HEAL-A-SEAL

[MrEldo97]

The Timeserts are about 1 inch long. I agree with TexasJim; if I were that far into a motor and the crank mic'd out OK I'd put new mains and rods in it. I've used plasti-guage; does the job.

[KHE]

The Timeserts are 1-3/16" long. They are threaded in a recess in the block. If the studs are threading 2" into the block, they must be using some of the area that the head alignment dowels would use as you can't go much deeper into the block or you'll drill through the bell housing area...

A question I have on the stud method is what is used for an alignment dowel at the upper corners of the block? Or are the studs in that location sized accordingly?

[BodybyFisher]

I spoke to Jake from Northstar Performance to get a feeling about him and the stud kit.

The studs have two inches of threads that screw into the block.

If the main bearings are not scored he re-uses them. I am going to use plasti-gage to check the clearances of my main and rod bearings as I have a deep knock that is annoying.

I like the idea that the studs are threaded into the block, and when the nuts are torqued, the studs are just PULLED and not twisted galling the threads to attain torque.

Mike,

No more than a set of main bearings cost, If I had the engine tore down THAT FAR...I would mic the crank, and if that was ok, I would put NEW MAINS in it.

But thats just "ME"...I just couldn't see putting "MY" engine back together with the old mains... especially if I had what I thought was a main bearing knock.

The last paragraph...The studs being threaded into the block...and then just tightening the nuts on top.

That seems like a "MOST EXCELLENT" idea.

I agree, especially since I have a bad case half seal, that causes low pressure at idle, maybe the bad case half seal has lowered pressure overall? The bearings are not cheap, but good insurance. I think that the plasti-gaging will confirm that I have a bad bearing, Id like to confirm that.

[BodybyFisher]

The Timeserts are 1-3/16" long. They are threaded in a recess in the block. If the studs are threading 2" into the block, they must be using some of the area that the head alignment dowels would use as you can't go much deeper into the block or you'll drill through the bell housing area...

A question I have on the stud method is what is used for an alignment dowel at the upper corners of the block? Or are the studs in that location sized accordingly?

Kevin see this photo, this is from Jakes site, I have not had the head off, where would the dowels be in this photo

[Ranger]

The Timeserts are 1-3/16" long. They are threaded in a recess in the block. If the studs are threading 2" into the block, they must be using some of the area that the head alignment dowels would use as you can't go much deeper into the block or you'll drill through the bell housing area...

A question I have on the stud method is what is used for an alignment dowel at the upper corners of the block? Or are the studs in that location sized accordingly?

Yes. He had the studs made so that they do the alignment.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/north...nment-pins.html

[KHE]

The Timeserts are 1-3/16" long. They are threaded in a recess in the block. If the studs are threading 2" into the block, they must be using some of the area that the head alignment dowels would use as you can't go much deeper into the block or you'll drill through the bell housing area...

A question I have on the stud method is what is used for an alignment dowel at the upper corners of the block? Or are the studs in that location sized accordingly?

Kevin see this photo, this is from Jakes site, I have not had the head off, where would the dowels be in this photo

Mike,

The head alignment dowels are at the top corners of the block - two per head. From the photo, it looks like the upper, end studs are unique and incorporate the alignment dowel into the stud itself.

[BodybyFisher]

The Timeserts are 1-3/16" long. They are threaded in a recess in the block. If the studs are threading 2" into the block, they must be using some of the area that the head alignment dowels would use as you can't go much deeper into the block or you'll drill through the bell housing area...

A question I have on the stud method is what is used for an alignment dowel at the upper corners of the block? Or are the studs in that location sized accordingly?

Yes. He had the studs made so that they do the alignment.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/north...nment-pins.html

thanks Ranger, that was a good thread

[Cadillac Jim]

Some of the studs in the photos from Nortstarperformance's web site look like they have sleeves around them, which would perform the allignnment.

[MrEldo97]

IMO,

These studs look like a first class setup and with composite head gaskets (never liked GM's HG) the Nortstar would never come apart.

I'm truly impressed. If I had the room in my garage I'd roll the cradle out from under my Eldorado and do a complete rebuild using these studs. Impressive!

[BodybyFisher]

Yes, I am certainly beginning to feel comfortable about them. Who makes those composite head gaskets? Felpro?

