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I did the ring cleaning procedure in a '97 STS I used to have. There is no need for the Kent Moore tool. The key is to let the top engine cleaner sit in the cylinders as long as possible. It took me a couple of days - jacked up the rear of the car as high as I could to get the rear cylinders closer to level. Poured in the TEC through the spark plug holes. Let it sit for 24 hours, then lowered the rear and jacked up the front of the car, repeated the TEC injection and let it sit for another 24 hours. Once the fronts were done, I used a MityVac vacuum pump to such as much of the TEC out of the cylinders as I could. I disabled the ignition and with all eight spark plugs removed, cranked the engine until the TEC quit spewing out of the spark plug holes. Next, change the engine oil as it will have a fair amount of TEC in it that seeps past the rings. Start the engine and go for a drive. Hammer it and it will smoke like crazy for a few miles until all the TEC burns off. Then change the oil again after a couple hundred miles. That procedure seemed to reduce the oil consumption but it's been so long ago I can't really remember. The TEC is not cheap and you'll need several containers of it to do the job. The Rotella 10W-30 is a great oil for these engines. I do not miss the pre-2000 Northstars with respect to oil consumption. I have a 2004 Deville and a 2005 Deville and it is very rare to have to add any oil between oil changes.

Thanks for the information !!!! This website is the best !!!!

Just found the Hot Rod article... Many more pictures and details!👍 https://www.hotrod.com/articles/twin-turbo-tucker-replica-fabricated-rob-ida/

It was the magnet that held the rod for the shift module. It somehow wore itself into about 4 pieces so because gm made the rod bending up, without the magnet it of course fell right out. Don't know why it wasn't bent the other way then no magnet would have even been necessary but im not a gm engineer. Anyhow guys thanks for the help. All fixed.

yes that worked. Hard to believe that's been over 10 years ago.

Lets see if this works, this is a link to a folder in my dropbox of the 2009 CTS-V Challenge, a brief Bob Lutz spot and a few CTS-Vs flying by. Keep in mind the CTS-Vs had no brake fade all day long https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d8o3uj5466184yg/AACoOk6Ck_RMc9iSrAQK2P0ga?dl=0

Fun. The auto magazines always were bananas over hot station wagons; unfortunately they don’t buy cars. I am disappointed we don’t have an XT4-V available though; seems an easy offer with the 2.7L turbo 4.

Speaking of wagons, I once took a CTS-V wagon out on the track down in Joliet IL and that thing was nothing short of amazing! After taking both the coupe and sedan out, I really wanted to experience what the wagon would do. 😁 Even better, the wagon was equipped with the 6spd manual trans, and that thing rocked! I was smiling from ear to ear as I put it into a 4-wheel drift at 80mph on a corner! There was something about that extra weight in the back that gave it a more balanced feel to me! 👌🏻

I agree with Logan's reply above, occasional downshifting to gain control without overheating the brakes is not going to hurt the transmission. Think about it the torque created from a stand still pulling away from the curb. The downshift causes the engine to put a drag on the forward motion increasing the RPM. I would be very careful of 2 things however, 1) be careful that the downshift does not push the rpm up so high that it goes into redline floating the valves causing damage and 2) on wet or slick ground too much engine braking may cause a skid something very easy to do with a manual transmission on wet ground. I will say this however, when I am driving aggressively coming into a turn, I will downshift, to gain more control, if I lift my foot, I slow, if I mash the accelerator, I blast out of the turn. It is important to realize that braking this was provides no warning to any vehicles behind you as the brake lights do not illuminate and you could surprise someone and cause an accident. I have done it with TH350, TH400, 4L60E and 4T80E. I will not however do that with a questionable high mileage transmission nor do I do it often. It's part of my WOT procedure 😃 This article echos what Logan stated above: Driving Downhill If you’re driving downhill for long periods, it’s crucial that you don’t overuse the brakes to slow the car. As the car gains momentum with the force of gravity, more braking is needed to slow it, meaning that the brakes can start to ‘fade’ through overheating and reduced friction – which is the last thing you want driving down a steep hill. In this situation, engine braking can be a real lifesaver; that’s why you always see signs at the top of steep hill telling you to change into a low gear. Third or even second gear will help the car stay at a steady speed, and will allow you to just lightly touch the brakes to slow your descent – meaning they aren’t subjected to any punishing wear. Reference: https://www.holtsauto.com/redex/news/what-is-engine-braking-and-can-it-harm-your-car/#will Happy and Healthy New Year everybody!

