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#1 ·
I have a 97 DeVille with 107400 original miles, which I know is not much compared to some of you. To figure out whether or not I can expect much more out of this engine, I would love to see how many of you have Northstars with higher mileage. If your engine is not the original, please let us know. Any major problems along the way would also be helpful, with mileages. I think that a thread like this could really help some of us anticipate problems and estimate the life of our engines!

Thanks,
Jim

My entry:
107400 miles original
no known major problems
now leaks a little oil (began around 100k)
 
#2 ·
From '97 to 2000, I had experience with Northstars. I had many in our fleet that had in excess of 200K miles but, sadly the majority were NOT original. As I recall, roughly half of the Northstar engines in those cars went by 150K miles and by the time I left, the highest mileage we had on a Northstar was about 220K miles. The usual problem was of course, head gaskets.
 
#4 ·
ShadowLvr400 said:
97 Eldo, 85k on her right now. But, 360+ miles a week is adding up fast, so give me time. At 150k, I plan to rebuild with high performance parts. Pistons, rods, heads, and that supercharger from XMS BETTER be ready by then. :) Hehehe
My old truck not a caddy but it had 191,xxx and it was an 89 with a 350
My old car had 284,xxx and it was a 87 Cutlass with the 305
 
#10 ·
jam224 said:
I have a 97 DeVille with 107400 original miles, which I know is not much compared to some of you. To figure out whether or not I can expect much more out of this engine, I would love to see how many of you have Northstars with higher mileage. If your engine is not the original, please let us know. Any major problems along the way would also be helpful, with mileages. I think that a thread like this could really help some of us anticipate problems and estimate the life of our engines!

Thanks,
Jim

My entry:
107400 miles original
no known major problems
now leaks a little oil (began around 100k)
I plan on driving mine over 200k miles. I have not had a car not make it past 200K in 15 years. My cars seem to thrive on hard use. I am optimistic that this STS will go the distance.

Jon
96STS
 
#12 ·
2dfx said:
This Thread Is Useless Without Dashboard Pics!

If you are really "pimpin" with the 4.9L then you can very likely supply pictures with subjectmatter more interesting than dashboards, but since you ask, I will see what I can do. Is it the odometer you are interested in, or are you refering to the speedometer/tachometer readings.

Jon
96STS
 
#13 ·
I have a 93 Eldorado SC with an all original Northstar motor. It currently has 167K on it, and I expect to keep the car for at least another 2 years or so. It should easily have another 50K on it by that time. (especially because I love to drive this car any chance I get!) :D

One thing I was a little concerned about AFTER I bought this car this summer was oil consumption. I began reading all these complaints about this. I was extemely happy to find that mine uses only about 1/2 qt. between oil changes (about 4K miles), and I think that is due to seepage around the case seal and oil pan. Snugged up the bolts on the oil pan and it cut down the dripping quite a bit. Good luck with your 97 :devil: !
 
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#16 ·
Katshot said:
From '97 to 2000, I had experience with Northstars. I had many in our fleet that had in excess of 200K miles but, sadly the majority were NOT original. As I recall, roughly half of the Northstar engines in those cars went by 150K miles and by the time I left, the highest mileage we had on a Northstar was about 220K miles. The usual problem was of course, head gaskets.
Hi Kevin,
Who keeps fleets of Cadillacs? Was it a rental fleet like Hertz or Enterprise? Was it a texas company called Enron? How many companies have fleets of Cadillacs?
Jon
96 STS
 
#17 ·
Katshot said:
From '97 to 2000, I had experience with Northstars. I had many in our fleet that had in excess of 200K miles but, sadly the majority were NOT original. As I recall, roughly half of the Northstar engines in those cars went by 150K miles and by the time I left, the highest mileage we had on a Northstar was about 220K miles. The usual problem was of course, head gaskets.


Can you detail about the head gaskets? Was this a corrosion factor? Coolant factor? etc. What do you think was the preventive?
 
#501 ·
From my research it's a design flaw. And it's very common. I was very lucky that I made it to 167,000 Mi before I had no choice to repair it. But I hear it people have had to get it repaired many miles before that. And then somebody told me the other day he never had to get it repaired. So who knows. To some extent it's a luck of the draw. But if you start seeing a lot of coolant leaking out don't give it too much more time before you get it repaired. If you want to keep the car
 
#18 ·
My Caddy has 176,000 and strong

Well, I have a 1997 Seville STS with about 176,000 miles on it and the original engine and tranny are still kickin. I will provide a pic if you so desire. I have replaced the knock sensor, master cylinder fluid sensor, and it needs a new idler and tensioner pulley in the next 10,000 miles. This car runs like new, doesnt smoke, doesnt leak, doesnt burn ANY oil, and still pulls a 14.8 in the quarter. I need to replace the struts/springs, rotors, and pads soon. All parts that are wear items have been replaced when necessary.

Makes me proud to be a Caddy owner. Doesnt it?
 
#19 ·
I have a 99 STS with 132,000 miles and no major problems as of yet. No other car I have owned can come close to the reliablility of the caddy




jam224 said:
I have a 97 DeVille with 107400 original miles, which I know is not much compared to some of you. To figure out whether or not I can expect much more out of this engine, I would love to see how many of you have Northstars with higher mileage. If your engine is not the original, please let us know. Any major problems along the way would also be helpful, with mileages. I think that a thread like this could really help some of us anticipate problems and estimate the life of our engines!

Thanks,
Jim

My entry:
107400 miles original
no known major problems
now leaks a little oil (began around 100k)
 
#20 ·
jam224 said:
I have a 97 DeVille with 107400 original miles, which I know is not much compared to some of you. To figure out whether or not I can expect much more out of this engine, I would love to see how many of you have Northstars with higher mileage. If your engine is not the original, please let us know. Any major problems along the way would also be helpful, with mileages. I think that a thread like this could really help some of us anticipate problems and estimate the life of our engines!

Thanks,
Jim

My entry:
107400 miles original
no known major problems
now leaks a little oil (began around 100k)
198000 here needs struts all 4 corners a/c compressor knocking like a bill collector at your door ....runs great though minor oil leaks
 
#25 ·
jam224 said:
I have a 97 DeVille with 107400 original miles, which I know is not much compared to some of you. To figure out whether or not I can expect much more out of this engine, I would love to see how many of you have Northstars with higher mileage. If your engine is not the original, please let us know. Any major problems along the way would also be helpful, with mileages. I think that a thread like this could really help some of us anticipate problems and estimate the life of our engines!

Thanks,
Jim

My entry:
107400 miles original
no known major problems
now leaks a little oil (began around 100k)

1994 sls northstar went 259,000 highway miles before it spun a rod bearing using penzoil.
 
#27 ·
jam224 said:
I have a 97 DeVille with 107400 original miles, which I know is not much compared to some of you. To figure out whether or not I can expect much more out of this engine, I would love to see how many of you have Northstars with higher mileage. If your engine is not the original, please let us know. Any major problems along the way would also be helpful, with mileages. I think that a thread like this could really help some of us anticipate problems and estimate the life of our engines!

Thanks,
Jim

My entry:
107400 miles original
no known major problems
now leaks a little oil (began around 100k)
We bought a 97 with 41k and it has now turned 121, I am told I have a blown head gasket or a cracked head or block and should get a new motor. It blows coolant out the overflow, but doesn't register hot, with normal around-town driving. It's very disappointing, the car is wonderful to drive.
Ian Martindale
maroon2@mindspring.com
 
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