[mtgldr]

Originally Posted by 99_concours

I appreciate greatly all the technical advice and the documentation of this thread. I do have some questions though.

I have a 99 deVille Concours in premium condition with 133K miles that I believe the head gaskets just failed. Sudden coolant usage and smell; large bubbles in the coolant resevoir observed (with cap off) that when 'pop' steam or exhaust is released. After it sat a week without being used, this weekend I started it up and now has large amounts of white 'smoke' coming from both exhaust pipes. This car has NEVER overheated, even to date. Car was well maintained. The car is still in extremely excellent shape, no scratches, dings, etc. So, this isn't a 'throw away' even though according to some of the blogs and threads I have been reading that the northstar engine may be a 'throw away'. Unbelievable that the engine that essentially 'brought back Cadillac' has such a failure record.

While I have read many of the posts, I need to simplify exactly what I should do; what is the wisest choice. I plan on removing the engine and cracking it open to determine the head bolt to block situation to determine if my engine is salvagable. No water in the oiling system so that is a good thing but what I am reading about the timeserts and powdery block alloy is disconcerting.

I see by the threads that the '99 is one of the 'bad' engines as far as timeserting...I also read that the mid 2003 the factory head bolt upgrade to LSx style bolts has a better record. So that leads me to think that the 2004 and above FWD northstars are the way to go whether used engine or a remanufactured engine knowing there were some changes with coils, etc. I saw in the above post that the post '99s are not a simple 'bolt in' replacement for a '99 and prior but I must ask what other changes would there be?

It is also my understanding that the closed deck design of the RWD northstar WILL NOT be usable in my FWD; is this correct?

So, essentially, it is my understanding that the 2004 will bolt in (with modifications) but with the LSx head bolt design this is the better choice?

It is also my understanding that the '99 northstar doesn't accept timeserts (or Norm's) very well but the 2000 thru 2003 will?

One other question: I saw something in one of the posts about someone not wanting to own a deVille up to 99 but a '98 and '99 STS is better? Was there a difference in the engine for the STS (300hp) over that of the Concours (300hp as opposed to the 275hp of the regular deVille)? Maybe it was just that, the engine horsepower. I thought the STS and the Concours had the exact same engine.

Sorry for the length of the post but there is so much information out there that I want to ensure that I am in full understanding. I might be crazy about wanting to keep my car (I actually was going to keep it indefinitely once I took it out of everyday service) but I really love the car. 300HP, and at 26mpg at 80mph is hard to beat! Add to that the quiet ride and the size of the car and its safety features (over a tin can at 33mpg) I can't find anything acceptable to replace it.

Did anyone ever respond to this post? You're describing my car & situation exactly. If I'm going to pull the motor I would love to replace it with a later model that would basically bolt in and is not known for HG failure.