[MrEldo97]

I haven't seen any composite gaskets for the Northstar. The only ones I have seen and used were made by Felpro, I believe, and they were a single sheet of metal with sealant on both sides. One of the gasket manufacturers (Goetze, Reinz, Felpro) really should step up to the plate with composite Northstar headgaskets. I really don't know what the hell they're waiting for...? Our problems would go away. The Northstar would then be the bullet proof 4 cam, 4 valve V-8 the design says it is.

[BodybyFisher]

Here is some interesting info on high performance head gaskets

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/12...ad_gaskets.aspx

[ted tcb]

Jake has mentioned he only uses Felpro gaskets, simply because they work for him and he's running around a

99% success rate.

[MrEldo97]

There goes my argument ...

[BodybyFisher]

While yes that may be true, its been my contention that the original head gaskets are fine, but its the bolts that pull, the head gaskets fail because of the bolts, but if there is a superior head gasket, I would prefer to use it

[Cadillac Jim]

The head bolts pull because the coolant has gone conductive (too old) and minute amounts of leakage find theri way to the head bolt threads, allowing galvanic corrosion. If no leakage ever occurs, that won't happen. Ergo a really good head gasket can do the job for that particular mechanism of head gasket failure.

Most head gaskets are designed to prevent essentially all cylinder leakage but allow minute amounts of coolant seepage as inconsequential, as it is with an iron engine. You don't see sealing rings around the coolant passages. On aluminum engines, selling coolant is essential for long term engine reliability, and that is well known and fully appreciated -- now. That's why I wanted to know what Jasper was doing for head gaskets before I bought my engine.

Be sure and note that it takes well seven years for coolant seepage to bring down a Northstar. If you haven't got that much history, then you are in the same situation as GM before about 1998 or 1999.

[BodybyFisher]

That is what the guru used to profess also, but I know the maintenance history of my Northstar and the coolant was changed MORE than enough over its life and the head gaskets blew, I believe that the bolts pulled and that it had nothing to do with coolant that lost its corrosion protection.

[Cadillac Jim]

The only thing that I can think of that would cause good threads to go bad over time is galvanic corrosion. The only thing that I can think of that would allow that would be traces of coolant. There is a nonzero leakage of any head gasket. The coolant doesn't have to be bad, it just has to be conductive.

I didn't have the pleasure of tearing down my old engine. And, it's hard to tell whether traces of coolant were in the head bolt wells unless you can somehow clear it all out of all the water jackets before you pull the heads. GM Quality would simply saw out the roots of the head bolt wells of an otherwise intact block with a diamond saw, but I don't expect you to do that.

[OynxSTS]

That is what the guru used to profess also, but I know the maintenance history of my Northstar and the coolant was changed MORE than enough over its life and the head gaskets blew, I believe that the bolts pulled and that it had nothing to do with coolant that lost its corrosion protection.

Yes, we now have WAY too many people who have religiously changed their coolant at WAY more frequent intervals then recommend by GM with headbolts fail.

Further we are NOT seeing newer engines fail at anywhere near the rate of the 1999 and earlier motors... If this was a "corrosive coolant" thing you would see and nice even bell curve of failure reports... we wouldn't we see a HUGE drop of problems in 2000 and then a even higher drop in problems in 2004... Interesting that the 2004 and the 2000 engine use the same head-gasket and yet the 2004 seems to be way more reliable then the 2003 version of the motor. Still not the bolts?

But if this was a "corrosive coolant" thing...How come there is no problem with the LS1 engines... Some of them have been soaking in Dex since 1997 it is only three years "newer" then the NorthStar and yet almost no head-gasket failure on stock motors... And WAY more LS1 engines have been built and installed then NorthStar motors... If this is a "Dex gets old" problem we should see LS1's blowing gaskets left and right... There aren't and they don't.

The myth that these engines died because their owners neglected the coolant has been pretty much been proven as bunk...

Oh and I changed my coolant again yesterday In my 2002 it has had the coolant changed every other year since it was new... Head-gaskets are fine...

[MAC]

While yes that may be true, its been my contention that the original head gaskets are fine, but its the bolts that pull, the head gaskets fail because of the bolts, but if there is a superior head gasket, I would prefer to use it

Well, whichever bolt(s) pulled there would have to be a catastrophic failure of the entire threading all the way down the bolt hole(s). I would think it would not stand to reason to have only a portion of the threads compromised. If this is the case, then the bolt(s) that pulled would have little torque left--No? If there are stripped threads then it may not be easy to remove the bolt because the thread system has been compromised. Am I wrong?

