Ah....but you're forgetting about the problem evil and greed. What if the mechanic knowingly designs the engine to fall apart right after the warranty expires in order to make him and his profession a lucrative income?
@@drmodestoesq you think they're not already trying to do that? I swear they have program in the computer that tells the car when it's out of warranty and then the computer acts up and makes the car quit. At least if they had to do the work, they would probably make it at least easy access so they could turn a buck faster. I used to own a damn Chrysler the actual book on changing a starter was to pull the engine. I didn't of course, but I did have to loosen them up and jack the motor up a bit to wriggle the old starter out and the new one back in. That's just ridiculous to pull a motor to change a starter, especially on vehicles known for being hard on starters. The real Dodges, made by the Dodge brothers, had a noiseless starter. Some had starters that were starters when they needed to be, generators the rest of the time. All the so called advancements they have these days ain't shit.
@@tootall5559 And why are the dealers up in arms about Tesla selling cars without the dealership model? Because instead of a car with 250 moving parts in the drive train and electric car has one. Well, that's probably a slight exaggeration but you get the idea.
@@drmodestoesq Tesla may have well it's got to have more than one moving part... no way it can only have one and have four wheels... anyway, Tesla's are not all that. They take a long time to charge and really don't have all that much range for the time it takes them to charge. When they can get 4 or 5 hundred miles on a charge that takes about the same amount of time as it does to fill your tank, then they'll have it. The battery tech probably exists, but the oil companies keep it under wraps. They've gone so far as to buy out companies with any advances and then destroy the company, and any of the existing batteries.
The sad thing is that Cadillac could have designed this engine with the proper head bolts for about $5 extra in manufacturing costs. Instead, they saved $5 and poisoned a Cadillac customer for life after seeing the $5000 repair bill.
@Bill Williams that's just corporate philosophy in general. When your job as CEO is dependent on providing returns to shareholders, you do cost cutting measures. Yea, sometimes they're really bad ideas.
My 03 Deville belonged to my Dad I'll never get rid of it it cost 1200 for all the gasket replacements if this happens ill just park till I can save the money i only drive it a few miles a week to keep it going..miss you dad
I can guarantee you an assembler was telling the engineers that this would be an issue but he didn’t have a fancy college degree so nothing was done about it
I am not in the auto industry. But the most important lesson I learned in my first year as an engineer is to talk to the ones on the floor working with the product daily before making any changes.
@@brad8644 I used to design software programs. I paid close attention to how people used and reacted to it. I wanted to hear what their thoughts were. Lots of question asking on my part. End users often times didn't have a college degree.
Agree! This applies to all manufacturing. My dad was chief color tube engineer at Motorola in the 50's & 60's and was the only engineer to talk with guys on the floor. Sometimes the quality assurance reports look good (99% passing inspection), but parts are BARELY within spec & all hell is about to break loose.
@@Rhaspun I design and build software for a living. The number of times we've had to tell 'architects' that their ideas were never going to work but were overruled by managers because the 'architect' has a higher level college degree than us programmers, only to be proven right that it was never going to work and then being blamed for 'not implementing the design properly' are legion.
Nah, the engineer and the assembler are on the same team. It's the beancounter at HQ who looks at the plans and scraps most of them as being too expensive and puts it all together with the cheapest parts bidder available. Especially with GM of this era. Literally every car they put out in the early 2000's was absolute garbage. It's amazing that anyone buys their vehicles after being exposed to the absolute shit they made ... and mostly still make.
I’ve had mine since brand new and I was one of the lucky ones. I’ve never had an issue with it and I’ve done all the maintenance on my own. The honest biggest pain was doing the rear spark plugs. Still runs great tho 18 yrs later.
I'd have to agree with this but I'm a little biased because I love the design of the 1993-1998 STS that uses the same engine. I would pay the $5000 if it permanently fixes the head gasket issue. i have had two of them though in my lifetime and never had this issue.
Not really dude. They have all sorts of electrical problems. Nightmare to trace and solve anything. Bad EGRs that get dirty all the time. Have to clean them much so It doesn't stall. A few other things I can't remember. I wouldn't recommend this car even though it is a nice looking car and has tons of power when it runs right. Key word When it decides it wants to run right. They can run great for a few days or weeks then run terribly for a day or two then magically it goes away. Headache car.
no they won't the heater and ac system will eventually fail the electronics will fail with the hundreds of sensors and repairs are still crazy expensive also you'll eventually have to drop the transmission and the engine leaks oil a lot
Compared to Scotty Kilmer, he's practically ASMR. As stated by a previous comment, just good info without the hype. The Ferrari and Bentley in the background go a long way to add cred.
Nice video. Well I worked at a auto plant and my best friend was the head machinest. I had a 4.6 Northstar with the blown head gasket. After disassembly he made all the parts I needed for the engine. It's been over 12 years and that engine is still going strong. And I did all the work while the engine was in the car. I guess anything is possible if your determined enough. I Love the Northstar engine. She is a Hell of a runner..
Just wanted to say thank you for the info. Bought the Northstar performance cylinder bolt set and installed it. It's not that hard, people. I have a 99 Deville with sentimental value and you saved the car for me. I was not going to do the dealer thing... However... This car only has 27,000 miles, and still smells new on the inside. I love you man. New subscriber.
Had a 2002 CTS. It was a great car. Fast, comfortable, and got great gas mileage. Traded it in for a C6 Corvette. Happy then, happier now. Just saying.
I was watching this and was thinking to myself I can finally go out and find me a clean El Dorado. I always stood away from those because of this issue. I have 2011 DTS no problems.
I have a 96. Got free. It's almost out, the water crossover though, what use a torch? Frickin thing, must have used water till starter finally couldn't turn motor over. Cylinder wash issue also. Wanting to fix both issues without spending much. Studs are getting more reasonable. Gasket kit still over the top. Gm should send out the gaskets.
I never understood this about Cadillacs earlier granny cars lol. Why make a car so big with such a big engine and disrespect the whole design by making it front wheel drive. RWD have always been more fun to drive, and easier to work on in terms of access.
@@antonyh37 probably would spin the back wheels like crazy with all the weight at the front. Would be fun to drive but no one in colder climes would buy. Don't want granny to get squished by a garbage truck spinning the wheels trying to get out of her driveway when there's a light dusting of snow.
I have a 2004 Bonneville GXP that has the Northstar V8. I'm currently doing this job as well as installing the Northstar Performance main studs and doing a full reseal on mine in my dad's garage. This project definitely isn't for the faint of heart. It has been a huge undertaking.
they made rwd northstars too, here in north america, i live in canada, climate is not very favorable for a rwd car, an heavy engine right on the front wheels will give way better traction in snow and has fewer moving parts so maintenance costs are lower, fuel economy is a bit better too
@@peterschmid5466 yea but if Im not mistaken the engine is mounted in the middle of the car wich leaves it plenty of space, rather then being mounted in between the front wheels.
I had a 2003 and a 97 both northstar.. neither one leaked a drop of oil. They were good motors to me. My 03 I bought with 123k miles I got into an accident with it 9 months later odometer read 148k when it was totaled. My 97 I bought with 116k miles. Totaled 3 months later with 123k. Had bad luck both incidents I had people crash into me and totaled them both. Not my fault and won both lawsuits.
Yea, my first car was a 2001 DeVille DTS and I lucked out with the engine. Even at 150k miles, I had instantaneous power, good getup, it was easy to control on DRY pavement with good tires. The only issue I had was a faulty EGR valve, few hundred dollar fix. Ended up selling due to it being a little too much power for my first car in my first winter of driving. Rode really nice, drove really nice. The interior was years ahead of its time. The trans synched power from the engine seamlessly, I loved it.
A big reason that things like this happen, is the designers retiring and being replaced by much cheaper new graduates from CAD schools, that have very little practical experience. So, every 10-20 years, a product line goes really bad and it takes time for the corrections to be realized ("not my fault' mentality), and the cycle repeats itself!
@@razor1uk610 This happens in Medicine, too. No one needs to die from "Ventilation pressures to the lung," IF...the ER Docs used an old Nursing-Procedure of putting the patient's head LOWER than his feet, on his tummy, and used "Cupping of your hands", "fremitus", or Vibration on the ribs over the lungs, while the patient "coughs", if he's able. If you CLEAR the lungs of the patient, he can't "drown" from Pneumonia/Covid/whatever, because THEN [--with clear lungs ] you can BREATHE and then you don't Need a Ventilator to shove gunk into the air sacks which doesn't "work" very well, sometimes blowing aveoli, like head-gaskets/tires. But every Hosp. Admission as a "Covid-vent patient" gets that Hospital a $39,000.00 pay-check! Only $13,000 per admission of a Covid NON-vent patient. So even Nurses "forget" their elder 'sisters' had simple measures to keep Granny from "Going-to-Jesus" too soon, if she had regular Flu/Pneumonia--not something "Fancy" like what Fouci paid $3.7 millions of our tax dollars for, to develope... in a lab... in Wuhan, China.
It's the same in engineering where you loose the experienced engineers and the green ones spit out whatever the computer says. Usually upper management don't have a clue as to why the computer wasn't totally correct. Experience would of questioned the head bolts.
I once went to best buy to get a printer, Thankfully the person who helped me said these words “ lets go checkout the cartridge prices first then we go check out the printers cause just because the printers cheap doesnt mean the cartridge will”
@ss Make the dumb bastards take the heads off in the car and install the helicoil inserts. I'm a retired Ford, Lincoln, Mercury technician, and I couldn't believe the stupid stuff over the years...
@ss What most people don't know it that the engineers who designed that engine probably had NOTHING to do with the head bolt selection. Accounting and production design guys make the final decision on many of those things.
My first car was actually a 99 DeVille that my parents got for free in a junk yard because of... Blown head gasket haha. We got it fixed for cheap (but super slowly) because we had a friend do it in his spare time (which he didn't have a lot of). It was fixed by the time I got my license, though.
We don't have this car sold here in Australia, but we've had some dumb designed cars, engines, and components, it's not unusual, but the dude that came up with that "fix kit" for that engine is clever, and as Mr Wizard has shown, a car once a heap of trouble can become a useful, reliable unit. Rock on Wizard!
@The Underground Man Duel citizen holder here U.S and Aussie. Plenty of low class people in both countries. Plenty of good people also. Give me a Toyota or Honda over the garbage any U.S based auto company spews onto the market. The bailout should not have happened. The American education system is disgrace, but that is a topic for another time. The first Toyota built outside Japan was in April 1963, in Melbourne, Australia, my town. From 1963 until 1965, Australia was Toyota's biggest export market. By the end of the decade, Toyota had established a worldwide presence, as the company had exported its one-millionth unit.
Dude don't blow your horn too hard, many of the Japanese manufacturers partially Toyota had similar problems but their issue was on the main crankshaft support bearings. It was also in the mid to early 90s.
blueknight To the customers defense, GM does bait you talking about some damn $7000 off MSRP at the dealer, they were famous for that and still are every time I drive past a GM dealer I see that
@@ryanmalin Yep theyre great when properly running. I have YET to ride in one properly running. I assume its like a 3.6 but with more torque. But thats speculation cause I only find busted northstars.
The 4.0 is the only version of the northstar worth buying and there's only one car that came with it. It's the smallest engine in the line up, but it's also recognized to be the most reliable in the line-up. That being said, if you're gonna get one, get one from 2001-2003 and get the fully loaded one (heated leather seats, bose surround sound system, etc) I'm talking of course, about the Oldsmobile Aurora. I grew up with those cars. I got my driver's license in my mom's 03 aurora.
