Exactly. Ford isn't completely without it's flaws either.
Sorry you got a bum one though dwilly. I got lucky and found out about this before purchasing a pristine '99 (by checking the forum here first in fact), but have have since looked at various '04's and would not hesitate to buy one if I find the right one. Even though it's still just a bit close to those potentially bad years, I'm not worried. And still love Cadillacs (some of them) and other GM marques as well.
I had an older aluminum block Caddy (cast-iron heads though, oddly enough) with zero issues, and would purchase an '04 or later Northstar in a heartbeat still. Even with all the discussion here.
I put very little money into my old one in maintenance. Even parts you would expect to fail over the life of the car, didn't. The only engine parts I had to change in the over 200+ thousand miles on it were one engine mount, one alternator, and one serpentine pulley. Sold it and it's still running strong for the new owner.
By the same token, I've had fantastic luck with all my Fords, all my Buicks, my Chevy, and each of the imports I've owned over the years. However, I NEVER had one run and last like that Coupe DeVille!
If I sound like I'm defending the name, I guess I am. I think Cadillac got away with murder for 11 model years and didn't get called to the carpet for it. Just like Ford hasn't been the subject of a 60-Minutes or Nightline thing regarding the plugs. And from another angle, I think Ford got robbed on that whole TFI ignition module failure rate thing back in the early nineties, or whenever it was.
It just sounded like you were trashing the whole line because of your negative experience with one car, and were using logic (that whole "my old cast-iron Ford" thing) that didn't make sense to me.They're still excellent cars, and that from an aknowledged Ford guy too. Don't expect my 5.0 or my 400 to have head-bolt issues, but because they're older, they don't run like a Northstar either!
Have never been, and can't imagine ever being, "brand conscious" to the point of thinking my brand is better than your brand, even because of one fault. Not without empirical data anyway!
If I was, I'd hate Chevrolet because my Corvair was fitted with o-rings of an insufficient heat rating, and Ford because my '71 Bronco was rusted through in 8 different places on the body before it was 5 years old, because of a stupidly simplified design for manufacturing ease (I "assume") that captured water in all the wrong places.
I just changed o-ring material (that wonderful Viton) and fixed the sheet metal in such a way that it wouldn't do it again. Would I bad mouth, or even sell my old horse? Not a chance. Ok, well, I'd bad mouth Ford for the flaw, but wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
Even with an all-aluminum engine!
I don't think, by listing your old "Ford cast-iron block" as the assumed cure for a stripped thread is using the old noggin though. If that was the case, then your beloved Fords are in trouble, as they're now all aluminum too. Just like I bet your '97 Nissan is.
Loved my '00 Maxima aluminum V6 by the way. Pretty decent car, but a great engine! If it was a material issue, you'd have to be worried too. They (Caddy) just screwed it up. Harder to screw up thread in cast-iron for sure, but that's not an argument against Cadillac, or aluminum. It just is.
Every new Ford V8 since the early to mid-nineties (for cars, and '97 for trucks) has been aluminum also. With the exception of a few leftover 5.8 Windsors in the trucks for a year or two, and the 5.0's in the Explorer up to about '01, of course, Ford has used aluminum in all their V8 blocks and heads. And for the first several year models, owners have been dealing with the aforementioned plug issue. Either seized to the head, ruining the threads, or blowing out, ruining not only the plugs and heads, but sometimes a lot more, when the center electrode and insulators went bounding around inside the combustion chamber. I bet if that had happened to you, you'd be calling Fords all kinds of cuss words too.
There are now even special tool kits you can buy in any auto parts store to help recover, restore and replace your buggered up threads and plugs once your old plug has either seized up or blown out. When they're fixable that is. No matter what way it goes though, it's leaving you with a very expensive "tune-up" for your Ford. So sure, the Northstar had a seriously nasty issue that caused you to have to replace threads. And it probably cost more than the Ford fix to boot, but not all Caddy's are going to be a problem. And not all Northstars have the problem either, as the poll above shows.
Sorry again that you got a buggered one. If you got it used, I'd be more upset at the guy that sold it to you. If you bought it new though, you did pay a lot for something that wasn't just a simple driveway fix away from being perfect. And that's upsetting for sure.
In fact, I've said it many times, I'm shocked that Cadillac got away with this flaw for so long without a big brouhaha being brought up by the media, the owners, and their lawyers. In all the time (roughly 11 model years!) that this problem existed, not much has been written about it that I've seen. Except here.
So what are you planning for the Caddy then bwilly? Sell it? Or did you have it fixed already? If so, drive the heck out of it and get your money's worth.
And watch out for your next Ford purchase. Make sure it's not one of the 4.6 or 5.4 Mod motors that's got the plug issue.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm jumping all over you. I think it does sound that way in fact, but it's meant in a very friendly/competitive/conversational combative way.
Paul