Cadillac Owners Forum banner
18K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  jcresciSTS 
#1 ·
I know people are set in their opinions about additives. However my question has nothing to do with if this stuff helps performance, lubricates better, or increases fuel economy. I simply want to find out if it helps with the notorious problems of northstars consuming oil. If anyone has experience with an additive and how it relates to oil consumption problems in northstars please chime in. With that said I am about a quart low on oil right now so I am going to add this instead of a quart tomorrow. I will update regularly on my oil consumption after adding this. I am at about 70% oil life right now and this will be my second quart of oil I have added since my oil change......
 
#4 ·
Have you read the Cadillac Technical Archive article "Occasional full throttle acceleration is good for your engine." ?

What about the GM TSB on Northstar oil fill recommendations and where to carry the oil level on the dipstick ?

Lucas oil stablizer, and several other brands of stabilizers, is wonderful for long-term storage of an internal combustion engine. It prevents rust, corrosion, and condensation from forming on idle metal as well as holds an oil film in bearings. It has absolutely no effect on oil consumption. The Army and Air Force use a variation of oil stabilizer for long-term layup of idle combat equipment.
 
#5 ·
I added it today at 70% oil life remaining on the monitor and 110,880 miles. I will post updates. I do know that my engine is running quieter and smoother today since putting it in.

I knew Sub and Ranger would be the first to chime in on this and refer to that technical archive. Yes I have read it you two. If you two want to let GM tell you an engine burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles is okay then go ahead and believe it. :thehand: Any company can screw up a product and then release a statement of how it is okay. I for one am not going to fall for it. I know Ranger and Sub think anything GM says has to be right :worship: , but I know GM is a multi-billion dollar company that will protect their ass in any way possible. :want:

Lucas states right on their website that this product "...reduces oil consumption...". I am not much of a believer in self-proclaimed product hype by a manufacturer especially when there is no empirical data, but I have heard GOOD things about lucas products from people THAT KNOW what they are talking about. :thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
The oil life time indicator has no oil quality “sensor”, is just a computer algorithm calculating the theoretical quality of the oil based on various factors like:
- Engine RPM
- Engine temperature (i.e. oil temperature)
- Outside temperature
All these are monitored in time so … say you drive a lot of short trips in town in very hot climate with a lead foot (lots of launches form stand still) the percentage goes down faster than if driving in spring a 600 miles HWY trip. It is based on the behavior of a generic brand oil of the correct viscosity witch is up to par with the oil standards.
So no matter what woogie boogie miracle additives you add the car simply does not knows, just follows the algorithm. Any brand of oil available to a reputable retailer is good oil for your car as long as is the correct viscosity.
I thing Ranger said-it, “any oil is good as long as you change-it”.

I am curious why nobody came up with some kind of “tire air preventive replacement”, it would be a good money making opportunity (say $5 with any other oil change?), or at least a bottle of air treatment, can be used any time you wish (is just preventive).
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the explanation n*caddy, but I understand how the oil life indicator works. I was simply posting the oil change percent I have left to keep track of how close I am to changing the oil along this test process of this product.

Sub I am 26 years old so I still know what WOT is in my caddy....:stirpot:
 
#8 ·
Your age has absolutely nothing to do with reading an article that was written to give a possible partial solution to Northstar oil consumption.

Do some snooping around and find the GM TSB on Northstar oil consumption - it's about 6 years old, updated in 2008, I believe. It discusses possible problems and fixes as well as gives a good piece of advice on fill levels.

Your aside that some of us believe everything that GM publishes is gospel is ill-founded and patently wrong. Knowledge and application in automotive fields, as in many others, is a distillation of advice and experience, both good and bad, from all sources. Never stay in this field if your attitude is "I know...........". You're far better off if you ask yourself "How and what if.............".

EDIT @ 1612, EDT: Take a look at a thread by mikelawson which shows several views of a high-mileage Eldorado engine in the process of top overhaul. Note carefully the obvious aggressive cylinder bore hone pattern still easily visible. This is one reason the Northstar will consume more oil than some other V-8's. These pictures also show the Northstar wet-liner open deck block construction.
 
#9 ·
And the fact that it DOES consume more oil than the average engine is the very reason that the factory crosshatch hone pattern is still visible on the cylinder walls, thus NO cylinder or ring wear at all. I don't know, a qt. of oil every 1000 or 1500 miles does not exactly seem like a big deal to me. That said my '03 uses very little as opposed to my '97 that DID use a qt. per 1000 - 1500.
 