I was in a consulting situation when GM approached us with an early design problem for the Northstar (somewhere around 1993). Their issue was that plastic springs in the upper heads were vibrating through the magnesium valve cover very quickly (like in 24 hours!). They had used (heat-resistant but highly abrasive) glass-filled nylon for these springs and came to us for a better design (as we were the material supplier). My immediate take on it was that they were missing the bigger problem, that the plastic springs would relax over time (and not be springs anymore). I told them to rethink both the nylon springs and the magnesium valve cover. They resisted and paid one of my more eager colleagues $100,000 over a year to fix the issue (only to ultimately discover that yeah, the idea wouldn't work). Northstar sucked from the beginning, like most half-@ss GM designs. Maybe we should talk about the Quad4 plastic intake manifold next...
When you walk into a shop for a brake job on your 1992 honda civic But you notice they are working on Ferraris, Bentleys, Porshas, even changing the flux capacitor on a delorean...
@@bennybenny3749 he did mention that at end of the line he does not really loose any money, he can sell a car at a loss but the youtube/sponsor revenue makes up for it. (said generally, if a car is bad and cost a lot to fix. it's good for youtube. if it's a good car and he sells it at a profit, it often was not a well viewed car on here. But yeah generally cars themselfs often did loose money.
I always wondered why Northstar engines had such a bad rep, but my 2005 SRX has never had any issues with its now 15 year, 160,000 mile NorthStar. But you are the first to give a clear explanation why.
Hey Toyota tried to save a buck on tacoma frames by cheaping out on the rustproofing and that blew up in their face hard. Local dealer as been slowly doing frame swaps on a few hundred trucks for about 4 years now. Every manufacturer is guilty of cheaping out its just that some hide it better than others and/or cheap out on the right things that done get noticed.
VW did the same thing in the 80's/90's by not putting a 15 cent circlip on the end of a transmission shaft which allowed it to slip and eventually wear a hole in the transmission housing. Once the fluid leaked out you could have a 4 grand transmission replacement next
Funny never paid five thousand dollars in repairs although I do change my oil and filters and fluids and preemptively replace worn parts I don't think I know what you mean a transmission rebuild for a 84 Vette is that's a 4speed automatic with drive and it cost only 3500 I'd say u got screwed
Sometimes I scratch my head at the engineering that goes into vehicles. The old saying is, if the engineers had to work on them, they'd do it a lot different.
As an engineer, for me it's a great design with ONE flaw that CAN be fixed on the bench. I've seen MUCH worse. Especially nowadays, where there is just NO fix at ALL. So it's a bargain car.
Even if the head bolt issues are addressed, they have a myriad of other issues. My FIL bought a Caddy with a low mile Northstar and it was lousy with all sorts of different problems. His hobby became hunting boneyards
@@hitek9too255 the car would have been great with an LS4. Reliable otherwise. I distinctly remember him having to collect pulleys because it kept eating them. Then the intake gasket went.
That's crazy, when I first saw the thumbnail of this video "The Dumbest Engine Design Ever", I was actually wondering if the Cadillac Northstar V8 engine was going to be it! Not to mention 4 of the spark plugs being against the rear of the firewall? Brilliant!!
Love your channel. Really NO 'clickbait' like so many others & straight to the point. Many thanks for your outstanding work / advices & God Bless!! 🤗🙏🙏🙏
I had a 1998 Oldsmobile Aurora, which had a modified version of the Northstar. Thankfully for me the previous owner had the foresight to have the head bolts replaced years before. Man that engine was silky smooth and quiet at low rpm but sounded soooooo good when you opened it up. And I put a good 150k km on it without issues it so with proper head bolts in they're actually really solid engines.
I had a '97 aurora. Had it up to 410,000 kms, until it needed a bunch of non-motor related work that wasn't worth the money. I did no engine work other than regular maintenance. I loved it, it was a great car.
I love that generation of the Eldorado. Is it the ETC? I'm not entirely sure what the ETC package had. I thought it had magnetic suspension and a few more ponies but I could be way off.
2001 Monolithic I have the ESC- ETC had 300horse 275 Torque, mine has 275 horse and 300 torque. It also had a really complex magnetic/air suspension, the esc has basic air but is still very comfortable! Also a CD changer and wood trim on the center console. Other than that, virtually the same! Great cars.
@@Breadts1cks I always wanted one and they were built 8 miles from where I lived. I ended up driving 5 different sedan deville's though. I loved the deville's but they definitely weren't sporty.
@@gtowrx2001 Hmm yea thats a time bomb. And the other trend of having the water pump run off a timing belt, and possibly be part of the tensioner. 2.0 ohc pontiac for instance. And alot of others. I play with vws mostly, they have you change the pump at a belt change. Still, ive seen em fail and ruin your engine.
Love it! No crazy guy just good sound talk/advice. I have a 2007 DTSl luxury 1. 65K miles have had since 2007 was an executive loaner. had 13K when i bought from respected Cad dealer had it's issues. Nothing major. Here is my issue and I understand a lot with this oil warning system light and beep comes on. I spoke with a family friend mechanic said it was a simple fix and in 30 years he has only seen 1 oil pump actually fail, What is it anyone know how? I know cars at 67 yrs old you had to back when I was young. The interior is mint, exterior near mint want to keep. Love the show ! All the comments help a lot! The car is prefect for my bad neck and spine thanks
The GM design committee screwed up a LOT of their products designs over the years. This is what happens when stock profits are more important than quality and reliability. That's a lot of labor costs to correct the problem. Love your videos!!! What's going on with the diesel Caddy?
I'm not even sure it was a cost savings issue. I think some freshly minted young engineer specced the bolt and threads without regard to the materiel the block was cast out of. A steel bolt into a wrought or forged steel part is usually going to have the bolt be the weakest part of the fastener assembly. For this, fine threads are advantageous because it increases the minimum cross sectional area of the bolt, meaning the bolt is stronger. Fine threads actually have more holding power (in steel), but in aluminum it's a weaker fastener because even though the bolt itself is stronger, with fine threads it reefs the female threads right out of the base material. I think where the GM-itis is with the Northstar is that when they started having issues, instead of fixing it properly by using LS7 studs or revamping the northstar design to use larger coarse threaded bolts, they bandaged it with the threadserts to fix the issue just long enough for the warranty to expire.
@@TyphoidMarypatrick Thank you for weighing in with an informed expert opinion. I didn't know the age old debate, fine vs coarse actually depends on the material. Can you explain what would have been a more robust alternative to a time-sert? Not familiar with LS7 head studs. Don't you need to repair the stripped block first?
@@d46512 well for new production they could have revised the block castings to accommodate a better fastener, and to fix the already produced one, recall for a drill and tap job like in the video. It would have been brutally expensive but probably not too much more so then the timesert installation and you wouldn't have a fleet of cars blowing head gaskets and pissing off owners. I personally know a few people who's STS's and XTS's made them loyal Lexus and BMW customers after having this problem and being hung out to dry after the warranty was up.
You wanna talk stupid design 02 to 09 GMC envoy trailblazer Bravada Rainier ascender the 4x4 front differential with axels through the oil pan and when the bearing for the driveshaft going into the back of the differential. It's easier to make it a 2wd by removing axels and driveshaft. Guess why if the differential fails which they do u gotta pull the damn motor cause no way of getting them out low past frame cross members and the dumbest shit I've ever seen that's horrible stupid design
Weird. I had one it was a 1996 maybe maybe it was a 1998 anyway bought it with 95k miles on it sold it with 225k miles on it. It never leaked while I had it.
I'm a first time car buyer and I found an '02 Cadillac El Dorado on (of course) craigslist for around $2k. The car looked remarkable but It had a blown head gasket so I decided to check what the repair cost and/or difficulty would be. Glad I saved myself that headache.
The sad fact that almost no one knows is that the original engineers on that engine DIDN'T HAVE THE FINAL SAY on what head bolts we're used. Accounting and production design departments make those decisions.
Yes! I totally agree with you! They did not let em correct the problems! True enginers will correct real world flaws!! Bean counters and management don't give a damn!! All products go through learning curves!! Hey how the hell did we make it to the moon 69? And solve APOLLO 13? P.S. I'm not A Engineer!! Worked in auto supplier industry I the 60s to 2000s!! Worked to solve problems!! PROUD SHOP RAT!!!
John Smith That was correct - until GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009 at which time General Motors Acceptance Corp (more commonly known by its acronym, GMAC) was separated from the car business and renamed Ally Financial.
Tucsonan Dude You can thank the Obama administration for that. GM tried to get out of defined benefit plans when they filed for bankruptcy but the UAW defined the terms of the bailout (to their members’ interests, of course) while white collar workers, retirees and GM bond holders all got screwed. Just another benefit to donating large sums of money to the Democrat party.
I still remember about 3 years ago when I first met you in the "gentlemen's" club. Was so impressed how all 5 of those ladies were so excited to "go for that 3 hour drive alone with you😉" that'a boy
yeah Sky that's great for you, this stuff frustrates me to death, I've started using the kids' term "BOOMER" for high-maintenance gear like this that needs so much specialization, most of us don't have time for that
rhubarb99999 me too 2005 124,000k for $2200 owned by an elder in Ft Myers Florida who traded it in. had a mechanic friend do a few things to it also changed the transmission inline myself slapped a K&N air filter on it so the engine can “breathe” & better mileage....car is practically brand new. This lady must of got everything done at Cadillac since she had it even the manual is in excellent condition
Yep. They can replace the gasket (for $2000) or used silicon glue (for $2000) that MAY hold longer….They have the nasa challenger mindset about everything.
Cheap, low-quality engineering and construction. My daughter owned a Cadillac of that era. It was the most miserable plastic pile of junk I've ever seen.
Mickey Bitsko ..Mine Too ! I have a 2001 and can’t afford to have it redone ! It’s a Great looking car still, but ...Can’t Drive it Any long distance !!!
And the handling was atrocious. My GF's dad had a mid 90s sedan, what a POS. He could have bought a nice used Mercedes or BMW that felt like an actual car and had twice the prestige factor. I have zero clue how Cadillac has stayed in business (I've owned 2 of them).
Many years ago a team were taken to the manufacture of emergency equipment. One demonstration that day was a new emergency flare. To cut a long story short it was a brilliant example of design. Compact and just so easy to use. One of the team went off and brought back a fire bucket (this is in winter) and asked the design team for a volunteer. One stepped forward, at which point they had their hands shoved into the bucket. After 10 minutes, they had their hands taken out and were given the flare to fire. At which point they could not even get through the wrapper, never mind actually use it. Lesson: design as if you're the person who will have to use it. Too many times car and engine design is predicated around the installation on the track, not down stream maintenance six years later.
a good question for a customer with a problem cadillac is "so what's your budget?" its a more direct question that can lead you down the road of passing on the undesirable work involved instead of wasting good time on putting together a bid for major work, much more than the value of the car, that the customer likely wouldn't (and usually shouldn't) pay for.
Start to finish i did this job in 40 hrs complete and running. I lifted the car off the engine and cradle , broke it down. Using time serts and the loctite. Has 70,000 mi,s since and runs perfect. 220,000 miles , don't use dexcool, corrodes the time sert. I keep good ole green ethylene glycol and some waterpump lube. If I had the extra money I would of bought the kits with the studs. Being a gm dealership flat rate mechanic for years you develop a mindset that makes you love stress and pain. I did this at home in my garage on a lift
Tbh.. When you buy a good car for 2k, spend 4k doing this fix, and then have a car that'll run for quite some years trouble free. 6k for a good car doesn't sound like too bad a deal imo. Saved myself a 2005 Saab 9-5 fromthe scrapyard. 500 bucks, new turbo and exhaust, daillying it ever since. Fix instead of throwing away.
