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00+ northstar head gasket repair questions


sts03

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Hey Tim, for the 00+ northstar when installing the head studs I know for the pre 00 they should be 4 inches above the deck. what should the lee bank and upper bank be above the deck surface?

sts03

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Thanks, yep nice and curly.hey Tim do I use thread locker on both ends of the studs? Hopefully today I'll get to putting the timing chains,etc. back on.remember when I was taking the chains off one of the cams turned.can you walk me through putting it back on or would it be better if you explained it over the phone?

sts03

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I'm assuming you have the camshaft tensioners and guides removed. The first thing to do is to align the timing marks on the crankshaft sprocket and the intermediate sprocket - this may take 7 turns of the crank for them to align. Once they are aligned, you need to lock the crankshaft so it will not rotate. Do this before you install the heads.

The next step is to align the timing marks on the cam sprockets with the upper surface of the heads - use a small machinist's square to get them right. You will need to use the service manual to identify the exhaust and intake timing marks. Now assemble the heads to the engine.

The left cam chain gets installed first and the shop manual will identify the routing order. Looking at the timing cover, the left bank will be on your right side. Or another way to look at it is if the engine was longitudinally mounted, left/right is viewed as if you were sitting in the driver's seat. Install the guides. The chain tensioners need to be retracted and a small pin inserted in the lefer to keep them retracted. Finishing nails work well for that. Leave any slack in the chain toward the tensioner. Install the tensioner.

Now install the RH cam chain - same holds true as the LH chain. Once the chains are installed, pull the pins from the tensioners.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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The marks I made on the secondary chains to sprockets how many revolutions will it take for them to line back up 7 or 14? Just want to make sure the chain isn't skipping teeth.

sts03

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You haven't mounted the heads to the block yet have you?? You need to set the timing marks first, then install the heads. There are factory timing marks on the intermediate sprocket and the crankshaft sprocket. I would use the factory marks - You may need to remove the oil pump to see it clearly.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Yea I already had the heads on before I saw your post yesterday.I only took off the secondary chains I didn't touch the primary stuff.I do know when I took the heads off to do the job the number one piston was a the top.I hope I got it right.how tight should the bottom of the chain that slides over the guide to left head be, its pretty tight feeling with a tiny bit of wiggle?

sts03

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I don't know what to tell you at this point - if the heads are on the block, you will bend valves of you rotate the crank and a piston touches a valve. Can you remove the heads easily or are the nuts loctitesd in place?

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Yea the timing marks were aligned before I put the head on and the number 1 cylinder was at TDC if that's correct.now the marks line up every 14 revolutions but as I'm turning the crank the chain on right cam sprockets makes like a click type of noise and When it clicks you can see the chain kinda bounce a little(the bounce is in between the cam sprockets ) also the click is maybe once every revolution .the Mechanic at my work thinks the click is cause of no oil pressure ?

sts03

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If the intermediate to crankshaft sprocket timing marks were aligned when you installed the heads, you are part of the way there. Did you align the cam sprocket timing marks before installing the heads?

Installing the chain guides and tensioners is as I outlined in my previous post - you want the slack in the chain to be at the tensioner side.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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The secondary chain on for the left side the bottom of the chain that runs over the Guide is tight but if I rotate the crank it will be a little loose then rotate the crank again and its tighter again.

sts03

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Did you release the locking levers on the tensioners?

If so, it may be OK - it just needs oil pressure to fully extend the tensioners.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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I may have looked as though I was not communicating with Dan, but rest assured I have spoken directly to him via the phone each day of the week.

When I told him the tensioner would stiffen up after the engine was running he said someone had mentioned that and I told him whoever did was in fact correct.

When spinning the engine the right bank cams will always spring forward and relax the chain slightly, all rebuilds or reassembly will do this.

Anyhow, I do thank you for your insight helping a client, very kind and very cool!

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Yea I released the locking levers .yea Tim told me about the oil pressure thing cause I heard this click/pop sound when I rotated the crank and Tim and the Mechanic at my work was saying about the oil pressure and the tensioners .I was just curious before I put the engine back in the car.

sts03

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Hey Tim where exactly did you say I need to place the block of Wood and jack on the transaxle ?I haven't had time all week to even put the engine in hopefully tomorrow though.

sts03

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The engine is in the only thing is the rear holes and dowel pin are lined up but not touching the bell housing and the engine isn't lined up with the passengers side mount bracket.the front dowel pin is in.I'm hoping the bolts on the rear bell housing will reach the engine holes and pull it together didn't have time to try it rained on me.

sts03

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DO NOT attempt to draw the engine to the trans. using the bell housing bolts - you will break something. The engine should line up to the trans. without much effort other than the effort you can exert with your arms.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Dan, I know you do not have an engine crane and if you just sit your engine in and disconnected the fork lift you were using, in your year the engine is naturally going to tilt toward the passenger side of your car.

If you had an engine crane you could balance your engine and use your arm and hands to freely move the engine toward the bell housing.

So hook the fork lift back up and just barely lift up on the engine to help balance it.

Also you have lower torque struts so make sure your lower Trans mount on your drivers side is up and connected then use your floor jack to raise the trans slightly to alleviate any pressure.

As long as you have nothing blocking it you should be able to freely grab your chains to engine and easily pull the engine to trans.

Although you do not want to use the bolts to pull the engine to trans, if the above instructions work for you, you can start all your bolts and bolt them freely at this time.

Never use just the bolts to try and suck the engine to trans! If your bolts are tight and your trans is not coming together then you need to regroup.

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A load leveler will make the job much easier - you can level the engine out side to side.

Harbor freight has two:

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-ton-capacity-heavy-duty-load-leveler-67441.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-Ton-Capacity-Heavy-Duty-Load-Leveler-60659.html

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Got the lined up and bolted with tranny, thanks for the advice.how important is the relation with the flywheel to torque converter cause I marked it like the manual says to do but my mark on the flywheel rubbed off ?

sts03

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