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2000 Deville stud kit install (my experience and advice)

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#1 ·
Hello Everybody My names chris i posted not to long ago about repairing my cadillac deville headgasket I am new to the fourm and enjoy
being a part of the cadillac fourms I told everybody before that i was gonna post pictures and a write up on my expierence. I would also like
to thank tim at carrol custom cadillac he helped me through the questions that i had was very helpful and has engineered a amazing stud kit
and couldent have done it without him Thanks tim!!!

ok so everybody knows i bought a 2000 cadillac deville vin y 4.6 northstar the person i purchased it from told me that it was overheating and
had high mileage but was cosmetically perfect and had a brand new remanned trans from gm which ive been a mechanic for 10 years and in my expierence
the trans in these cars were trouble but once rebuilt with the upgrade parts they last forever of course with regular maintence anyways my wife really liked the car and I love a challenge and i knew that this car wasnt gonna be easy to be fixed but i was convinced that it was a perfect car and its the most comfortable car i ever been in and i wanted it. his original price was $1600 but i got him down to $1200 with a little pep talk keep in mind that this car has
233,000 miles but is very clean and rides like a brand new car and has no rust it also had brand new radatior,thermostat,heater core,water pump and new hoses aside from the new trans so i drove the car 200 miles back home it only got hot once and that was half way so we let it cool and got it home
the next morning i did a full diagnostic on it which led me right to a head gasket so then i started researching i knew from expierence that time serts was not
the way to go even though someone told me they made a more coarse inserts that was suppose to stop the threads from coming out the block. i also heard that they made a really good stud kit for the northstar too and ive built a couple race motors and they were all studded pushing 600+ HP so i decided that
studs was the way too go my next issue was which stud kit do i want jakes at northstar performance or tim at carrol custom cadillac i chose tim at carrol custom cadillac cause the simplicity the cheaper price tag and most importantly the dowelpins are seperate from the stud. not knocking jake cause i also
believe that he has a great design just dont like the dowel pin built on to the stud. so anyways i got all the parts together which includes CCC Stud kit,
Felpro Head Set, Oil Change, Assembly Lube, Anti Seize, Dielectric Grease, 1/2",17/32" Drill Bit, 5/8-11 Starter Tap, 5/8-11 Plug tap, Thermostat,
Oil Pan Gasket, 6 Cans of non clorinated brake cleaner, GM Intake plenum Duct, Bosch Double Platinum Plugs, Shrink Wrap,1 Quart of 10W/30 motor oil for cutting threads. I Pulled the car in a barn jacked it up on jack stands put 2 in the front 3 in the back plus a jack in the middle for added protection
I Started by pulling the crossover and intake manifold keep in mind i labeled ziplocs for bolt reference next i pulled the radiator support and the radaitor
and condenser as i started to pull the alt and a/c compressor i noticed taped wires which indicates that some shade tree mechanic has had this motor apart
which stressed me alot considering that someone could have screwed a headjob up on this once before and my block would be junk anyways i continued to remove the northstar after removing the exhaust ac lines converter bolts and wiring harness and belt pulleys hooked a chain hoist up and started to pull the
motor after about 10 minutes of fighting i realized that something was fighting me and noticed that the crank pulley was hitting the frame so after some thought i knew it was too late to pull the balancer so i got the motor high enough to get to the flywheel bolts zipped them off motor came right out.
I Then Connected the engine to my engine stand and started disassembly (word of advice if pulling this motor always remove the balancer first and the cam sensor cause you need that clearence)

as i started disassembly i couldent beileve how new the internals looked on the motor including cams and timing set very little wear. what i didnt like
was all the carbon built up into the intake and once i pulled the heads 8 out of 10 bolts came out with threads and the pistons had a lot of carbon build up
the head gaskets were fried bad worse set i ever seen but the head and block looked good after a little bit of tlc with a razor and brake clean i then cleaned all head bolt holes to prepare for drilling i used motor oil to drill with and to cut with. I started with a 1/2" Drill Bit i used a air drill with a handle for drilling
as i started to drill it would grab and i would have to back it out. after a couple more attempts i got the hang of it the key is to let the drill do the work and to keep a steady speed and also pull the bit out often and blow it off with compressed air same for the head bolt hole cause aluminum is very soft and sticks to the drill bit i drilled 4 bolt holes (Advice: when drilling the holes take your time have a good flashlight on hand and keep pulling the bit out looking in the hole after blowing it out you will be able to see when you get to the bottom of the bolt hole cause it will round off becareful not to drill to Far) then proceeded to the 17/32" drill bit to see the outcome I drilled one hole and then tapped it with both taps and screwed the stud in to see what the rest of
the block was gonna be like the stud screwed in with ease and was vertical and true which was very pleasing i then put the 1/2" drill bit back on continued to drill the rest of the block after that i went to 17/32" for the finish cut (Advice: when drilling with the 17/32" you will notice that it doesent slide a 1/2 inch into the block like the 1/2" drill bit does the 17/32" drill bit starts at the very top of the block so there is no guide like the first bit which is very scary as along as you start at a slow steady speed and vertical with the hole as soon as you get a 1/4" down the drill bit will guide itself from there be careful not to scratch the deck of the block. After finishing drilling I cleaned the block with brake clean and compressed air i then dipped my taps in oil and went to work always make sure that when tapping do not force the tap cause it will break if it feels like its getting hard to turn back it off and blow it and the hole off and re lube and restart also make sure to pay close attention to vertical and trueness of the tap do not let it get crooked take your time and dont rush use the tapered tap first then the plug tap no need for a bottom tap the plug tap is plenty long enough make sure and keep blowing out the hole and tap often cause aluminum is sticky and the cleaner the better. after completing the drilling and taping i was very happy with the end result the threads were very coarse and the studs felt nice and tight in the block I Put thread Blue Locker on all the studs for security