Nice troubleshooting! I love to see a "victory"! Cruise on!

For the past several months, there has been an annoying rattle in the lower engine area of my '95 Seville. It became worse over the past few weeks. My first thought was a bad main or rod bearing as the noise seemed to be in the lower engine. Some people suggested possible bad flex plate or torque converter. A local trans shop estimated $1,500 to replace both. However after close inspection and some honest advice from a GM dealer tech, I found the four bolts holding the torque converter to the flex plate had loosened quite a bit, causing the torque converter to rattle and the loose bolt head to slightly contact the trans housing causing. I jacked up the car, chocked the rear wheels for safety, put jackstands underneath the front, and layed on the ground. I first removed the front 02 sensor, then the exhaust plate brace from the oil pan (four bolts, one minute to remove) and the cross bar in front securing the trans and engine (one bolt on one end, a nut only on the other sharing the motor mount, 2 minutes). I then had access to remove the bottom trans dust/flywheel shield, which gave me fairly easy access to the four torque converter bolts, using an 18 mm socket and swivel from the side. I removed each one, cleaned it and applied thread locker, set them back into the hole with a swivel socket and final torqued them with an 18mm combonation wrench. I allowed some time for the thread locker to dry before starting. Bingo !!!! Noise gone. Lessons learned: the bolts can easily be accessed from underneath, trans removal not needed. While in there, the flex plate can also be easily inspected for the dreaded cracks ( a known GM problem). Third, is that you can also see very clearly if rear main seal is leaking (mine was only slightly, then stops). Perhaps the most important lesson is that this noise can be deceiving. Before tearing the engine apart or listening to bad advise on the engine rods or mains, or trans needed overhaul, just take some time to check out those bolts on your own. If they are even a slight bit loose, they must be tightened.

Glad you resolved it before anything else could happen. They do come loose and even shear off sometimes. And GM is known for cracked Flexplates between the holes. I have seen them break right off. Mainly on trucks though. Welcome to CaddyInfo

One big hill near Birmingham, AL I always shift to a lower gear to keep the brakes from overheating....One big hill in Tennessee too. The hill in Tennessee actually has emergency decel lanes for trucks with failed brakes. If your on something like Mount Washington......you better have it in a lower gear.....or you will lose the brakes totally. Cars with smoldering brakes on the side of the road are common there. Even using a lowest gear....you may still have to stop and let the brakes cool off. Some cars are actually banned from driving up. Some Hondas and Saturns included. Honda now uses 'Mt Washington decent' as a standard for transmission design. https://mtwashingtonautoroad.com/drive-yourself/auto-road-vehicle-restrictions Also called 'engine braking'.

New alternator in. Noice gone!😎 But… One down and new one shows its uggly face.😕 Tested the windows. Driver side worked just fine, passenger side came down about 2 inch and then… WHAM!!! It fell all the way to the bottom. Wtf happened? Guess I´ll have to open up the door all the way but don´t know what to expect???? BTW, I´ve got "service code 37" and "restraint 37" in DIC. Can not find this in the service manual. Anyone?

@BodybyFisher No offense taken. I always try to point this out to "less expirienced" DIY´s to avoid misstakes. As You know I have a 4,5 and I think there are big differences to the ht4100 but I have never owned one.

You need to retract the hydraulic tensioners by moving the levers and compress the end. Then place a small nail in the hole on the levers to keep the tensioners retracted. Turn the crank until the timing marks on the crank and intermediate sprocket are pointing at each other. It may take up to seven turns of the crank to get them to line up. Lock the crankshaft in place. Loosen the bolts retaining the cam sprockets. Set the cams with the timing marks 90 degrees to the head surface. Use a small machinist's square to help you get it to 90 degrees. Install the cam timing chains in the proper order as called out in the shop manual - remember LH and RH designation is with the engine in a longitudnal position (as in a RWD car) and viewed from the driver's seat. Looking at the timing chains, it will be opposite. When installing the chains, you'll need to remove the sprocket to get the chain over the sprocket, then bolt up the sprocket. Leave the slack in the chain to interface with the tensioner. The opposite side should be taut. I was going to upload a picture but I don't see that as an option on the editor.