How do you Northstar owners like your Northstars? Would you recommend them?

[JimHare]

I guess I'll chip in here, but don't have too much NEW to say - just affirmation of previous posts.

I've had a total of three caddys (99 Base Deville, and the two in my profile), with a total of about 150,000 miles of use on them.

The '99 had some problems, which were for the most part covered by the GMPP I got with it - alternator, radiator surge tank, AC Compressor. It stranded me once when the alternator blew.

The 02 Deville with 143K miles has been relatively good, with an AC Compressor (warranty), one front wheel bearing, and a window regulator needed; all in all fairly cheap on a cost-per-mile basis.

The 01 ETC has needed Zero - except for a battery that suffered a broken terminal but I can hardly blame that on the Northstar itself.

Both current cars get driven pretty hard, return very acceptable gas mileage (over 20 on both, combined driving) and burn very little oil. I think I put in a quart in the Deville about every 2500 miles, and the Eldo seems to burn about a cup full every 2000 miles or so.

Neither car drips anything but rain water on the ground.

Both of them have quiet, fast, luxurious rides and I am completely satisfied with both.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Originally Posted by JimHare

I guess I'll chip in here, but don't have too much NEW to say - just affirmation of previous posts.

I've had a total of three caddys (99 Base Deville, and the two in my profile), with a total of about 150,000 miles of use on them.

The '99 had some problems, which were for the most part covered by the GMPP I got with it - alternator, radiator surge tank, AC Compressor. It stranded me once when the alternator blew.

The 02 Deville with 143K miles has been relatively good, with an AC Compressor (warranty), one front wheel bearing, and a window regulator needed; all in all fairly cheap on a cost-per-mile basis.

The 01 ETC has needed Zero - except for a battery that suffered a broken terminal but I can hardly blame that on the Northstar itself.

Both current cars get driven pretty hard, return very acceptable gas mileage (over 20 on both, combined driving) and burn very little oil. I think I put in a quart in the Deville about every 2500 miles, and the Eldo seems to burn about a cup full every 2000 miles or so.

Neither car drips anything but rain water on the ground.

Both of them have quiet, fast, luxurious rides and I am completely satisfied with both.

That sounds a lot like my 4.9. I need to add about a quart of oil between oil changes (3000-3800 miles) which is totally acceptable, reasonable and normal. It sounds as though the N* gets better mileage than the 4.9 too, although that's debatable. Like the N*, the 4.9 has some headgasket issues, and coolant flushes are imperative, and they have to be done every two-three years. Also, like the N*, prior owner maintance and upkeep is very crucial. If they didn't take good condition of either motor, the current owner is going to pay. I didn't know this when I bought my car, but luckily, the previous owners took very good care of it and I've had no major problems so far.

My '92 deVille has needed:
4 new struts: $320
Front brake job: $70
New Spark Plugs: $20
New Antenna mast: $36
Inner Tie Rod: $ 25
Alignment: $40
New Tranny filter: $20
New Serpentine Belt: 20
New #5 Injector: $129
Two new front tires: $120
New right front wheel bearing: $120
Bi-yearly coolant flush: $83

Grand total: $1003, and that's not including all the oil changes and stuff.

This winter, I plan on doing new wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, EGR service, having the interior shampooed and cleaned, and having a $250 CD changer installed, among whatever else pops up. I plan on keeping this car, even after I buy my next and using the '92 as the winter car.

Even with all of this stuff done, I'm still very satisfied with the reliability of my car. Right now the SES light is on for something dealing with the EGR valve, and that's gonna cost me, but I'm still happy with it. Keep in mind that all of this work has been done in the past 19 months and 27k miles. And the car is getting to the age where parts are gonna start to go out and need replacement and repair.

Originally Posted by davesdeville

I think you need to do some test driving if you're wondering about the Eldo vs Concours vs Fleetwood.

I'd love to, but I don't wanna deal with all the sales people bullshit. I used to do that a lot, but I got sick of wasting all their time and patience.