(Note: I forgot to mention when pulling the dowel pins out use a good lubricant and a pipe wrench and take caution not to break it off if you do no big deal i did one of mine and found a soultion go buy a additional 5/8-11 plug tap and get it right at the top of the dowel tap it with a hammer a couple of times and then drive it in about a hair past the dowel pin and then unscrew it while spraying a lubcriant it will come right out!!!)

After installing all of the studs it was time to put the heads on i put all dowel pins in and then the head gaskets i started with the left cylinder head i noticed that when installing that 2 studs were slightly off i took a wrench and bent them very little and the head slid right on I had the same issue with the right cylinder head except it was only 1 stud that was slightly off. then i took all the washers and nuts and screwed them hand tight and then torqued all head bolts in sequence in 3 stages (25Ft LBS, 50Ft LBS, 75Ft LBS) keep in mind the cams are not in the heads and the motor is at TDC that way no bent valves can be a issue

Timing Chain installation first thing i notced is that this motor lines up at TDC every 14 Revoultions and at 7 revoultions the crank will be lined up but the cams will be 180 out next thing is that the rear right cylinder head on the exhaust there is a reluctant wheel for the cam sensor when lining up the timing take note that all timing marks must be perpindicular from the cylinder head surface which is 90 degrees remember that all cam sprockets are marked
and all of the letters point 90 degrees off the head surface when lined up correctly Except the rear right cylinder head exhaust cam with the cam sensor sprocket it has a mark and its not the letters just make sure your camshaft keyways are perpindicular 90 degrees from the surface of the head.
The crank keyway will line up at the 1:00 Postion but when its in this position the timing mark should be at 12:00. The Intermediate sprocket timing mark should point at the 6:00 position in line with the crank timing mark which is at the 12:00 Position as far as the tenisoners you can use a variety of things to lock them in place all you have to do is get you a nail push down on the ratchet push the plunger in slide your nail through and there you go its tensioned just make sure to fully install the timing before pulling out nails to release tension on the chain and also make sure and spin your motor 14 revoultions
that way you cant bend any valves if you feel the motor stop do not force it back up and check your marks

(NOTE: When Installing The cams check the clearence between your studs and your cams cause one of my studs was touching the pointer on my cam and i had to file about 20 thousandths off for clearence pay close attention make sure you have good clearence cause aluminum expands and it could end up bad if not done properly


I also replaced the oil pan gasket cleaned the oil pick up painted the block installed the exhaust and power steering pump and flywheel with new
rear main seal front crank seal and hung the motor on the engine hoist ready for installation the next Morning.

The next Morning i started with the wiring harness and made neccesary repairs with solder and shrink wrap due to the dum ediots who worked on this car before me i then dropped the motor in keep in mind i left the balancer off due to the fight of getting the motor out the motor went right in no problem
first try i didnt have to force it either was very easy i then started assembly of the engine compartment the process went very smooth other then the engine
to transmission brackets and the exhaust which was a nightmare glad i didnt have to do that twice and the crossover is a tight fit other then that it was very smooth and easy i finished the next morning fill it full of fluids oil, coolant , power steering fluid, checked trans fluid and rechecked all Clamps Hoses ETC
I then disabled the fuel and spark and primed the motor and hooked everything back up re checked all hoses fluids ETC.

