Leaky Air Intake 2001 Cadi

My husband tells me we have a leaky air intake in our 2001 Cadi de Ville.
Apparently, this causes excess fuel use?
Can he fix it himself? (The repair estimate was astronomical)

 

What happens these days is the ECU on your car calculates how much air is entering the combustion chamber and the in turn injects the proper amount of fuel.

So if you have a leaky intake, there are two possible outcomes. If it before the MAF (Mass Airflow Sensor) or what ever kind of sensor Cadillac uses, it becomes metered air...or in other words the ECU knows about it and it compensates by adding more fuel, which in turn will increase your MPG.

The other outcome is the leak is after the MAF and it is un-metered air, so the ECU doesn't know about it. Therefore it won't compensate for the extra air and your engine will run lean.

Seeing as how the price was astronomical to fix, I would assume your problem is in or around the intake manifold or throttle body. Or what happens alot is it isn't leaky, but the MAF is bad and you have to replace the sensor. I am not sure how much wrenching your husband has done in the past, so I can't say if he can do it or not, but to me and probably a few others on this board, it isn't too hard of a job. Then again, I don't know the layout of the engine.

 

Just curious, but did it have some symptoms or maybe a check engine light that led to the diagnosis?

 

i have a 2000 DeVille and EVERYTHING you do to it is EXPENSIVE! the problem is having the right tools. IF you can get TO everything, some problems are repairable if you have mechanical abilit. I have been working on the monsters for a while, but i take my wife's Caddy to the dealer. i just BITE THE BULLET and PAY. They are so complicated, one needs a lot of specialty tools and they are expensive. i have replaced every window regulator on the car(Factory Defect?). i know it is hard, but may be worth it. GOOD LUCK!