#10 ·
I actually saw the honing live, Jake showed me an open engine (I believe it was a ’93) and is impressive, is like no piston ever moved against the cylinder.
On the opposite scale I have seen some Renault engine, most if not all the Renault engines have steel sleeves cylinders. The engine had under 100K (Km) and you can clearly see the travel of the piston rings, the cylinder wall was almost 1 mm (!) thinner. That engine did not use any oil, you were never required to top up (unless you got a leak, or the rings/cylinders were busted). These engines never got to pull a head bolt; you have to replace the rings and sleeves way before that (well that and the engine block was cast iron and aluminum head - under 60HP and about 2/3 the weight of a Northstar). Pass 60000 Km and expect the blue-gray smoke and lost of compression (thus power, even less than the original 55HP). Then once the engine was rebuilt the clutch was on its way out, so engine out again, but who kept those cars for 60000 Km any way? My sister’s in laws car blew the rings at 24000Km. Then the CV Shaft knock over 10000Km, brake master cylinder membrane bursting, plastic pieces of the intake sucked into the intake manifold at WOT, cracked distributor, ball joints every 30000Km. 15 years ago my parents actually lost the front wheel on their 6 months brand new car, the lower ball joint pulled while driving slowly on cobblestone.
Talking about reliability…
 
#11 ·
WOW :tisk:. WOW :tisk:. WOW :tisk:.....

I continually see you do this Submariner. If someone starts a thread that doesn't mend well with your beliefs or ideas about a cadillac you do everything you can to overtake it and change the subject of discussion within it. No need to respond Submariner as I would like to get this log of my experience with this product back on track.:thehand::thehand::thehand:

I was hoping this thread could simply be a log of if my oil consumption decreases or stays the same after adding the Lucas oil stabilizer. I am not condoning the use or disuse of the product. I simply want to see if their claim on their bottle and website of reduced oil consumption holds true. I figured the Northstar would be best to measure it in as it is known for high oil consumption even when it is performing well with no problems. I will be adding updates approximately every 500 miles.......
 
#16 ·
Not to take anything away from you ranger, because in most cases I have seen you really seem to know what you are talking about. I will even give Submariner some credit, because in some cases he seems to also. What I think gets annoying though is that you two seem to have to comment at least once in EVERY thread(even the ones you two dont have knowledge in to give good information). I think if someone gets on here that isn't a regular and asks a question they should be able to get a response and a good answer within a couple of responses. You and Sub are usually right behind eachother with your "What he said ^^^^" or something similar responses. Im not sure if you two are stuck up eachothers hind ends or you are just :postwhore: . I just dont see the point in someone who is new to the site asking a question(and I see this time and time again) and you two getting it so off track that the original posters questions never gets answered. I realize you two are contributing members of this forum, but when it comes to just friendly gossiping why dont you two go down to the lobby for that and let the newbies questions get answered in the threads. Of course this is my opinion and neither of you will listen, because from what I have seen you both have the inability to accept change in your beliefs.....
 
#17 ·
My 99's Check Oil Level comes on whenever I hit about 69-70%, SpeeDee said I have a small oil leak. It came on again on Wednesday when I hit 69% Life and I was a couple blocks from SpeeDee so I stopped by for a free top off. I told him they said I have a leak and he suckered me into buying a bottle of Heartland High Mileage Oil Changer which he said has worked great for VW's since they burn a lot of oil. He said it bonds to the inside of the case and should seal leaks and what not. I figured I would give it a try since $25 isn't too much.

I'll see if my message comes on again when I hit 40%, by that time I should need another oil change anyways.
 
#18 ·
Don’t wait for the message to pop up, always get your self into the habit of checking your oil level every fill up (or at least every other). Your oil level should be maintained between minimum and half way between min and max. Always top up with the EXACT SAME band and type of oil. I always buy an extra quart of oil when doing my oil change and use it for the occasional top ups. Never overfill, too much is just as bad as too little.
The message comes up when you are almost 2 quarters low, is not really dangerous, but starting to get concerningly low.
 
#21 ·
Man, with that attitude if I were one of these guys I purposely give you wrong information. Like tell you that adding sugar to your gas tank is a good idea.

I used to have a '96 Deville..went through a hell of a lot of oil. I guess if everyone is saying the same thing..maybe it's time to just believe it.

Kind of seems to me that you're doing exactly what you're accusing Sub & Ranger of doing..just dismissing everyone who isn't saying what you want to hear
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top