco, and Ron Davis make really nice aftermarket radiators for these cars. If you need to swap a radiator you may as well do it right once and be done with it.

If you're going to swap radiators I highly recommend alradco. 50% the price of Ron davis with top notch customer service.

Thanks guys. I have another question? Whats the update on the rear end problems these cars do see from time to time?

I've spoken to a buddy of mine who is infact a caddy tech and said there wasn't any recall or anything of that nature.. what is something i can do...to make sure this glass rear end doesn't break under driving or racing conditions??

Aside from the upgraded bushing kits and other things.

CA 8.8 kit will make the rear end bulletproof for $4500. If you don't plan on taking it to the drag strip then gforce axles will be sufficient to prevent wheel hop on normal roads and any hpde. Also get rid of run flat if it still has them.

4500 isn't in the budget right now.. I have a race car lol.. This will be my daily driver, with a nice set of tasteful mods and a fairly quick car.. i'm not looking to run 10's but i'd like to hit low 12's stock block.. I'm looking to do the norm..Cam,headers,exhaust,intake,tune, clutch.

I just got contacted tonight about a CTSV in houston, just had the rear end bushings replaced, its a 04, but its in absolutely great condition.. So we'll see how that goes.. It'll be at the drag strip every now and then, but again this isn't going to be a race car..something i can drive daily and beat on every now and then.

i'm not looking to run 10's but i'd like to hit low 12's stock block.. I'm looking to do the norm..Cam,headers,exhaust,intake,tune, clutch.


That should get you close depending on what you can manage off the line. Most 60 ft's are in the 2.X sec range.

It sounds to me like you should get something else.

Me too!

It sounds to me like you should get something else.

Me too!

I agree with these guys...

i'm not looking to run 10's but i'd like to hit low 12's stock block.. I'm looking to do the norm..Cam,headers,exhaust,intake,tune, clutch.

it you want to run low 12s...you will need more then that or a different car. The vast majority of guys that are Cam'd with bolt ons are running mid-high 12s (12.5-12.7). These cars are just simply not designed for the 1/4. You can get them to be a fairly quick DD, that will give you some smiles. But if you take to the strip or do any kind of launchs on the car, you will be on borrowed time before something snaps.

Thanks for the heads up.. its really just a DD right now.. i'll do some rear end upgrades down the line.

Eh, don't worry about those guys. One's just mad because he can't sell his and the other is mad because it's not German.

op, here are some common things i would check. so i could knock down the price.
Condensation i reverse lights, will lead to water in the trunk-- easy fix
Obv, diff whine at 40-50 mph, pinion lash in and out of gears,
radiator leak around the crimps on the top right side of the rad
Crazy oil temp reading-- bad ground for the sensor on the gas hood strut
reverse lock out weak
broken heated seats
water from the sunroof staining headliner- easy fix- clogged sunroof drain
gold front calipers?- road racing or indent on the headliner from a helmet
how bad does the motor shudder on shut off? dieseling-- motor mounts/ flywheel
chatter at idle = fly wheel is coming apart-- wont leave you stranded but sounds like shit






it you want to run low 12s...you will need more then that or a different car. The vast majority of guys that are Cam'd with bolt ons are running mid-high 12s (12.5-12.7). These cars are just simply not designed for the 1/4. You can get them to be a fairly quick DD, that will give you some smiles. But if you take to the strip or do any kind of launchs on the car, you will be on borrowed time before something snaps.

/\ agreed 100% if your on the stock diff. i don't have any slips yet but a 4K launch in my car now fukin hooks. killled a gto last night with "mild cam" (thats what he told me at the next light) and headers/nocats.. he didn't launch and was pulling hard behind me but his 1st gear roll in did him in and i had him by a fender when we shut down.. im buyin a cam mount for next time

bought many products from them with good results and reputable customer service

idk about u guys but if i went to buy a car and it fell apart on the test drive i would turn tail and keep looking... i dont care if the golden hand of god worked on it i would not buy it..

Guys, what are some places to look / find Used Good condition CTS-V's i'm trying to stay between a 05/06/07 depending on price.. modded or stock, but mainly i want something that has been taken care of.. What are some sites or dealerships you know of? I can't really get a personal loan right now, due to me doing a credit repair through a law firm, so a auto loan through a dealership is honestly almost the only way i'll get that. My budget is 13-23k