Great video. I had a 2003 Deville that I was trying to work on, and gave it to my grandson. We tried to change the spark plugs and coil pack. Getting the back plugs and coil pack out was way beyond my ability or desire. He ended up letting the oil go dry and destroyed the engine. This was the second worst car I ever worked on the first was a 1986 Jag XJS with the V12
If you have a 4.6 with blown head gaskets, take the engine apart and inspect the block BEFORE ordering this kit. Not only were these engines notorious for head bolt failure, in many cases as some head bolts fail, uneven stress is placed on the block by the bolts that still have bite and the blocks will crack. A cracked block can NOT be repaired. There is a reason why 4.6 Cadillac powered cars are worth NOTHING on the used market.
@@MrSloika I honestly appreciate your advice, thank you for that. I personally don't own a vehicle with that engine, just thought it was a great idea, especially coming in that kit form. I totally understand what you're saying about a cracked block though, there's little to no chance of coming back from that. Thanks again man.
I spent some years at a Caddy dealer. These things would come in knocking so bad you would think you had rod bearings falling out. Problem was when grandma was pussyfooting a 275-300hp car around town for years it would build up carbon in the combustion chambers and knock like hell. We would take the car for a beat run/road test with the shifter set into 2. Run it for about ten miles at close to redline and it would be running quiet again.
SERIOUS QUESTION FOR THE CAR WIZARD DIDN'T NORTHSTAR ENGINES HAVE SELF SEALING CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS?? I have 2 S series Saturns with the 1.9 L DOHC engine. Both have the self sealing cylinder head gaskets. They came from the factory with sealing pellets in the cooling system which have to be replaced whenever you change the antifreeze... If you don't replace the pellets when you change the antifreeze, the head gasket usually blows within about two weeks. As long as you replace the pellets, the engines last forever and the head gaskets never go bad. As best I recall, it was caused by an aluminum block and aluminum heads and a steel gasket that expands at a different rate. Not that I"ve ever had a Northstar, but I tend to recall that some Cadillac's had the same system. In fact Barr's Leak Stop used to have a label on their bottle that read "Same as original GM sealant". I know GM still sells the sealing pellets, because I still use them on my Saturns and I have over 200,000 miles on each. They come in a blister pack of 5 or 6 and cost about $6.00 at the dealership. Is there any chance that Northstar engines blow their head gaskets about 2 weeks after you flush the radiator or do a coolant change? One last footnote, even for Saturn 1.9L engines, the pellets were very poorly documented. Some actual Saturn mechanics weren't replacing them and were blowing their customer's head gaskets by the mid-2000s when they did a flush service or replaced the antifreeze. GM wasn't very proud of the fact that their head gaskets needed sealer to work and never made a big issue over it. Any chance you've seen Northstar head gaskets blow a couple weeks after a cooling system service? I've been fixing cars for over 45 years... and I doubt many people care about 1990's engine designs anymore, and maybe self-sealing technology has been lost to history, but as you did a video on the topic, I thought you might still be interested and I'd love to hear your opinion.
I have the misfortune of owning a 1999 DeVille. As a retired driver for a brown army, used to pick up my cars and a motorcycle on my various routes. Good luck with all except for the DeVille. No bargain even at half off asking price. Leaks oil and transmission fluid which is sealed. Not putting good money into a bad car. Just waiting for it to die.
@@xtbum3339 You add it through the dipstick tube. How else would you refill it after doing a transmission pan gasket or something? They don't make you replace the transmission because a gasket is leaking.
Great video,very well explained, the highly loaded stud having a fine thread in a cast alloy block is just so wrong from an engineering standpoint .I can't believe it got through the the design phase .
One of my friends at work had an olds with a northstar. He loved the throttle response. Didnt drive it much, gave it to his son. His son blew the engine.
I'm gonna check that out because with the factory exhaust this 2000 DeVille roars nicely when you get on it & I bet you're rt about them FlowMasters!!!
This motor has a liquid cooled alternator and is still a technological marvel once the head gasket problem is fixed. The transverse ones had NYLON intakes for cooler air flow and when properly maintained are some of the most seemless motors on the planet. Air and exhaust flow were the only things keeping this high compression engine from another 60 to 80hp more.
yeah , dont leave out the fact that 5000 pound cars , even if powered by a v8 , don't do to well having to pull their weight rather than push their weight.....it's like being being 300lbs in a wheelchair and using your feet to get you moving ...GM put more technology into the marketing of that car ......because of what the designers were putting up their noses. Liquid cooled alternators (glitter!! Sparkles!!) wank wank....BMW had LCA's too....when you need a butload of juice to power a car that required to much to BE powered , well , shit gets HOT..........And those intake manifolds were not nylon , they were at best Recycled plastic....and the cheap rubber coupling they used to connect the throttle body to the recycled plastic manifold shows the poor quality of what the designers were putting up their noses......Moral of the story " stay away from the smart drugs" Cause the marketing department doesn't get paid good enough to work that hard.
@@mattriella6776 More engineering went into this car than ANY BMW of its day. The 740 and 760 both were plagued with nothing but serious electrical and fuel management problems. Those manifolds were not cheap plastic and Porsche copied GMs design. Mercedes was the actual overengineered car from this time period with overpriced parts. If you know that GM found ways of cutting cost to produce these luxury cars then you can respect their decisions. The 7 series didn't ride anywhere near the level of Cadillacs because they wanted performance. That performance came at a cost even German citizens couldn't afford at the time. The FWD was a safety measure that worked well in snowy climates and I dare anyone to drive a 7 series in winter.
Over the years, I’ve heard mystical stories here and there of these cars making it to 300-400k miles after they did these bolts right in 05. It’s such a shame that they had nearly a decade of issues before finally fixing this
Don Duke Mentioned Volvo because they were an near exclusive RWD company at one time. Citroen Peugeot etc believe we’re front driven from there inceptions. Not all fwd are bad, have a 93 Buick Skylark with the superior iron 90 degree v6. The later 60 degree Chevy v6’s were not as durable.
You are absolutely correct! Other than the head gaskets, they are very reliable and powerful engines. I have a beautiful 1998 Eldorado ETC that was given to me because of this. It as a very comfortable and sweet car! When I serviced cars for a living I saw lots of 250k and higher Northstar Cadillacs and even more high mileage 4.5 and 4.9 Cadillacs! I love these cars and will eventually buy a 2006-11 DTS!
Kind of makes me want to find one for less than a grand, and then have it properly repaired. Thanks. I always wondered why this Caddy was always dirt cheap.
That Northstar performance kit really is their saving grace. Plus it would be actually be able to sell for more money since the car would be reliable after the installation.
Shit Box Unless he just wants a Cadillac..... Hell, I would kill to have a 1999 Seville STS just because of the fact that car is one of my favorite all-time cars simply because of its styling. It might be ass ugly to some people, but a Seville STS from 1998-2003 (2004 in Canada) needs to find its way into my driveway lol I would drive it till the day I died, and I’m not even 30 yet. I’m not even 25 yet.
I have been driving a 2001 Olds Aurora with the 4.0 Northstar V8 since 2000. I am not an easy driver. I pay attention to oil changes and cooling system maintenance. Head gasket problems in that time? ZERO!!!!!!!
How many miles ? I had 98 or 2000 aurora . The car had the most comfortable seats in the world . I had 2002 caddy no overheating issues bout 120-130k miles.
@@rickybobbydastar6534 Yes.....it needed spark plugs & spark plug insulators 3 years ago. And then in 2020 it needed a fuel pump. Other than that, it's been trouble free.
@@Marc816 oh yeah u got the new body style one , I luv those . Bro I had the 99 bodystyle . 170k miles when I bought it . Kept it for 8 months , new alternator, fist mechanic didn’t know what he was doing. New torque converter and no problems . I only paid 700 for it .
Interesting fix for the Northstar. At first I thought it was stupid for the oil filter placement. But the key takeaway from this video is, I WANT THAT SHOP. Damn that is nice sized.
Gramma had one of these. White, 2002 with an automatic. Had the engine rebuilt 1 time in the 10 years she owned it. After she passed away we sold it for 3k
Thank you for explaining the problem,I owned a 2002 and really liked the car and I sold it before the problem occurred. I now own a 2006 and am VERY happy to hear your comment that the problem was corrected in 2005.
You didnt mention the the water pump location, and also the dumb location where the starter is located. Under the intake manifold. I dont like that motor one bit.
Those arent really issues with the engine. It doesnt make or break the engine. Infact it's common place for the starter placement on a lot of vehicle with a transverse trans
"Planned Obsolescence" : a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.
“Never attribute to malice what is more reasonably attributed to stupidity.” I’m sorry, I can’t give a design this bad the credit of forethought that is required for planned obsolescence. If it was planned obsolescence they wouldn’t have fixed the problem. This was just stupidity winning the day.
During an interview with GM engineers about a decade ago they calmly admitted that the. Cadillac was designed to operate with minimal warranty issues fir the term of its first lease only. This is very carefully planned obsolescence.
Wow, just named how money is made. You're right. I've been a mechanic for 37 years. The "Northstar" pulled the the head bolts/ studs out of the block. The fix is to pull the engine and anchor the head studs deeper into the block. At about 140K miles, is it worth it?
Hey Everett, very enlightened comment. If they were really that smart, they just would have found a cheaper supplier for the larger bolts it really needed. This is just plain old stupidity and not a conspiracy.
1998 Seville STS L37 NorthStar owner here. Rear Head Gasket went in 2007 at 79,000 Miles. Dropped the Engine and Bought the Repair Kit and Head Studs from NorthStar Performance. Replaced a few hoses and pipes while it was easy to replace at that time. Car has 165,000 miles on it now and it still runs perfect. Just serviced the 4T80E Bulletproof Transmission. Still drive the car every day. GM Should have fixed these a decade before they did. The NorthStar gets great mileage and runs smooth and gets it done when you give it throttle! VERY soon, handing it down to my daughter! Youngstown Automotive
I worked at a Cadillac store in the 90's when that engine came out. A couple of things you didn't mention, and maybe weren't aware of, on those early motors, that make the Northstar *the worst engine in my book.* 1-The oil pump gerotor ran off the front crankshaft snout and there was no keyway to lock it into place! It was held in place by the torque on the harmonic balancer bolt, which would often fail and the engine would lose all oil pressure. Brilliant Idea from an engineer that decided they could save 50 cents on each engine by not putting a keyway on the crank snout since he figured it didn't need one! 2-The crankshaft main bearings cradle had a lousy seal setup and would weep oil, very slowly, so that the hoses and mounts, everything rubber under the hood, would deteriorate from the oil mist getting on them. I don't remember any Northstar engine with 50,000 miles on it that I worked on that DIDN'T have a thin film of engine oil on everything under the hood.
This scenario is going to become evermore common with the introduction of all of these supercharged, turbo, undersized aluminum engines. Out of warranty...out of luck.
I owned a 1993 STS with northstar and my water pump went out. The mechanic I took it to said he would never work on a northstar caddy again. Apparently, you have to unbolt the motor mounts and jack the engine to access the water pump.
