Cadillac Northstar - History, Problems, and my Mea Culpa

#Northstar #Cadillac #MeaCulpa
The Northstar was unleashed in 1993 and was an award winning V8, comparing favorably with other engines from other brands....
Hindsight being what it is, it was also complex, with issues, and shockingly expensive to fix!
In a previous video I said "...the excellent Northstar engine..." and have been criticized for it. This video is a history of Northstar, the common problem, and my (partial) mea culpa for my previous statement!

[jacobwebb]

I have a 2007 Caddilac dts! Zero issues and beautiful sounding motor when taking off

[seththomas]

I've never had anything to do with a Northstar, but mechanics all say if GM had just put in some decent head bolts it would be known as a quality engine.

[danield.]

My waterpump failed and I was 50km away from home. Northstar went in limp home mode, using four cylinders to pump air through the engine to cool it and four cylinders to run on. I made it home. Mechanic repaired waterpump and car was good again.

The Northstar is an American master piece!

[chadholmes]

The northstar had revisions in 2000. they recived longer headbolts and reduced compression/timming going from 300hp to 275hp and no longer requiring premium fuel. Sometime In 2004 gm started using ls6 headbolts, all 2005-2011 northstar engines are no more likely to develop headgasket issues than any other car. They ALL will still have the common oil leaks with
valve cover gaskets, oil pressure sensor, and pan gaskets those are the only real downfall for the later year motors. Not a big issue for me. This is a good motor with good fuel efficiency 27+ highway in good running order

[Herbsy]

The critics often never have driven a Northstar V8 (only tell stories about the brother of a cousin of a friend of their sister). How you said in the video: A few years had troubles with the studs (thanks to GM costcutters)
The later models and especially the LH2 and LC3 are bulletproof engines with some oil changes (regular maintenance).
I absolutely love my LH2 Northstar in the 2007 STS4. Friend of mine drives the StS-V with the Supercharged 4.4 Northstar. He had clogged catalytic converter and high oil temperatures but no damage or head gasket problems at the engine. It loves (and needs to rev) and produces a neat sound that o adore. A sports engine

[Gocartnut]

I absolutely love the northstar, I plan on swapping them in a lot of cars. If it wasn’t for GM using too small of a head bolt from the get go it probably would have gone down as one of the best engines ever produced.

[keathonhawkins]

I spent $3500 on a 1999 Eldorado having the steel inserts done to the block and the car ran like a champ 🏆 😎

[HamiltonMechanical]

At one time, The northstar was regarded as a good engine. It didn't come out until much time had passed about the problems it had. In 2003 we were still being trained on them at automotive school, and they were well regarded. In my time, the HT4100 was the engine to hate. That one was 100 times worse than the northstar lol.

[samuelvetromile]

The 3800 was the best motor made GM should have kept producing it

[Curtis]

I'm 39, when I was about 11 or 12, our neighbor Doug was a Cadillac car salesman, I remember him taking me to the store in his new STS, dark green tan leather.. very nice.. we went down this curvy road on our way to the store and it was a blast! Also, in the early 2000s my Dad picked up a used SLS, violet with white leather, it ran really good. I borrowed it once or twice, fast and comfortable, very similar to an STS. Today though, I prefer RWD vehicles... nothing but fond memories of the Northstar V8 for me 👍

[dj]

It didn't help anything when Cadillac also buried their reputation with the HT4100 and the 8-6-4 engines.

[roysmith]

The Oldsmobile Aurora engine was raced at Indianapolis with several different sponsors. For a few years this engine was the winningest engine at Indy.
You should a video about when “Oldsmobile went racing”.

[williamallen]

Thanks for your NorthStar video ! I've had a 2006 Cadillac DTS, since 2013 . What is needed, with the NorthStar, is a few videos, on " How to maintain & DRIVE a NorthStar engine car! ", W.O.T. "wide open throttle " is a " maintenance procedure " ! Note : ONLY for 100mph PLUS roads !

[bcwrangler]

My neighbour has a Oldsmobile Aurora with the L47 variant of the Northstar engine. Car is in excellent shape and never sees winter!

[JeremiahCardin]

I am a gm certified tech that worked on these new and there was way more than just head bolt issues I have personally seen these have major oil leaks and its a split block design so that can be almost as expensive as the head bolts and i have seen a lot of timing issues and then there's the head bolt issue which is more than just replacing head bolts because the threads would actually pull out of the block meaning that you have to drill and tap the block or to do it right you have to get a NorthStar bullet proof kit at over 1200 dollars not including fluids labor and incidentals which means to get a bullet proof engine could cost you upwards of 12k yes 12, 000 dollars.

[bobnob]

I am a mechanic and I have always liked them and owned several caddys, However as you stated but 05 or newer. and be sure to do a coolant
pressure test. They run smooth as silk.

[drfalcon]

oil leaks, gasket issues, studs pulling out of the block, hard to work on, (12 hours to do a oil pan?) nope, Caddy deserves the rep it got

[bradleypollack]

I had a Buick Lucerne with a Northstar V8 and it had 150000 miles. No issues, no oil leaks, no nothing. Only the alternator had to be replaced that was a mess but otherwise no issues!!

[Marc]

I have been driving a 2001 Olds Aurora with the 4.0 Northstar V8 since 2000. I am not an easy driver. I pay attention to oil changes and cooling system maintenance. Head gasket problems in that time?

[mauriciogonzalez]

2005 Cadillac Deville northstar engine, this channel made me more confident about fixing the bolts, I absolutely love the car and the amount of power it has. Left several of my friends in the dust. 🤪 I am very aggressive with my cars tho so there's that!