So having said that there are absolutely NO performance upgrades for these engines. Unless you have very very deep pockets.
The N* is a disposable engine. When it need rebuilding it's time to buy a new or reman one. Reman N*'s are NOT easy to find at all and they're not cheep. The Cylinder honing alone has never been duplicated, yes it's that complex.
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"absolutely NO performance upgrades"? Eagle Rods, pistons, aftermarket regrind cams, blower manifolds that bolt on, performance torque converters, exhaust, intake, etc etc??? Enough to make a 500hp 9000rpm naturally aspirated, or 2000hp FI motor.... If those aren't performance upgrades, I don't know what is.
The northstar is NOT a disposable engine. People just think it is because they're afraid of it. The 4.9L - now THAT's a disposable engine. The northstar can be rebuilt just like a 350 can. It just takes a few extra tools (timeserts, etc). Granted, you won't be able to duplicate the factory surface finish on the bores without special equipment. That doesn't mean you can't rebuild it. In fact odds are you don't need to hone the cylinders.
I think it has a bad crank and, Caddy told me the 93' crank is different then the 94' and later. My luck, they don't stock any cranks that old and when they did they were $1,200.00 bucks.
Don't replace any parts that don't need replacing. Unless a piston ate it, and gouged the heck out of your crank, it's probably fine. If it's not, you can pick up one from a junkyard for about $50. Cranks don't "just go bad", and they should last forever, so a junkyard crank is an option here, and likely won't need any work to plug it in. However I think they do have a few different undersized bearings if necessary...
Yes parts are available. Just no hot-rod or 'upgrade' parts. As I mentioned previously the key reason why people don't attempt to rebuild them is because they can't duplicate the cross-thatching in the honing pattern.
See above. I know of 2 people rebuilding northstars for performance applications (right now), and they are getting them honed and using a profilometer (? or something fancy like that) to get it right. These guys know their stuff. Granted, it took some shopping around to find a shop willing to "get it right". As you should - if you drop your engine off at Ma and Pa's Speciality Ingin Shop, you should be prepared for bad results..... whether you drop off a northstar or a small block chevy.
I rebuild industrial ammonia compressors for a living and sometimes we have our crankshafts turned down ".015" & ".030" and use oversize bearings. have you guys ever heard of GM offering oversized bearings with these engines.
Yes, they exist. I'm not sure if they come from GM or an aftermarket co, but if you want me to try to dig up their name, let me know.
Well I let my 19 yr. old drive the car and he drove it like it was a race car. I gave him the car when it had 210k miles, and it has roughly 238k miles on it now, and it has a steady knock. But the knock sounds more like it is coming from the top and not the bottom and, it is a knock and not a tap. truthfully though I haven't pulled the oil pan yet, just going by past experiences with my other cars and trucks. Just trying to get as much info. together as I can so when I do go into it and whatever I find, hopefully you guys will have provided me with enough help and direction I will be able get what I need and be back on the road in style again in a reasonable amount of time.
Northstars have problems with rods.... Specifically threads pulling and reducing the clamping action. Doesn't happen often, but with over 200k on a 93(?) it wouldn't surprise me. There are ARP or Eagle rods on ebay for the northstar for about $400. Dirt cheap, and insurance that it'll last forever.
I am new here, These are not race cars. They are Hi po luxo criusers. If you push em too hard they will break. For some reason the G.M. vehicles in the 90's and 2000's had piston knock problems. I know why. They f/u-up on quality control. This is true. I am qualified to make this jugement, I work on a fleet of p/u'S for a large municipal. These vehicles get maintenece every 2000mi. GM give us the runnaround on oil consumption.
:lies:
Call yours what you want, but mine is a race car. Northstars have a problem with knocking when you don't race them. (carbon buildup) 1qt/3000 miles is normal for oil consumption on these engines. Why? Because the rings are low tension (so they last forever). The side effect of this is they burn a little more oil than "normal". But hey, you can replace the rings with high tension ones that will cut the oil consumption to nothing....... Your engine won't last as long though. I'll stick with the rings its got. Additionally, variations in production can push that number to 1qt/1000-1500miles.... If you don't drive it hard, expect numbers closer to those.