The same was true in a Chrysler minivan I owned with the Mitsubishi 3.0L V6. Just about any transverse engine mount vehicle requires an engine mount removal at a minimum to replace a water pump. I replaced the timing belt in that thing while I had it all apart and drove it for many years before selling it (and it still ran like a champ despite being over 20 years old and over 200K). You take care of your car, it will take care of you.
@@michaelvargas2900 Odd, had a 93 NS Eldorado, did the WP in my driveway with a hammer and a big screwdriver on a weeknight in the late 90s. Big socket would have been nice, but I didn't know until I was in there, no internet resources like now. The tabs started to bend, but it came loose before they all bent over. Wonder if your guy overlooked a shortcut or if the Eldo had more clearance in the bay.
Original owners never really had to do maintenance. When they entered the used market, most probably had oil changes only. Northstar was created in early 90's to be maintenance free for 100k. Caddy buyers typically traded in long before that. What other car from that era gave that kind of performance and longevity? I own a '94 Concours thats been properly serviced it's whole life. Of course my model never had dexcool...
Aside from the head bolts I think the Northstar is a good engine. Silky smooth, great power, and incredible mileage. Lots of way worse engines to be had.
I bought a 2005 Deville w 88k miles. $2300. 26mpg at 79mph, blows my mind. Post head bolt fixed models, they get really great reviews for long term reliability
I totally agree, turbolq4! I don't know, maybe some of us got lucky, but the Northstar in our '04 is an awesome engine...... awesome POWER and acceleration, S-M-O-O-T-H, and that SOUND when you step on it? That says it all, baby!!.....a powerful beast in a high class suit! If you set aside the sadistic torture fantasies sparked by working on anything in it, on it or under it, an SRX with a Northstar V8 is a beautiful thing!
@@katrenco Oh yeah ! That muted v8 roar when you floor it ! Sounds incredible- sweet music . The Deville really gets out of it's own way. Fast luxury sedan ! Great handling too ! No body roll in hard cornering, really holds the road
My 04 Cadillac Escalade 6.0 in the other hand has 198,000 miles runs like new 0 problems bought her brand new at Tom peacock Cadillac in Houston back in 03
@@chriss5181 Totally different engine in a totally different vehicle. Escalade is a dressed up GMC Yukon with an LS and built in a GM truck plant. They are great and the 6.0l goes 300k easily if you take care of it.
It was so funny hearing Richard Hammond obsess about how reliable the car is, and yet it was the only one to completely break before the show was over.
My parents had a 2005 DeVille that they inherited from my deceased grandfather back in 2008. Probably the most comfortable car I've ever been in & had good handling for how big it was, but it had non-stop problems ever since we first got it. The transmission had to be rebuilt twice, was always leaking something & three of the power windows broke where they would go down, but not up. Had around 50k miles when we got it & 100k miles when we got rid of it. Eventually replaced it four years ago with a new 2017 Camry XLE 4-Cylinder that I recommended. Has 50k miles on it now & hasn't had any problems yet as expected.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
No stupid intro, no stupid sound effects, no stupid editing -- just calm, focused, precise information. Love this channel.
@Slap yo momma Agree 100%
You mean no revving engine intro?
REV UP YOUR ENGINES!!!!
[unfitting music ensues]
Yessss
Absolutely I could watch the car wizard all day. I love learning new tricks off of him.
to get a degree, all automotive engineers should have to work as a mechanic for four years or so before they're allowed to design a damn thing.
Ah....but you're forgetting about the problem evil and greed. What if the mechanic knowingly designs the engine to fall apart right after the warranty expires in order to make him and his profession a lucrative income?
@@drmodestoesq you think they're not already trying to do that? I swear they have program in the computer that tells the car when it's out of warranty and then the computer acts up and makes the car quit. At least if they had to do the work, they would probably make it at least easy access so they could turn a buck faster. I used to own a damn Chrysler the actual book on changing a starter was to pull the engine. I didn't of course, but I did have to loosen them up and jack the motor up a bit to wriggle the old starter out and the new one back in. That's just ridiculous to pull a motor to change a starter, especially on vehicles known for being hard on starters. The real Dodges, made by the Dodge brothers, had a noiseless starter. Some had starters that were starters when they needed to be, generators the rest of the time. All the so called advancements they have these days ain't shit.
@@tootall5559 And why are the dealers up in arms about Tesla selling cars without the dealership model? Because instead of a car with 250 moving parts in the drive train and electric car has one. Well, that's probably a slight exaggeration but you get the idea.
@@drmodestoesq Tesla may have well it's got to have more than one moving part... no way it can only have one and have four wheels... anyway, Tesla's are not all that. They take a long time to charge and really don't have all that much range for the time it takes them to charge. When they can get 4 or 5 hundred miles on a charge that takes about the same amount of time as it does to fill your tank, then they'll have it. The battery tech probably exists, but the oil companies keep it under wraps. They've gone so far as to buy out companies with any advances and then destroy the company, and any of the existing batteries.
All Drs should have, or have had, a serious pain problem as well. My suggestion is smash their hand with a hammer, then talk pain with them.
The sad thing is that Cadillac could have designed this engine with the proper head bolts for about $5 extra in manufacturing costs. Instead, they saved $5 and poisoned a Cadillac customer for life after seeing the $5000 repair bill.
Ody 2002 GM and Chrysler seem to do this sort of cost savings stuff over and over
The good old homer simpson engine
Exactly right. My last GM will be my LAST GM. Built out of stupidity.
@@billcoulter9879 You think ONLY GM and Chrysler do this?! ROFL
@Bill Williams that's just corporate philosophy in general. When your job as CEO is dependent on providing returns to shareholders, you do cost cutting measures. Yea, sometimes they're really bad ideas.
My 03 Deville belonged to my Dad I'll never get rid of it it cost 1200 for all the gasket replacements if this happens ill just park till I can save the money i only drive it a few miles a week to keep it going..miss you dad
yep. some cars are def worth keeping
The car can stay, the engine nahh
I'm sorry about your dad RIP
@@Maximus20778 if you take care of it and dont go crazy, it will last a while. Just hope the block doesnt crack.
@@MrThunderCunt you gotta baby it😂
Someone, somewhere just bought this car and then found your video 😆
😭😂😂😂😂 💀
I did😂🤦♂️
austinchapa _99 damn bro 😂😂😂
😈
I bought one a year ago and i have a video where i put 32 ounces of diesel additive in the tank.
"This is the dumbest car I have ever seen."
*makes phone call*
"Hey Tyler, got a car you might be interested in."
snappy452 lmaooo ACCURACY is UNDEFEATED
Ha! I lol'd
My name is Tyler💀
@@E46TY RUN
The dumbest car I've seen is a yougo
I can guarantee you an assembler was telling the engineers that this would be an issue but he didn’t have a fancy college degree so nothing was done about it
I am not in the auto industry. But the most important lesson I learned in my first year as an engineer is to talk to the ones on the floor working with the product daily before making any changes.
@@brad8644 I used to design software programs. I paid close attention to how people used and reacted to it. I wanted to hear what their thoughts were. Lots of question asking on my part. End users often times didn't have a college degree.
Agree! This applies to all manufacturing. My dad was chief color tube engineer at Motorola in the 50's & 60's and was the only engineer to talk with guys on the floor. Sometimes the quality assurance reports look good (99% passing inspection), but parts are BARELY within spec & all hell is about to break loose.
@@Rhaspun I design and build software for a living. The number of times we've had to tell 'architects' that their ideas were never going to work but were overruled by managers because the 'architect' has a higher level college degree than us programmers, only to be proven right that it was never going to work and then being blamed for 'not implementing the design properly' are legion.
Nah, the engineer and the assembler are on the same team. It's the beancounter at HQ who looks at the plans and scraps most of them as being too expensive and puts it all together with the cheapest parts bidder available. Especially with GM of this era. Literally every car they put out in the early 2000's was absolute garbage. It's amazing that anyone buys their vehicles after being exposed to the absolute shit they made ... and mostly still make.
We used to have a Northstar V8 coffee table....even then it managed to crack the block by being a coffee table😂
😂🤣😂
🤣😅😆
That a little far-fetched!
🤣😂🤣
😂😂😂😂 how?!!!
I’ve had mine since brand new and I was one of the lucky ones. I’ve never had an issue with it and I’ve done all the maintenance on my own. The honest biggest pain was doing the rear spark plugs. Still runs great tho 18 yrs later.
What year is it??
Got a 2002 with 240,000 miles on it and drive it every day.
@@fabfrith I hit 245,000 miles on mine. Sadly oil started dripping this month.
@@fabfrith I was able to go on 240 plus miles without any issue.
I replaced all my spark plugs on my 02 Eldorado a month ago, so I know what you mean. Not the funnest thing to do.
I'd say doing this repair is worth the value as once this repair is done they will run trouble free for years and as stated they are very nice cars.
I'd have to agree with this but I'm a little biased because I love the design of the 1993-1998 STS that uses the same engine. I would pay the $5000 if it permanently fixes the head gasket issue. i have had two of them though in my lifetime and never had this issue.
Not really dude. They have all sorts of electrical problems. Nightmare to trace and solve anything. Bad EGRs that get dirty all the time. Have to clean them much so It doesn't stall. A few other things I can't remember. I wouldn't recommend this car even though it is a nice looking car and has tons of power when it runs right. Key word When it decides it wants to run right. They can run great for a few days or weeks then run terribly for a day or two then magically it goes away. Headache car.
no they won't the heater and ac system will eventually fail the electronics will fail with the hundreds of sensors and repairs are still crazy expensive also you'll eventually have to drop the transmission and the engine leaks oil a lot
Compared to Scotty Kilmer, he's practically ASMR. As stated by a previous comment, just good info without the hype. The Ferrari and Bentley in the background go a long way to add cred.
Scott= Toyota celica
Kento Wakai ,Scotty is a complete drama queen.
Cars in the background add credit?? 😂😂😂
WHATS WRONG WITH SCOTTY? DONT LIKE HIS OVER THE TOP DELIVERY? (Insert gif that makes little sense to my statement. )
@@greenidguy9292 No, "credibility", ffs.
Nice video. Well I worked at a auto plant and my best friend was the head machinest. I had a 4.6 Northstar with the blown head gasket. After disassembly he made all the parts I needed for the engine. It's been over 12 years and that engine is still going strong. And I did all the work while the engine was in the car. I guess anything is possible if your determined enough.
I Love the Northstar engine. She is a Hell of a runner..
The head bolts were the Achilles heel for sure.... but other than that it is a hell of an engine, yeah
Just wanted to say thank you for the info. Bought the Northstar performance cylinder bolt set and installed it. It's not that hard, people. I have a 99 Deville with sentimental value and you saved the car for me. I was not going to do the dealer thing... However... This car only has 27,000 miles, and still smells new on the inside. I love you man. New subscriber.
Did you take the engine out or do it with it in? If you did it with the engine in how did you do it
Had a 2002 CTS. It was a great car. Fast, comfortable, and got great gas mileage. Traded it in for a C6 Corvette. Happy then, happier now. Just saying.
I was watching this and was thinking to myself I can finally go out and find me a clean El Dorado. I always stood away from those because of this issue. I have 2011 DTS no problems.
I'm buying a 99 DeVille too
I have a 96. Got free. It's almost out, the water crossover though, what use a torch? Frickin thing, must have used water till starter finally couldn't turn motor over. Cylinder wash issue also. Wanting to fix both issues without spending much. Studs are getting more reasonable. Gasket kit still over the top. Gm should send out the gaskets.
