My 2005 Northstar died today with 115k

[Ddubya]

Originally Posted By: Rat407
5 year / 100,000 mile warranty and $3950 installed. This sounds like a good deal to me. To bad it is so far away.

http://www.northstarperformance.com/newengines.php


Thank for the information. Good to know just in case.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws

But then you dont know the service history on the new vehicle.



Either way, it will likely be more reliable than a Northstar. I've heard so many horror stories with those engines. The replacement engine has about the same mileage as his engine that just bit the dust, and we have no idea how it was taken care of. I'd take my chances on a $4000 used car that I can test drive over a used mystery engine.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: Donald
For $3500 you should be able to get a reman installed. A Jasper reman will often upgrade weak parts in the engine where possible. Other remans probably do the same thing.



Exactly, it would have warranty.
Plus, it would not have 93K on it after the refresh.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Did I mention I hate GM products?
Hate is a rather strong word. GM the heart break of America.

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I thought the northstar was supposed to be a good engine.


In typical GM fashion, they over promise and under deliver. Everything with GM is suppose to be the next big thing that is going to take back market share but they always fall flat.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I thought the northstar was supposed to be a good engine.


In typical GM fashion, they over promise and under deliver. Everything with GM is suppose to be the next big thing that is going to take back market share but they always fall flat.



I guess kind of like Volkswagen and their diesel scandal?

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I thought the northstar was supposed to be a good engine.

It was GM's answer to the Toyota UZ-series Lexus V8(and also for the just modernized BMW/Mercedes V8s of the 1990s, but less so).

It was a revolutionary design for GM - after the HT4100 and V8-6-4. But it loved to leak and strip head bolts. The starter is in the V-bank like the on the Lexus. GM trenched back to the LSx motor for Cadillac's V8 needs.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I thought the northstar was supposed to be a good engine.

It was GM's answer to the Toyota UZ-series Lexus V8(and also for the just modernized BMW/Mercedes V8s of the 1990s, but less so).

It was a revolutionary design for GM - after the HT4100 and V8-6-4. But it loved to leak and strip head bolts. The starter is in the V-bank like the on the Lexus. GM trenched back to the LSx motor for Cadillac's V8 needs.
I remember GM advertising how it can run without coolant.

Man, they hyped the heck out of that motor.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
$3,500 for a used engine installed?

I'd step back for a second and think long and hard about that one. On a good day the car is worth $3,500 if it didn't have a blown engine. I'd try and sell it for $750 and then you'd have $4,250 to buy something that's known for reliability.

Just my 2 cents

But then you dont know the service history on the new vehicle. Even if its supposedly reliable if its been abused or suffered from a lack of maintenance it could be a money pit anyways. OP knows his vehicle and presumably takes care of it. If he still likes the car, then repowering it is a viable option. Although, I would agree to check the chain on the new motor, and also, now you know if you see the same set of circumstances occur again, what is going to happen. You can then preemptively repair the engine.

Unless your advocating for putting that 4250 down on a new vehicle and taking on a car note, which there are a myriad why one might not want to do that.

He doesn't know the history on this used old engine. It could have been driven hard and put away wet and not maintained well.

And the miles might not be true. I bet a lot of junk yards sell engines with "only 50k miles" or "only 90k miles" on them that truly have double or triple that.

The only difference about not knowing the history on this compared to another car is knowing whether the struts or tie rods have been replaced. Big deal.

 

[fonecord2]

I have a 99 aurora with the 4.0 Northstar. It's a excellent engine. Plenty of Power down low and avg.24 mpg.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Seriously if the car is mint and he likes it shipping the car back and forth may be worth it. If it were mine and I really wanted to keep it long term because its flawless I would put a quality rebuilt tranny in at the same time then you have a car with a min of 5 yrs 100K life in it under warranty. The rest of the car is popcorn to fix.


The STS has a 5L50E, Not near the work to remove later compared to a 4T80E. The last 5L50E I did in a 2wd STS took about 2.5 hours to R&R.

What's your take on all the Northstar bashing Trav?

 

[Trav]

That's good in a way the 4T80 was a bear to get out but it was strong enough. IIRC you had to drop the cradle right or was that only for the engine?
Personally I always liked the N* and owned a few over the years inc the SC engine, sure some had issues but if you avoid the head bolt years they were a pretty decent engine with plenty of power and good fuel economy, smooth running beast too.
I have no problems owning one.

IMO there were probably 100 good ones for every one that had any sort of issues.

 

[gman2304]

I owned a 1995 Seville STS with the Northstar. It always used a couple qts of oil between changes and had a lot of problems with everything from HVAC system to sunroof to heated seat problems to smoke coming from the steering wheel, [bad turn signal wiring] and on and on. It was a beautiful car [polo green with Palomino leather] but if not for the warranty, it would have bankrupted me.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: Trav
That's good in a way the 4T80 was a bear to get out but it was strong enough. IIRC you had to drop the cradle right or was that only for the engine?
Personally I always liked the N* and owned a few over the years inc the SC engine, sure some had issues but if you avoid the head bolt years they were a pretty decent engine with plenty of power and good fuel economy, smooth running beast too.
I have no problems owning one.

IMO there were probably 100 good ones for every one that had any sort of issues.


I drop the engine/trans & subframe when building a 4T80E using my engine table & eat the cost of the freon/dryer/seals. I find it easier especially if pulling the radiator/cooler for contamination. I have pulled just the trans during my stint at Moritz Cadillac & didn't care for it.