[jss]

I have a 94 Seville with 184k miles.

Replaced headgasket at 88k miles in September 2002 for $1500.

She uses a quart and a half of oil over a 3000 mile interval. (she's always done that)

Replaced the alternator in 2003. You can buy one for about $100 aftermarket, or go to Cadillac and pay four times that.

No starter problems.

If the GM trained guys say they're hard to work on, then I believe them. The 'problem' I see with service is that precious few shops outside the outrageously expensive dealers will work on them.

I've read that the early Northstars (like mine) have an oil leak problem with something called an oil manfold gasket that will set you back about $1800. I had the dealer replace mine when he had the engine out - he said they do that automatically anyway. I've also had a PCM go out. You can get one for $200, but the problem is in diagnosing the problem. The dealer will run a couple of tests and then declare that you need both crankshaft position sensors, an ignition module and a PCM and that he can fix you up for $1500.

The day my beloved Seville gives up the ghost will be the day that I open up the paper to look for another six or eight year old Northstar powered Cadillac that I can afford (2000 or later). Mine's been the most reliable car I've ever owned and with a clear conscience I would recommend a Northstar powered Cadillac to someone who's accustomed to low maintenance vehicles.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

Well the LT1 isn't bad at all, it just pales in comparison with the Northstar. The LT1 in my Roadmaster was much better in freeway acceleration than the 4.9 in my deVille is. The 0-100 in a 300hp Concours is around 19.5 seconds, the 0-100 in a LT1 Brougham is probably near 21-22 seconds. The 0-100 in my deVille is like 26 seconds.

In city driving, where I spend the most of my time, the LT1 would be more "fun" because there is a lot of power down low, but in the Northstar, you would always wanna go above 3500 RPM because that's where the fun starts. Not saying that the Northstar doesn't have power at low RPMs, but when you hit 3500RPM, it's like a turbo kicked in.

As far as spinning tires goes, it's not fun anymore, it's just an annoyance. That's definetly one benefit of the Northstar; traction control, less torque and equal length halfshafts to lessen torque steer and burnouts.

The Concours definetly has some other very practical benefits too. It's smaller, which means it's easier to park/manuver in the congested city streets and parking lots. It's FWD, so it's better in snow, and it's probably better on gas seeing as how it's like 400lbs lighter, with a smaller engine.

It's not so much of an old man's Cadillac either. It's got five place seating with a center console, floor shift and full instrumentation. I don't particularly want another 6 seater with zero instumentation. I like my gauges and never understood 6 seaters..who wants to sit in the front center? The Concours is definetly more European by design, but still destinctly American, the perfect compromise. Something that is forgotten in the newest Cadillacs...they're wanna be BMW's.

I like the '96-'02 Eldorados a lot too, but the Concours is a lot more practical. I like driving my friends and family around in Cadillac Style, with loads of room, and I don't think they would want to ride with me as much if my car wasn't an extremely roomy four door. It's a pain to try and get everyone in and out of a two door. But on the other hand, if they don't wanna ride in it, I won't have to drive as much, and it'll save me money on gas.

Between a '97-'99 DeVille Concours, '96-'02 Eldorado and LT1 Brougham, is there a huge difference in ride and handling? I'd imagine so between the Brougham and Eldo, but is it a big difference between the Brougham and Concours? How about the Eldo and Concours?

Most of that holds true.

The northstar was "designed" with light touches at low rpms to have it smoothly get going, especially in Limo applications where it was needed to accelerate smoothly w/o spilling the clients drinks

I find that once you hit the 2000 RPM mark, its really moves, I can really feel it push me back into my seat there. I have the 300ft-lb version, the concurs 300hp might feel differant since its the high revver.

What this does is allows for gentle movement around those 30mph areas jumping from stop sign to stop sign, buy quick get up and go on the highway on ramps and passing...or other times when some throttle is nice to use.