4.6 Litre, 32 valve, V8...all the right noises so far....FWD. OH FFS!
Aluminum, dual overhead cams
The cars should have been rear drive. For easier maintainance and better balance and performance
Yeah fuck that
I never understood this about Cadillacs earlier granny cars lol. Why make a car so big with such a big engine and disrespect the whole design by making it front wheel drive. RWD have always been more fun to drive, and easier to work on in terms of access.
@@antonyh37 probably would spin the back wheels like crazy with all the weight at the front. Would be fun to drive but no one in colder climes would buy. Don't want granny to get squished by a garbage truck spinning the wheels trying to get out of her driveway when there's a light dusting of snow.
I have a 2004 Bonneville GXP that has the Northstar V8. I'm currently doing this job as well as installing the Northstar Performance main studs and doing a full reseal on mine in my dad's garage. This project definitely isn't for the faint of heart. It has been a huge undertaking.
Damn I didn't realise the GXP had the North Star too. Ouch. Don't see many around
The Bonneville did have the Northstar as an option. It was the Grand Prix that could have the ls4 5.3. So this guy is not lying out his arse!
oh shit my bad i did't see he said bonneville Alex Bogard my bad i deleted my screw up hope you and your dad have fun with your project
Definitely don't see many of those V8 gxps...
Best of luck to you Alex
I'm european, to me the transversely mounted V8 looks cursed enough :D
they made rwd northstars too, here in north america, i live in canada, climate is not very favorable for a rwd car, an heavy engine right on the front wheels will give way better traction in snow and has fewer moving parts so maintenance costs are lower, fuel economy is a bit better too
@@retrocompaq5212 I live in Canada too. Northstar were in FWD cars like DTS
@@retrocompaq5212 I don't know of any RWD cars with a Northstar. Can you mention one, please?
The Ferrari 328 has also a transversely mounted V8
@@peterschmid5466 yea but if Im not mistaken the engine is mounted in the middle of the car wich leaves it plenty of space, rather then being mounted in between the front wheels.
when the northstar runs properly though, damn what a great v8
Ikr
I had a 2003 and a 97 both northstar.. neither one leaked a drop of oil. They were good motors to me. My 03 I bought with 123k miles I got into an accident with it 9 months later odometer read 148k when it was totaled. My 97 I bought with 116k miles. Totaled 3 months later with 123k. Had bad luck both incidents I had people crash into me and totaled them both. Not my fault and won both lawsuits.
That may be true but I wonder how many people just wanna call the engineers and cuss them out for such a boneheaded design.
@@ZRZ71 Who cares!
Yea, my first car was a 2001 DeVille DTS and I lucked out with the engine. Even at 150k miles, I had instantaneous power, good getup, it was easy to control on DRY pavement with good tires. The only issue I had was a faulty EGR valve, few hundred dollar fix. Ended up selling due to it being a little too much power for my first car in my first winter of driving. Rode really nice, drove really nice. The interior was years ahead of its time. The trans synched power from the engine seamlessly, I loved it.
Dam wizard I didn't think you were that old, "already has a kid thats driving"
Kansas bro, he probably put a ring on it during recess lol... that’s how folks get to celebrate 50 and 60yr anniversaries!
@@Van-tastic nothing wrong with that
Hot prom night... 🤔
That's what I Thought! Just like seeing Chester Bennington's 22 year old son Re-recording his songs
Same here bro. Blew my mind. Dude is a true wizard
A big reason that things like this happen, is the designers retiring and being replaced by much cheaper new graduates from CAD schools, that have very little practical experience. So, every 10-20 years, a product line goes really bad and it takes time for the corrections to be realized ("not my fault' mentality), and the cycle repeats itself!
that is a good-point, the retention or loss of 'instutional knowledge' insider knowhow & do-nots within a factory/company etc.
@@razor1uk610 This happens in Medicine, too. No one needs to die from "Ventilation pressures to the lung," IF...the ER Docs used an old Nursing-Procedure of putting the patient's head LOWER than his feet, on his tummy, and used "Cupping of your hands", "fremitus", or Vibration on the ribs over the lungs, while the patient "coughs", if he's able. If you CLEAR the lungs of the patient, he can't "drown" from Pneumonia/Covid/whatever, because THEN [--with clear lungs ] you can BREATHE and then you don't Need a Ventilator to shove gunk into the air sacks which doesn't "work" very well, sometimes blowing aveoli, like head-gaskets/tires. But every Hosp. Admission as a "Covid-vent patient" gets that Hospital a $39,000.00 pay-check! Only $13,000 per admission of a Covid NON-vent patient. So even Nurses "forget" their elder 'sisters' had simple measures to keep Granny from "Going-to-Jesus" too soon, if she had regular Flu/Pneumonia--not something "Fancy" like what Fouci paid $3.7 millions of our tax dollars for, to develope... in a lab... in Wuhan, China.
@@jackdale9831 that's what I thought.
It's the same in engineering where you loose the experienced engineers and the green ones spit out whatever the computer says. Usually upper management don't have a clue as to why the computer wasn't totally correct. Experience would of questioned the head bolts.
@@jackdale9831 wow!😨
I once went to best buy to get a printer,
Thankfully the person who helped me said these words “ lets go checkout the cartridge prices first then we go check out the printers cause just because the printers cheap doesnt mean the cartridge will”
Did u thank him for his help and toss his salad?
Truuuu
@@wildestcowboy2668lmao
That's why nobody buys cartridges. They just buy a new printer. I've been doing it that way for years
Should make all engineers work on their own shit..
@ss
Make the dumb bastards take the heads off in the car and install the helicoil inserts. I'm a retired Ford, Lincoln, Mercury technician, and I couldn't believe the stupid stuff over the years...
How many hours I spent under a hood cursing and wishing for that very same thing.
Brilliant comment.
@ss What most people don't know it that the engineers who designed that engine probably had NOTHING to do with the head bolt selection. Accounting and production design guys make the final decision on many of those things.
Let em change the alternator in that pile of shit. Oh right... you have to take the intake off.... fuck I hated that job.
Preach!
My first car was actually a 99 DeVille that my parents got for free in a junk yard because of... Blown head gasket haha. We got it fixed for cheap (but super slowly) because we had a friend do it in his spare time (which he didn't have a lot of). It was fixed by the time I got my license, though.
Nice you look bomb too babe
@@secredeath thanks!
Sweet do you still drive it?
@@-db-7901 Noo that was a long time ago. I have a Veloster N now lol
@@secredeath She looks alright. 300lbs is in now.
We don't have this car sold here in Australia, but we've had some dumb designed cars, engines, and components, it's not unusual, but the dude that came up with that "fix kit" for that engine is clever, and as Mr Wizard has shown, a car once a heap of trouble can become a useful, reliable unit.
Rock on Wizard!
@The Underground Man Duel citizen holder here U.S and Aussie. Plenty of low class people in both countries. Plenty of good people also. Give me a Toyota or Honda over the garbage any U.S based auto company spews onto the market. The bailout should not have happened.
The American education system is disgrace, but that is a topic for another time.
The first Toyota built outside Japan was in April 1963, in Melbourne, Australia, my town. From 1963 until 1965, Australia was Toyota's biggest export market. By the end of the decade, Toyota had established a worldwide presence, as the company had exported its one-millionth unit.
How long after GM discovered this issue was the design changed? “Known issues” in American cars is why Japan took over and dominated the industry
Dude don't blow your horn too hard, many of the Japanese manufacturers partially Toyota had similar problems but their issue was on the main crankshaft support bearings. It was also in the mid to early 90s.
@Prime Artemis yet german cars are the most unreliable cars on the planet weird 🤔
Mazda's 626 sedans had horrible transmissions...
Same with the motorcycle industry in the U.K.
@@MJT-DA Because they are manufactured in mexico 🤣
And they just kept on selling them......G.M. is always worried about the next quarter.
Dan Collins yes this was pitiful
They quit selling them in 2011 I believe.
Nicholas M damn i thought they stopped in like 2006 lol
Gm kept selling them because stupid consumers kept buying them.
blueknight To the customers defense, GM does bait you talking about some damn $7000 off MSRP at the dealer, they were famous for that and still are every time I drive past a GM dealer I see that
I used to own a 2003 Seville. Apart from this issue, the engine is really smooth and powerful.
Yeah, they run great when they run but man they are expensive to fix
That's true. If you find one like the Wizard's, that has been fixed or one built after 2005 it's an interesting option.
@@ryanmalin Yep theyre great when properly running. I have YET to ride in one properly running. I assume its like a 3.6 but with more torque. But thats speculation cause I only find busted northstars.
LD8 or L37?
Know a guy who swapped a 2006 northstar and transaxle into his 96? (I think) Chevy lumina... badass ride! But the guys a dork.
It’s called the death star actually.
The 4.0 is the only version of the northstar worth buying and there's only one car that came with it. It's the smallest engine in the line up, but it's also recognized to be the most reliable in the line-up.
That being said, if you're gonna get one, get one from 2001-2003 and get the fully loaded one (heated leather seats, bose surround sound system, etc) I'm talking of course, about the Oldsmobile Aurora.
I grew up with those cars. I got my driver's license in my mom's 03 aurora.
Perfect example of why the world is going electric.
LMFAO good one
@@shepherdsknoll8 because some engineer at GM didn't understand machining? Really reaching there
@@iraqifoodcart8447 I have the Aurora right now. It's my first car and I absolutely love it but it can be a fucking nightmare
I was in a consulting situation when GM approached us with an early design problem for the Northstar (somewhere around 1993). Their issue was that plastic springs in the upper heads were vibrating through the magnesium valve cover very quickly (like in 24 hours!). They had used (heat-resistant but highly abrasive) glass-filled nylon for these springs and came to us for a better design (as we were the material supplier). My immediate take on it was that they were missing the bigger problem, that the plastic springs would relax over time (and not be springs anymore). I told them to rethink both the nylon springs and the magnesium valve cover. They resisted and paid one of my more eager colleagues $100,000 over a year to fix the issue (only to ultimately discover that yeah, the idea wouldn't work). Northstar sucked from the beginning, like most half-@ss GM designs. Maybe we should talk about the Quad4 plastic intake manifold next...
When you walk into a shop for a brake job on your 1992 honda civic
But you notice they are working on Ferraris, Bentleys, Porshas, even changing the flux capacitor on a delorean...
Porsches*
Don't worry Car Wizard Tyler is probably going to buy a Cadillac with a Northstar Engine and you will have to fix it.
Unlikely. It’s like 6-8 grand to fix it and it’s realistically a $500 car.
@@markofexcellence5209 wow so it is even more certain that Tyler will get one then. I mean with his track record.
Tigerfire75 Tyler said that he doesn’t usually lose money on his car deals lol
@@bennybenny3749 he did mention that at end of the line he does not really loose any money, he can sell a car at a loss but the youtube/sponsor revenue makes up for it. (said generally, if a car is bad and cost a lot to fix. it's good for youtube. if it's a good car and he sells it at a profit, it often was not a well viewed car on here.
But yeah generally cars themselfs often did loose money.
@@SVSportscars I don't know about his youtube revenues but he did lost almost 20 K on his Bentley Continental GT and that's according to Tyler
I always wondered why Northstar engines had such a bad rep, but my 2005 SRX has never had any issues with its now 15 year, 160,000 mile NorthStar. But you are the first to give a clear explanation why.
Yet another good reason NEVER to buy a GM product.
