RESERVOIR' (Oui. Its' French!)
MAY 2013
We recently purchased a Montana Blue '93 Allante and are in the process of having the fluids changed. In doing so we discovered what could be a potentially rare to nonexistent part. Here's what we learned.
The '93 Allante coolant reservoir was only on '93 Allantes. The brass necks can split and the coolant system will not pressurize and function properly. The reservoirs are a discontinued GM part and none are showing on Cadillac parts searches that I had been trying. They might be found for sale on Ebay but there are currently none listed there.
This makes me believe that these reservoirs have an issue with the brass necks splitting and can not be repaired. They are currently only available through junk/salvage yards or Allante specific service centers such as Allante Source & The Cadillac Allante Club, etc..
In our junk yard search, we located 3 near Lancaster, PA at a cost of $145 to $165 plus S &H. Allante Source thought they had a new one on a shelf for $110 but never called us back to confirm. Our other source never indicated if they had one or not, they were only interested in knowing why we wanted a second one? Well. We purchased a second to put on the shelf should we need it, or if someone in the Club might not be able to find one in the future. You might consider putting one on your shelf as well. You can contact us through the club and we will tell you where you might be able to locate one. There are national part searches on the internet that can also help you locate one. Buyer beware!
We did purchase one for $45 plus $10 S&H from a junk yard in Philadelphia, PA; it was the only one they had. The price seems to be in line with junk yard used parts. We called several other large junk yards, but of those, none had any.
Have a Happy Allante Top Down Day!
Budd & Darr Neidig