Amazingly the motor started on the first revoultion and did not rattle or anything was very smooth i let it idle till the themostat opened and fans kicked
on then i let it cool down completley filled the coolant to manfactures recomended fill level and went for the first test drive to be honest it drove like a
brand new cadillac motor was very smooth and very responsive more power than you could ask for and temp stayed at halfway what a relief
I have been driving the car for a week have already put 600 miles on the motor and its running nothing less then perfect. also when i bought the car it had a slight knock on start up but would go away when warm when i did the head job i noticed the rings were stuck in the piston grooves and i did a overnight
soak with gas and brake cleen and the rings freed up and was much tighter considering the night before i could move the piston back and forth in the cylinder since the cleaning the piston didnt move at all in the cylinder and since the repair i have not heard the knock even when motor is cold she is as smooth as ice. if your a mechanic or a do it yourselfer this job is do able it might be intimidating but it can be done i will tell you it will not be a easy journey
but its all worth it in the end I would also like to thank tim at carrol custom cadillac and also everybody on this fourm for your advice and support and feel free if you have any questions or corrections on my repair thanks and cant wait to hear the feedback.:)
 

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#2 ·
Re: 2000 cadillac deville stud kit (my expierence and advice)

Nice novel.

Your observation of excessive carbon buildup on the pistons and the later observation on the knock that went away as the engine warmed up ......... Have you read the entire Cadillac Technical Archive up ^^^ in the top black bar and found the article that contains the term "cold carbon rap" ??? It's all in there and in the stickies in the Engines, Northstar Performance forum.

Your observation of the ID stampings on the cam sprockets - SOME sprockets had the RE stamping in the wrong place. In that instance, you use the timing dots in the sprocket faces.
 
#6 ·
ok i pulled the engine from the top and no i didnt pull the pistons out cause the rod bolts are tty bolts and didnt want to go spend $200 at the dealer so i just soaked them through with a good solvent and made sure the oil pan was off so that any solvent can escape through the bottom as far as what (submariner)
said he is very correct about the carbon rattle its a TSB on the vehicle explaining the process of cleaning the cylinders except with gm tools and cleaner i have not yet read the sticky but will be sure to read up on that but i am familar with the gm process my friends a gm tech and he explained it to me i will say this you would think pulling the motor through the top would be super hard but to be honest its easier to pull it through the top then the bottom and i know that some people may not beileve me but try hooking a northstar up to a trans with the subframe and tranny on jackstands its not easy trust me i found it much easier to install the engine through the top anyways if you have any questions feel free to ask i love the feed back i will also post a video soon of it running and driving so far so good hopefully it keeps driving like a new cadillac(-:
 
#7 ·
I was not sure what u meant about the pistons moving? U sure can't see the rings with piston in cylinder. Yes u can make the piston go up/down while turning crank. U need to split case to get rod bolts off and than u need to replace oil separator plate or redo the gasket. Would be nice to remove pistons to clean rings while heads are off but the block tear down seems like a pain. Especially if block is not seeping oil.
 
#9 ·
tech2135 said:
ok i pulled the engine from the top and no i didnt pull the pistons out cause the rod bolts are tty bolts and didnt want to go spend $200 at the dealer so i just soaked them through with a good solvent and made sure the oil pan was off so that any solvent can escape through the bottom as far as what (submariner)
said he is very correct about the carbon rattle its a TSB on the vehicle explaining the process of cleaning the cylinders except with gm tools and cleaner i have not yet read the sticky but will be sure to read up on that but i am familar with the gm process my friends a gm tech and he explained it to me i will say this you would think pulling the motor through the top would be super hard but to be honest its easier to pull it through the top then the bottom and i know that some people may not beileve me but try hooking a northstar up to a trans with the subframe and tranny on jackstands its not easy trust me i found it much easier to install the engine through the top anyways if you have any questions feel free to ask i love the feed back i will also post a video soon of it running and driving so far so good hopefully it keeps driving like a new cadillac(-:
Personal preferences I reckon. I've done about 30 and will never take one out from the top again. Glad you got her going :) enjoy the fine ride!
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the feedback guys i just wanted to clarify about the pistons and the reason that i think it was causing the cold start up knocking when i pulled the
heads off i noticed excessive carbon and also i could take my thumbs and move the piston back and forth in the cylinder which to me made me think that the rings were stuck in the ring landings causing excessive piston to wall clearence after i cleaned all the carbon and soaked the pistons and cylinders overnight
the next morning i did the same thing with my thumbs and the diffrence was night and day the piston was tight in its bore and felt good i beileve the rings were stuck in the piston cause you wouldent beileve the carbon that came out of the engine. also i would like to say to caddy-earl is youre probably right about it being easier from the bottom then pulling the engine through the top i just prefer to pull it from the top cause i have more expierence pulling through top then bottom i have to say them brackets and exhaust are your worst enemy especially the trans to engine brackets other than that it was just time consuming but
if you love the car gotta take care of it!!!
 
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