"Were getting really close to 100k subscribers" it's amazing how far this channel has come in a single year
Now, he has crossed 1 million subscribers. 🎉🎉🎉
Rev up your Northstar Caddy!Oops.Wrong channel
Now who's that guy revving? I wanna see him, said the head gasket and came out.
Sco... Oh wrong place
@@Ray-em4lu Lol
Toyota Kilmer channel
Damnit Scotty 🤣
You are a lucky man, Hoovie's new years resolution of not buying new cars is already out of the window.
CA-CHING! More money in the Wizard's pocket.
According to Doug De'Muro... Therevs a couple more embarassing...
He couldn't resist not getting attention and clout
GM is famous for saving 50 cents in manufacturing, so that you can spend $5,000 on repair later.
Long live Toyota.
Sad thing about toyota is they don't warranty their products... Only reason I went with kia.
Hey Toyota tried to save a buck on tacoma frames by cheaping out on the rustproofing and that blew up in their face hard. Local dealer as been slowly doing frame swaps on a few hundred trucks for about 4 years now. Every manufacturer is guilty of cheaping out its just that some hide it better than others and/or cheap out on the right things that done get noticed.
VW did the same thing in the 80's/90's by not putting a 15 cent circlip on the end of a transmission shaft which allowed it to slip and eventually wear a hole in the transmission housing. Once the fluid leaked out you could have a 4 grand transmission replacement next
Funny never paid five thousand dollars in repairs although I do change my oil and filters and fluids and preemptively replace worn parts I don't think I know what you mean a transmission rebuild for a 84 Vette is that's a 4speed automatic with drive and it cost only 3500 I'd say u got screwed
Toyota scion xB 2008 or so had the oil eating clogged up piston rings. Dealer had to take the whole top end off and remove pistons. They're no angels!
Sometimes I scratch my head at the engineering that goes into vehicles. The old saying is, if the engineers had to work on them, they'd do it a lot different.
Engineers are all theory..no practice.
As an engineer, for me it's a great design with ONE flaw that CAN be fixed on the bench.
I've seen MUCH worse. Especially nowadays, where there is just NO fix at ALL.
So it's a bargain car.
Even if the head bolt issues are addressed, they have a myriad of other issues. My FIL bought a Caddy with a low mile Northstar and it was lousy with all sorts of different problems. His hobby became hunting boneyards
Yeah, that’s one perspective.
As a mechanic, this shouldn’t be an issue in the first place.
change an oil pan gasket on a 2002 ....have fun ....
@@redram5150 Yep. Power steering pump problems, electrical problems, oil consumption, sensor issues, etc. No wonder they go for around $800-$1500.
@@hitek9too255 the car would have been great with an LS4. Reliable otherwise. I distinctly remember him having to collect pulleys because it kept eating them. Then the intake gasket went.
"The things you own, end up owning you" - in Tyler we trust.
That's crazy, when I first saw the thumbnail of this video "The Dumbest Engine Design Ever", I was actually wondering if the Cadillac Northstar V8 engine was going to be it! Not to mention 4 of the spark plugs being against the rear of the firewall? Brilliant!!
Love your channel. Really NO 'clickbait' like so many others & straight to the point. Many thanks for your outstanding work / advices & God Bless!!
🤗🙏🙏🙏
I had a 1998 Oldsmobile Aurora, which had a modified version of the Northstar. Thankfully for me the previous owner had the foresight to have the head bolts replaced years before. Man that engine was silky smooth and quiet at low rpm but sounded soooooo good when you opened it up. And I put a good 150k km on it without issues it so with proper head bolts in they're actually really solid engines.
I always wanted an Aurora and wondered if Olds fixed the problem or just left it alone. I now know. I still want one though.
@doubleheadergr yep it was from what GM had learned from their ownership with SAAB .
4.0 v-8 northstar
@@montymatilda And *knowing* is half the battle.
I had a '97 aurora. Had it up to 410,000 kms, until it needed a bunch of non-motor related work that wasn't worth the money. I did no engine work other than regular maintenance. I loved it, it was a great car.
Got a ‘99 eldorado. Did the head fix and it’s been rock solid for 3 years now. Love the car.
Maximus Areilius I used N* performance head bolts, thanks.
I love that generation of the Eldorado. Is it the ETC? I'm not entirely sure what the ETC package had. I thought it had magnetic suspension and a few more ponies but I could be way off.
2001 Monolithic I have the ESC- ETC had 300horse 275 Torque, mine has 275 horse and 300 torque. It also had a really complex magnetic/air suspension, the esc has basic air but is still very comfortable! Also a CD changer and wood trim on the center console. Other than that, virtually the same! Great cars.
@@Breadts1cks I always wanted one and they were built 8 miles from where I lived. I ended up driving 5 different sedan deville's though. I loved the deville's but they definitely weren't sporty.
My neighbor had one of those back when they were new. Best looking caddy I ever seen.
You did ford with the 5.4 and GM with the 4.6 now do dodge with the 2.7 v6 with the goofy water pump design
Heh im scared to even find out. Alternators, starters and water pumps should be within a few hours labor of access at the worst.
The 2.7 the water pump runs off the timing chain, so, yeah
@@gtowrx2001
Hmm yea thats a time bomb.
And the other trend of having the water pump run off a timing belt, and possibly be part of the tensioner.
2.0 ohc pontiac for instance.
And alot of others.
I play with vws mostly, they have you change the pump at a belt change. Still, ive seen em fail and ruin your engine.
MrHillfolk terrible designs, if that water pump locks up, there will be problems, why cant it be run off the serpentine, then its easy to do.
Ford 3.7 water pump has the same design flaw
Love it! No crazy guy just good sound talk/advice. I have a 2007 DTSl luxury 1. 65K miles have had since 2007 was an executive loaner. had 13K when i bought from respected Cad dealer had it's issues. Nothing major. Here is my issue and I understand a lot with this oil warning system light and beep comes on. I spoke with a family friend mechanic said it was a simple fix and in 30 years he has only seen 1 oil pump actually fail, What is it anyone know how? I know cars at 67 yrs old you had to back when I was young. The interior is mint, exterior near mint want to keep. Love the show ! All the comments help a lot! The car is prefect for my bad neck and spine thanks
The GM design committee screwed up a LOT of their products designs over the years.
This is what happens when stock profits are more important than quality and reliability.
That's a lot of labor costs to correct the problem. Love your videos!!!
What's going on with the diesel Caddy?
I'm not even sure it was a cost savings issue.
I think some freshly minted young engineer specced the bolt and threads without regard to the materiel the block was cast out of.
A steel bolt into a wrought or forged steel part is usually going to have the bolt be the weakest part of the fastener assembly. For this, fine threads are advantageous because it increases the minimum cross sectional area of the bolt, meaning the bolt is stronger. Fine threads actually have more holding power (in steel), but in aluminum it's a weaker fastener because even though the bolt itself is stronger, with fine threads it reefs the female threads right out of the base material. I think where the GM-itis is with the Northstar is that when they started having issues, instead of fixing it properly by using LS7 studs or revamping the northstar design to use larger coarse threaded bolts, they bandaged it with the threadserts to fix the issue just long enough for the warranty to expire.
@@TyphoidMarypatrick Thank you for weighing in with an informed expert opinion. I didn't know the age old debate, fine vs coarse actually depends on the material.
Can you explain what would have been a more robust alternative to a time-sert? Not familiar with LS7 head studs. Don't you need to repair the stripped block first?
@@d46512 well for new production they could have revised the block castings to accommodate a better fastener, and to fix the already produced one, recall for a drill and tap job like in the video. It would have been brutally expensive but probably not too much more so then the timesert installation and you wouldn't have a fleet of cars blowing head gaskets and pissing off owners. I personally know a few people who's STS's and XTS's made them loyal Lexus and BMW customers after having this problem and being hung out to dry after the warranty was up.
How many videos have you said this in ?
You wanna talk stupid design 02 to 09 GMC envoy trailblazer Bravada Rainier ascender the 4x4 front differential with axels through the oil pan and when the bearing for the driveshaft going into the back of the differential. It's easier to make it a 2wd by removing axels and driveshaft. Guess why if the differential fails which they do u gotta pull the damn motor cause no way of getting them out low past frame cross members and the dumbest shit I've ever seen that's horrible stupid design
My parents owned a Cadillac Northsar and the thing was a nightmare to work on.
The alternator is a pain to replace for sure.
All the Northstar V8 Cadillacs I've ever worked had major oil leaks everywhere...
Weird. I had one it was a 1996 maybe maybe it was a 1998 anyway bought it with 95k miles on it sold it with 225k miles on it. It never leaked while I had it.
they more just eat oil for breakfast lunch and dinner past 80k miles, a quart for every 1000 miles
My 06 DTS 101,000
Not a leak anywhere.
I take care it.
@@claytontraise5903 not quite that much my experience after 150k it was aprox 1. Qt per 3.5k miles. On full synthetic
I used to rape a Cadillac northstar in high school and it never drank or leaked oil. Was an amazing engine. Trans finally let go on me.
I'm a first time car buyer and I found an '02 Cadillac El Dorado on (of course) craigslist for around $2k. The car looked remarkable but It had a blown head gasket so I decided to check what the repair cost and/or difficulty would be. Glad I saved myself that headache.
The sad fact that almost no one knows is that the original engineers on that engine DIDN'T HAVE THE FINAL SAY on what head bolts we're used. Accounting and production design departments make those decisions.
Yes! I totally agree with you! They did not let em correct the problems! True enginers will correct real world flaws!! Bean counters and management don't give a damn!! All products go through learning curves!! Hey how the hell did we make it to the moon 69? And solve APOLLO 13? P.S. I'm not A Engineer!! Worked in auto supplier industry I the 60s to 2000s!! Worked to solve problems!! PROUD SHOP RAT!!!
Yes! I totally agr
@@waltbullet1287 Eh, without bean counters GM would cease to exist and all those engineers would be out of work
@@marklion315 The bean counters are still working on that. Give 'em more time. They still might cease to exist!
were
Please do the 2.7 Chrysler next. THE worst engine ever produced.
North Star killed Cadillac, the 2.7 killed Chrysler cars.
Exactly.
Lmaaooooo
@@mikecastellon3022 flat killed dodge
@Ye Old Geezer Expedition fed it to cannibals. With sauce.
GM is a finance company, not a car company. Been that way for a few decades.
John Smith
That was correct - until GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009 at which time General Motors Acceptance Corp (more commonly known by its acronym, GMAC) was separated from the car business and renamed Ally Financial.
Actually, it's also a retirement (pension) company which happens to make cars.
Tucsonan Dude
You can thank the Obama administration for that. GM tried to get out of defined benefit plans when they filed for bankruptcy but the UAW defined the terms of the bailout (to their members’ interests, of course) while white collar workers, retirees and GM bond holders all got screwed.
Just another benefit to donating large sums of money to the Democrat party.
The duramax is great
@@buoyant69 - Thanks for the clarification. I stand with the workers.
I still remember about 3 years ago when I first met you in the "gentlemen's" club. Was so impressed how all 5 of those ladies were so excited to "go for that 3 hour drive alone with you😉" that'a boy
Planned obsolescence... pay the dealer $5,000to fix or buy a new Caddy!
Not going to Be eager to Buy another after that. Nope that's a hard sell
This isn’t planned obsolescence, that tactic doesn’t work when the manufacturer ends up spending many millions doing warranty work on its cars.
@@DrewLSsix The notion of planned obsolescence is to have the car last through its warranty period and then nickle and dime thereafter.