As far as the 6 seaters go, that split bench isn't always ment to be used when at capacity, for me it allows the girls to get much closer than having the console in the middle

[Ranger]

Oooh Yeah.

[sts96]

I like my northstars very much if not I would drive something else like a diesel. do I recommend them YES.
sts96

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

The main drawback to the Northstar is the total lack of aftermarket parts. The owner ignorance that causes the big, expensive problems is another story all together.


No, I don't mean that everyone that owns a Northstar is ignorant, I mean that those that don't take care of them are. But that goes for most anything in general.

[davesdeville]

If you want aftermarket parts, get a Mark VIII if you want a coupe, or an LT1 Fleetwood if you want a sedan. To me at least, it's just that simple.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

True, but a VIII will be horrible in the snow, and I'm not sure if I'd want somethng as big / unmodern as a Fleetwood.

I really like the S/C 3800 Park Avenue Ultras, GTP Sedans and Regals, but I don't like those as much as the Cadillacs.

[bbbnickledimer]

Personally I wouldnt buy a northstar I would get a ford modular motor instead.

But even then I would still buy a pushrod motor I would take a LSX series engine over any northstar any day

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Well the Intech doesn't have as many "problems" as the N* does, but it is attached to a Ford product, and I generally hate Ford, but I like Lincoln. But the VIII would be horrible in Minnesota's snow, and the VIII has some tranny problems, and the air spring suspension is another story alltogether! (and an expensive one at that!)

[AlBundy]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

Well the Intech doesn't have as many "problems" as the N* does, but it is attached to a Ford product, and I generally hate Ford, but I like Lincoln. But the VIII would be horrible in Minnesota's snow, and the VIII has some tranny problems, and the air spring suspension is another story alltogether! (and an expensive one at that!)

Go with the N*. If you have any problems I'm sure many here will help you through it. If it a HG well take up a collection.

[eldorado1]

Originally Posted by ALBUNDY

If it a HG well take up a collection.

Hey, you know what? I was just thinking... They should offer car repair insurance. You know, pay them $20 a month, and if your engine explodes, they'll replace it for free.

[aamusls06]

Well, I love this Northstar I have. The only problem that I've had is a MAP Sensor and I haven't had a problem out of it since. I pop that MAP sensor on her and she runs like a dream now. I've put 11,000 miles(mostly highway, maybe 1000 city miles) on it since April when I bought it(113,000 miles when I bought her). It's addicting to have this car. Nice power, beautiful sound, and damn good gas mileage on the highway. Poor mileage in the city. I would really prefer to have that STS model because I would have revenge for my friend beating me with his Mustang, but forget that. I'll just come for him when I get through with my Trans Am and LS6 Engine project completed. But, I'm going to definately going to get my coolant flushed as soon as I can get back to Memphis to Bud Davis Cadillac.

I'll probably purchase a newer Cadillac when I am through with college. I'd be looking for '02 Cadillac Deville in 09...lol...

I hope I don't run into the headgasket problem anytime soon, but I'll just have to find a shop and get ready to turn a wrench.

Definately, the N* is a keeper.

[Machster]

I have a 2000 STS with 292,000 km. Have had it for 6 months now. Uses a "little" oil (not worried) But ... I have found when it is cold and my first move with the car is in reverse it will leak tranny fluid on the ground, and it's a little stream. Now I always park so I move forward first and no leaks. Any ideas? Here is another Good One! One time a couple months ago I thought I give her a top speed run. I got up to about 130 mph and it was very close to red line - about to shift, next thing it starts to vibrate like a bearing going bad. I let off on the throttle and the vibration/hum slowed down as it shifted but didn't go away. I put my foot back into it to see and the vibration came right back strong. I slowed down to a stop and it went away. It acts like an engine related problem that didn't like the extended time running at high rpm. It hasn't done it since then but I also haven't pushed it to that point. I have pushed it through the gears to around 80 mph and works fine. It was a very noticable vibration/hum, not just a little thing. Any thoughts? ... other than that - I LOVE my STS!