[KHE]

The sub-title of this thread should be changed to "It doesn't work"...

I still maintain the 2000+ cars do not have enough time and miles on them. In another 5 years, the '04's will have enough time and miles as a '99 does currently - then the failure rates could be compared.

What are the thread specs. for the LS-1 engines. Does anyone know the sizes and thread length engagements on the LS-1 engines? It would be interesting to compare the two bolts and thread specifications.

[BodybyFisher]

I changed the subject line Kevin

[MrEldo97]

"But if this was a "corrosive coolant" thing...How come there is no problem with the LS1 engines... Some of them have been soaking in Dex since 1997 it is only three years "newer" then the NorthStar and yet almost no head-gasket failure on stock motors"

To your point my neighbor has an '01 GMC Sierra 1500 with the truck version of the LS1 (?) and 123,000 miles. We changed the Dex Cool this spring for the first time in this trucks history. To say that that Dex Cool smelled rotten and rancid is an understatement.

No leaks of any kind in that motor, the A/C blows cold and has never been worked on. We changed his original brake pads and rotors (still had the factory clips on them) at 120,000 miles and they didn't need changing. Actually his truck is in much better condition at 123,000 miles than my Eldorado is at 116,000 miles. And my Eldorado was better maintained than his truck. GMC builds a solid, long lasting, leak proof truck with an all aluminum motor and Cadillac builds a s***box. I don't get it...?

[Texas Jim]

I don't have an LS-1...but I had "THREE" 1999 Chevy vans with Dexcool in them.

I bought all of them new.

They all had the CAST IRON 4.3L V6.

I didn't know any better and was always busy and never changed the Dexcool on any of them.

I know "NOW" that I should have changed the Dexcool every once in a while...but, the point is... I didn't.

And none of them ever gave me a minutes trouble.

Sold one in 2004 with about 150,000 on it.

Everything on it was still original.

The only things that had ever been replaced was routine stuff...oil and filters and air filters and 1 battery.

Radiator, hoses, plugs and wires...all original.

Second one I sold in 2005...also about 150,000 miles.

Same thing...all original.

Change oil and filter, put gas in it and drive it.

Third one burned when my garage caught on fire in the winter of 2006.

It had almost 250,000 miles on it.

Had the radiator and heater hoses replaced at about 200,000 miles when I had a new water pump put on it.

It still had the original plugs and plug wires on it when it burned.

I did have to replace the alternator one time and the battery a couple of times.

Other than THAT...it was never worked on...AT ALL.

The 2006 Chevy van I have now has almost 70,000 on it.

It has "NEVER" been in the shop...for anything.

I will change the Dexcool in it this fall, when I change it on my DTS, which now has 66,000 on it.

By fall, the van will have at least 80,000+ and the DTS will have well over 70,000 on it.

I will set aside a weekend and do some good preventive maintenance on both of them.

I "KNOW BETTER" now...I didn't several years ago.

[OynxSTS]

The sub-title of this thread should be changed to "It doesn't work"...

I still maintain the 2000+ cars do not have enough time and miles on them. In another 5 years, the '04's will have enough time and miles as a '99 does currently - then the failure rates could be compared.

What are the thread specs. for the LS-1 engines. Does anyone know the sizes and thread length engagements on the LS-1 engines? It would be interesting to compare the two bolts and thread specifications.

We have gone over this over and over...

The LS-1 (and the rest of the LSx) engines have the same length and thread pitch as the 2004-present NorthStar bolts. (smell a rat yet?)

The really bad bolts, the pre-99 bolts, have the same pitch and length (in the block) as the infamous Quad 4 head bolts...

If that alone is not proof, i dont know what is. In 2000 they continued to use the fine pitch bolts but made them almost an inch longer... Do the math that is a HUGE difference in clamping force.

The problem with the "2000 and newer cars are too new" argument is that it does not explain the DRAMATIC difference between MY 1999 and MY 2000... If the rate of failures reported on other forums are to be believed... the 1999 cars are over 10 times more likely to have the head bolts fail then the 2000 cars.

We would also expect to see newer and new cars fail as they age, this too is not happening.

It also doesn't explain the MY 2003-2004 change... only one year apart, using the EXACT same headgasket part and while 2003's head gasket failure are rare they still do happen... but one year later, the 2004's seem (like the LSx engine) to avoid this problem all together...