@@moaski 3/25/19, Never go upscale/lux, they just cost more & depreciate faster.
You mean go across the street and buy a Lexus right
That Northstar specialized tool is awesome. I love specific, custom tools!
Booooo I like cars that can be taken apart with a wrench set and a hammer👀😂 screw specialty tools
yeah Sky that's great for you, this stuff frustrates me to death, I've started using the kids' term "BOOMER" for high-maintenance gear like this that needs so much specialization, most of us don't have time for that
I picked up a near mint 2005 for $1800 .. very happy with it. And yes .. I saw this video before I bought it :)
They fix the problem by 2004 so you got lucky
rhubarb99999 me too 2005 124,000k for $2200 owned by an elder in Ft Myers Florida who traded it in. had a mechanic friend do a few things to it also changed the transmission inline myself slapped a K&N air filter on it so the engine can “breathe” & better mileage....car is practically brand new. This lady must of got everything done at Cadillac since she had it even the manual is in excellent condition
"SO FAR"....give it a sec.........
And 7 months later?...
If it's low miles that isn't bad you may pay a little to tow it but if you get few years that's always good.
When the Northstar is running properly it’s a nice smooth running engine . The other issues these had was the lower case half leaked oil .
Yep. They can replace the gasket (for $2000) or used silicon glue (for $2000) that MAY hold longer….They have the nasa challenger mindset about everything.
An east-west V8, oh what joy to work on!
7 months later Hoovie buys one :))
No Hoovie buys 3 of them and Wizard takes two of them
Hoovie is the worst kind of rich idiot.
Did it catch on fire?
I can see that happening!
Damn Hoovie didn’t buy one 7 months later
Cheap, low-quality engineering and construction. My daughter owned a Cadillac of that era. It was the most miserable plastic pile of junk I've ever seen.
Mickey Bitsko ..Mine Too ! I have a 2001 and can’t afford to have it redone ! It’s a Great looking car still, but ...Can’t Drive it Any long distance !!!
Sorry to hear that! What does she drive now?
And the handling was atrocious. My GF's dad had a mid 90s sedan, what a POS. He could have bought a nice used Mercedes or BMW that felt like an actual car and had twice the prestige factor. I have zero clue how Cadillac has stayed in business (I've owned 2 of them).
It's why GM finally went bankrupt and will again.
Many years ago a team were taken to the manufacture of emergency equipment. One demonstration that day was a new emergency flare. To cut a long story short it was a brilliant example of design. Compact and just so easy to use. One of the team went off and brought back a fire bucket (this is in winter) and asked the design team for a volunteer. One stepped forward, at which point they had their hands shoved into the bucket. After 10 minutes, they had their hands taken out and were given the flare to fire. At which point they could not even get through the wrapper, never mind actually use it. Lesson: design as if you're the person who will have to use it. Too many times car and engine design is predicated around the installation on the track, not down stream maintenance six years later.
I made it 82,000 miles before the head gasket blew on my 99 Seville. I'm surprised he didn't mention the rear main seal leaking oil as a common issue.
I noticed using diesel oil helped a ton from burning up the oil and stuff like that.
Hard to argue with that. Love Cadillacs from that era, but I'll never own anything with a Northstar.
I always hated my life when one of those rolled in the shop 😂
a good question for a customer with a problem cadillac is "so what's your budget?" its a more direct question that can lead you down the road of passing on the undesirable work involved instead of wasting good time on putting together a bid for major work, much more than the value of the car, that the customer likely wouldn't (and usually shouldn't) pay for.
If it rolled in Ur lucky that you don't work on Australian land Rovers.
Start to finish i did this job in 40 hrs complete and running. I lifted the car off the engine and cradle , broke it down. Using time serts and the loctite. Has 70,000 mi,s since and runs perfect. 220,000 miles , don't use dexcool, corrodes the time sert. I keep good ole green ethylene glycol and some waterpump lube. If I had the extra money I would of bought the kits with the studs. Being a gm dealership flat rate mechanic for years you develop a mindset that makes you love stress and pain. I did this at home in my garage on a lift
Tbh.. When you buy a good car for 2k, spend 4k doing this fix, and then have a car that'll run for quite some years trouble free. 6k for a good car doesn't sound like too bad a deal imo.
Saved myself a 2005 Saab 9-5 fromthe scrapyard. 500 bucks, new turbo and exhaust, daillying it ever since. Fix instead of throwing away.
my 3 cars was on the same boat ready for the junkyard.
Great video. I had a 2003 Deville that I was trying to work on, and gave it to my grandson. We tried to change the spark plugs and coil pack. Getting the back plugs and coil pack out was way beyond my ability or desire. He ended up letting the oil go dry and destroyed the engine. This was the second worst car I ever worked on the first was a 1986 Jag XJS with the V12
That is an absolutely brilliant kit! So simple and effective. Great video Wizard, thank you!
If you have a 4.6 with blown head gaskets, take the engine apart and inspect the block BEFORE ordering this kit. Not only were these engines notorious for head bolt failure, in many cases as some head bolts fail, uneven stress is placed on the block by the bolts that still have bite and the blocks will crack. A cracked block can NOT be repaired. There is a reason why 4.6 Cadillac powered cars are worth NOTHING on the used market.
@@MrSloika I honestly appreciate your advice, thank you for that. I personally don't own a vehicle with that engine, just thought it was a great idea, especially coming in that kit form. I totally understand what you're saying about a cracked block though, there's little to no chance of coming back from that. Thanks again man.
I spent some years at a Caddy dealer. These things would come in knocking so bad you would think you had rod bearings falling out. Problem was when grandma was pussyfooting a 275-300hp car around town for years it would build up carbon in the combustion chambers and knock like hell. We would take the car for a beat run/road test with the shifter set into 2. Run it for about ten miles at close to redline and it would be running quiet again.
Yeah but these caddies are meant to be driven aggressively
SERIOUS QUESTION FOR THE CAR WIZARD
DIDN'T NORTHSTAR ENGINES HAVE SELF SEALING CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS?? I have 2 S series Saturns with the 1.9 L DOHC engine. Both have the self sealing cylinder head gaskets. They came from the factory with sealing pellets in the cooling system which have to be replaced whenever you change the antifreeze... If you don't replace the pellets when you change the antifreeze, the head gasket usually blows within about two weeks. As long as you replace the pellets, the engines last forever and the head gaskets never go bad.
As best I recall, it was caused by an aluminum block and aluminum heads and a steel gasket that expands at a different rate. Not that I"ve ever had a Northstar, but I tend to recall that some Cadillac's had the same system. In fact Barr's Leak Stop used to have a label on their bottle that read "Same as original GM sealant".
I know GM still sells the sealing pellets, because I still use them on my Saturns and I have over 200,000 miles on each. They come in a blister pack of 5 or 6 and cost about $6.00 at the dealership.
Is there any chance that Northstar engines blow their head gaskets about 2 weeks after you flush the radiator or do a coolant change?
One last footnote, even for Saturn 1.9L engines, the pellets were very poorly documented. Some actual Saturn mechanics weren't replacing them and were blowing their customer's head gaskets by the mid-2000s when they did a flush service or replaced the antifreeze. GM wasn't very proud of the fact that their head gaskets needed sealer to work and never made a big issue over it. Any chance you've seen Northstar head gaskets blow a couple weeks after a cooling system service?
I've been fixing cars for over 45 years... and I doubt many people care about 1990's engine designs anymore, and maybe self-sealing technology has been lost to history, but as you did a video on the topic, I thought you might still be interested and I'd love to hear your opinion.
Wost part is they kept producing it, year after year after year. 🤪
and twits kept on buying them...
Tepid Tuna They fixed all the problems after 05. All 05 northstars until 2011 when they stopped making them they had no problems.
Because they committed all the time and resources for development.
@@derrerrrr and good thing they did
People still dump $$$$ into these things. Especially around tax time.
Don Quixote people with 20 year old Cadillacs aren’t taking them to the dealer for service lol
Wish someone would let the one I work at know ! I have became the hoopty whisperer
Allen Kilpatrick I’m shocked to say the least
@Don Quixote dude, I'll bet like 80% of cars on the road today are "5-20 years old". That's a crazy broad range there. 1999-2014 lol
the engines, or every other piece attached because "the engine needs nothing"? lmao.
Hey guys, pre tapping is a must. 1-Taper, 2-plug, 3-bottom, proper tapping technics 3 stages, cutting fluid plenty!. Sorry to interfere Mr. Wizard...
I own a Cadillac Seville (1999) and lemme tell you, he is right
I really wanted a STS, but I’m afraid to buy one because I can’t afford to fix one
I have the misfortune of owning a 1999 DeVille. As a retired driver for a brown army, used to pick up my cars and a motorcycle on my various routes. Good luck with all except for the DeVille. No bargain even at half off asking price. Leaks oil and transmission fluid which is sealed. Not putting good money into a bad car. Just waiting for it to die.
@@xtbum3339 You mean the transmission fluid is sealed?
If so, what do you mean by that.
@@caddyguy5369 The transmission being sealed, fluid can't be added.
@@xtbum3339 You add it through the dipstick tube. How else would you refill it after doing a transmission pan gasket or something?
They don't make you replace the transmission because a gasket is leaking.
Love how simple you put it. The whole concept was laid out flat and to the point. I can tell you know your stuff lol new sub from Chicago :)
He definitely deserves it. Greetings from Switzerland
Great video,very well explained, the highly loaded stud having a fine thread in a cast alloy block is just so wrong from an engineering standpoint .I can't believe it got through the the design phase .
One of my friends at work had an olds with a northstar. He loved the throttle response. Didnt drive it much, gave it to his son. His son blew the engine.
One thing for sure. Those engines make a set of flowmasters sound so beautiful. God I love that rumble.
Have a 2008 DTS with stock exhaust ....quiet but still can detect the rumble at start-up and idle.
Omg same I was shocked when I heard the sound of the engine
I'm gonna check that out because with the factory exhaust this 2000 DeVille roars nicely when you get on it & I bet you're rt about them FlowMasters!!!
Super 10's on 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora
This motor has a liquid cooled alternator and is still a technological marvel once the head gasket problem is fixed. The transverse ones had NYLON intakes for cooler air flow and when properly maintained are some of the most seemless motors on the planet. Air and exhaust flow were the only things keeping this high compression engine from another 60 to 80hp more.
yeah , dont leave out the fact that 5000 pound cars , even if powered by a v8 , don't do to well having to pull their weight rather than push their weight.....it's like being being 300lbs in a wheelchair and using your feet to get you moving ...GM put more technology into the marketing of that car ......because of what the designers were putting up their noses. Liquid cooled alternators (glitter!! Sparkles!!) wank wank....BMW had LCA's too....when you need a butload of juice to power a car that required to much to BE powered , well , shit gets HOT..........And those intake manifolds were not nylon , they were at best Recycled plastic....and the cheap rubber coupling they used to connect the throttle body to the recycled plastic manifold shows the poor quality of what the designers were putting up their noses......Moral of the story " stay away from the smart drugs" Cause the marketing department doesn't get paid good enough to work that hard.
@@mattriella6776 More engineering went into this car than ANY BMW of its day. The 740 and 760 both were plagued with nothing but serious electrical and fuel management problems. Those manifolds were not cheap plastic and Porsche copied GMs design. Mercedes was the actual overengineered car from this time period with overpriced parts. If you know that GM found ways of cutting cost to produce these luxury cars then you can respect their decisions. The 7 series didn't ride anywhere near the level of Cadillacs because they wanted performance. That performance came at a cost even German citizens couldn't afford at the time. The FWD was a safety measure that worked well in snowy climates and I dare anyone to drive a 7 series in winter.
Your videos are gold. I can watch the 4.6 2 valve video all day everyday. Thank you for your contributions to humanity.
Over the years, I’ve heard mystical stories here and there of these cars making it to 300-400k miles after they did these bolts right in 05. It’s such a shame that they had nearly a decade of issues before finally fixing this
It's a FWD V8, it was garbage way back in the design phase.
@Don Duke hows that new fwd commodore? 😂😂😂
Don Duke like when Volvo went downhill into disposability
@Don Duke you Americans like the average consumer has a say what comes into market. No one cares that you're not American by the way kiddo.
Don Duke Mentioned Volvo because they were an near exclusive RWD company at one time. Citroen Peugeot etc believe we’re front driven from there inceptions. Not all fwd are bad, have a 93 Buick Skylark with the superior iron 90 degree v6. The later 60 degree Chevy v6’s were not as durable.
Put an Olds Toronado front wheel drive 455 V8 in it. Probably a lot less work.
You are absolutely correct! Other than the head gaskets, they are very reliable and powerful engines. I have a beautiful 1998 Eldorado ETC that was given to me because of this. It as a very comfortable and sweet car! When I serviced cars for a living I saw lots of 250k and higher Northstar Cadillacs and even more high mileage 4.5 and 4.9 Cadillacs! I love these cars and will eventually buy a 2006-11 DTS!
Kind of makes me want to find one for less than a grand, and then have it properly repaired. Thanks. I always wondered why this Caddy was always dirt cheap.
That Northstar performance kit really is their saving grace. Plus it would be actually be able to sell for more money since the car would be reliable after the installation.
Just find a 2004/2005 and dont bother with the head stud kit.
Ww Jnz, You’d be throwing money away doing that.
Shit Box
Unless he just wants a Cadillac.....
Hell, I would kill to have a 1999 Seville STS just because of the fact that car is one of my favorite all-time cars simply because of its styling.
It might be ass ugly to some people, but a Seville STS from 1998-2003 (2004 in Canada) needs to find its way into my driveway lol
I would drive it till the day I died, and I’m not even 30 yet.
I’m not even 25 yet.
@@Michael-hz2pl better sticking that engine in another car then if you're going be praising the engine.
Real-world info, no BS and no marketing. You just got a new subscriber.
I have been driving a 2001 Olds Aurora with the 4.0 Northstar V8 since 2000. I am not an easy driver. I pay attention to oil changes and cooling system maintenance. Head gasket problems in that time? ZERO!!!!!!!
How many miles ? I had 98 or 2000 aurora . The car had the most comfortable seats in the world . I had 2002 caddy no overheating issues bout 120-130k miles.
@@rickybobbydastar6534 As of now, 130,000 miles.
@@Marc816 any issues so far ?
@@rickybobbydastar6534 Yes.....it needed spark plugs & spark plug insulators 3 years ago. And then in 2020 it needed a fuel pump. Other than that, it's been trouble free.
@@Marc816 oh yeah u got the new body style one , I luv those . Bro I had the 99 bodystyle . 170k miles when I bought it . Kept it for 8 months , new alternator, fist mechanic didn’t know what he was doing. New torque converter and no problems . I only paid 700 for it .
Interesting fix for the Northstar. At first I thought it was stupid for the oil filter placement.
But the key takeaway from this video is, I WANT THAT SHOP. Damn that is nice sized.
Fuck yeah! But the operating costs are probably high for that size shop.
Yes it is nice building
I would glady take a quarter size of it and be happy as a pig in shit.
Gramma had one of these. White, 2002 with an automatic. Had the engine rebuilt 1 time in the 10 years she owned it. After she passed away we sold it for 3k
You sold someone four grand of headache lol
Thank you for explaining the problem,I owned a 2002 and really liked the car and I sold it before the problem occurred.
I now own a 2006 and am VERY happy to hear your comment that the problem was corrected in 2005.
You didnt mention the the water pump location, and also the dumb location where the starter is located. Under the intake manifold. I dont like that motor one bit.
When I read the video title I thought it would be completely about that topic.
What is the problem with either one of those items?
Those arent really issues with the engine. It doesnt make or break the engine. Infact it's common place for the starter placement on a lot of vehicle with a transverse trans
"Planned Obsolescence" : a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.
“Never attribute to malice what is more reasonably attributed to stupidity.” I’m sorry, I can’t give a design this bad the credit of forethought that is required for planned obsolescence. If it was planned obsolescence they wouldn’t have fixed the problem. This was just stupidity winning the day.
During an interview with GM engineers about a decade ago they calmly admitted that the. Cadillac was designed to operate with minimal warranty issues fir the term of its first lease only. This is very carefully planned obsolescence.
Wow, just named how money is made. You're right. I've been a mechanic for 37 years. The "Northstar" pulled the the head bolts/ studs out of the block. The fix is to pull the engine and anchor the head studs deeper into the block. At about 140K miles, is it worth it?
Hey Everett, very enlightened comment. If they were really that smart, they just would have found a cheaper supplier for the larger bolts it really needed. This is just plain old stupidity and not a conspiracy.
@@EverettVinzant Very well said. Sell some one a bridge or truly help mankind move forward, technologicaly and responsibly.
Your very calming, knowledgeable & to the point. I’m going to sub, being as we have 2 DTS & a deville
You have my condolences,....
1998 Seville STS L37 NorthStar owner here. Rear Head Gasket went in 2007 at 79,000 Miles. Dropped the Engine and Bought the Repair Kit and Head Studs from NorthStar Performance. Replaced a few hoses and pipes while it was easy to replace at that time. Car has 165,000 miles on it now and it still runs perfect. Just serviced the 4T80E Bulletproof Transmission. Still drive the car every day. GM Should have fixed these a decade before they did. The NorthStar gets great mileage and runs smooth and gets it done when you give it throttle!
VERY soon, handing it down to my daughter!
Youngstown Automotive
I worked at a Cadillac store in the 90's when that engine came out. A couple of things you didn't mention, and maybe weren't aware of, on those early motors, that make the Northstar *the worst engine in my book.*
1-The oil pump gerotor ran off the front crankshaft snout and there was no keyway to lock it into place! It was held in place by the torque on the harmonic balancer bolt, which would often fail and the engine would lose all oil pressure. Brilliant Idea from an engineer that decided they could save 50 cents on each engine by not putting a keyway on the crank snout since he figured it didn't need one!
2-The crankshaft main bearings cradle had a lousy seal setup and would weep oil, very slowly, so that the hoses and mounts, everything rubber under the hood, would deteriorate from the oil mist getting on them. I don't remember any Northstar engine with 50,000 miles on it that I worked on that DIDN'T have a thin film of engine oil on everything under the hood.
No 2... Well it would at least keep some of the rust at bay.
But I just finished listening to Richard Hammond say this design was ingenious!
Yea, maybe when it rolls off the line and is still under warranty.
Cant trust a brits opinion on reliability lol
It's a great engine for it's time, just don't skip that (out of warranty)80k mile service or let it overheat.
This scenario is going to become evermore common with the introduction of all of these supercharged, turbo, undersized aluminum engines. Out of warranty...out of luck.
Speaks volumes about "The Hamster", would take technical advice from James May
I owned a 1993 STS with northstar and my water pump went out. The mechanic I took it to said he would never work on a northstar caddy again. Apparently, you have to unbolt the motor mounts and jack the engine to access the water pump.
That's true of almost every car with a transverse engine mount.
Actually, the water pump on a 93 is simple - if you have the giant water pump socket. It's basically a cartridge.
@@aarons7285 I know that dude said he would never work on another. He had the car 3 days lol
The same was true in a Chrysler minivan I owned with the Mitsubishi 3.0L V6. Just about any transverse engine mount vehicle requires an engine mount removal at a minimum to replace a water pump. I replaced the timing belt in that thing while I had it all apart and drove it for many years before selling it (and it still ran like a champ despite being over 20 years old and over 200K). You take care of your car, it will take care of you.
@@michaelvargas2900 Odd, had a 93 NS Eldorado, did the WP in my driveway with a hammer and a big screwdriver on a weeknight in the late 90s. Big socket would have been nice, but I didn't know until I was in there, no internet resources like now. The tabs started to bend, but it came loose before they all bent over. Wonder if your guy overlooked a shortcut or if the Eldo had more clearance in the bay.
Original owners never really had to do maintenance. When they entered the used market, most probably had oil changes only. Northstar was created in early 90's to be maintenance free for 100k. Caddy buyers typically traded in long before that. What other car from that era gave that kind of performance and longevity? I own a '94 Concours thats been properly serviced it's whole life. Of course my model never had dexcool...
Aside from the head bolts I think the Northstar is a good engine. Silky smooth, great power, and incredible mileage. Lots of way worse engines to be had.
Example of factory spending extra money on design
I bought a 2005 Deville w 88k miles. $2300.
26mpg at 79mph, blows my mind.
Post head bolt fixed models, they get really great reviews for long term reliability
I totally agree, turbolq4! I don't know, maybe some of us got lucky, but the Northstar in our '04 is an awesome engine...... awesome POWER and acceleration, S-M-O-O-T-H, and that SOUND when you step on it? That says it all, baby!!.....a powerful beast in a high class suit! If you set aside the sadistic torture fantasies sparked by working on anything in it, on it or under it, an SRX with a Northstar V8 is a beautiful thing!
@@katrenco
Oh yeah ! That muted v8 roar when you floor it ! Sounds incredible- sweet music . The Deville really gets out of it's own way. Fast luxury sedan ! Great handling too ! No body roll in hard cornering, really holds the road
@@patrickhorvath2684 You had the perfect words I couldn't bring to mind, "THAT MUTED V8 ROAR". Incredible, sweet music, indeed!
My 2007 Cadillac DTS lasted me 140,000 miles then it over heated and never worked again.
My 04 Cadillac Escalade 6.0 in the other hand has 198,000 miles runs like new 0 problems bought her brand new at Tom peacock Cadillac in Houston back in 03
@@chriss5181 Totally different engine in a totally different vehicle. Escalade is a dressed up GMC Yukon with an LS and built in a GM truck plant. They are great and the 6.0l goes 300k easily if you take care of it.
Chris S it’s about time for that weak trans to fail
Brian Borell it’s not really a dress up Yukon because the Escalade has a superior suspension
Chris S had an 03 Escalade. Was a pile of shit. Gave it to my cousin for free two years ago. Only had 65k miles.
Watch the grand tour trip to China all you need to know about the northstar
As hammond says "it's the greatest ever" 😂
Well, the gasket went cabum in that one lol
It was so funny hearing Richard Hammond obsess about how reliable the car is, and yet it was the only one to completely break before the show was over.
+Dylan Kierans link here?
@@tonywellington7854 It's a show on Amazon prime, but there are probably clips of it on RUclips.
My parents had a 2005 DeVille that they inherited from my deceased grandfather back in 2008. Probably the most comfortable car I've ever been in & had good handling for how big it was, but it had non-stop problems ever since we first got it. The transmission had to be rebuilt twice, was always leaking something & three of the power windows broke where they would go down, but not up. Had around 50k miles when we got it & 100k miles when we got rid of it. Eventually replaced it four years ago with a new 2017 Camry XLE 4-Cylinder that I recommended. Has 50k miles on it now & hasn't had any problems yet as expected.