northstar engine seal failure at 50K miles?

[topsider]

Also DON'T TOP OFF your oil, only put a quart in if the LOW OIL light comes on. There is NO reason to keep topping it off, it will only cause leaks. Try the HIGH MILEAGE blends of oils, DO NOT use synthetic.

You guys have no faith in Mr. Goodwrench. Why would a large dealership in a metropolitan area that sells hundreds of NEW Cadillacs want to sucker punch a loyal owner with a family?

***********************************************************************

Me? I am not so eloquent! What does your response have to do with my quote that you used? I gave you a factual tip. That tip has been passed down from the guru. The guru was a GM Powertrain Engineer who helped design the Northstar. He is gone now but his legacy is still with this board. That is who I listen to, not individuals who have something to gain.

My advice? Not sure why you came here, but you have your mind made up and the leak is bothering you. Have it fixed, while you are at it, have the head gaskets replaced while the engine is out but make sure they timesert the block, also while the engine is out replace the plastic HVAC cover they get brittle. You said you saw blue smoke, if you are doing WOT's and still have the blue smoke, maybe your rings are caked. How much oil are you using between oil changes? Maybe while the engine is out you need to have rings done. Have them replace the rear seal while they are as it its been re-designed and do the axle seals.

If you are concerned with the safety of your family, how are your struts and springs? Does it bottom out? Mine were shot at 46,000 miles three years ago. If your struts and springs are bad, your emergency handling to me is more important than an oil leak.

Ok I'm still listening. They haven't gotten back to me about the job cost yet. I'm new here but this is my 3rd caddy and I never had this problem with the 4.9L or the 4.5L. Maybe this is standard GM planned obsolesence. A trade bait tactic designed into the NS engine. I'm not used to being hassled by oil change grease monkeys. I'd luv to keep my money in the bank. I can't afford a major engine overhaul. It's probably cheaper to order a new NS from GM. I can live with an oil spot on my garage space. I can even ignore the bluish smoke after adding a couple quarts of synthetic 10W-30. I'm here to learn how to protect my investment. The smoke was the new oil spilling onto the manifold through the faulty seal. It is good to talk to other owners instead of being at the complete mercy of GM service employees. Maybe it's time for a Lexus.

topsider

98 D'Elegance

93 Deville

85 Fleetwood Limo

[Ranger]

Just how bad is this leak Topsider? Synthetic is thinner and generally said to be more leak prone. Try going back to conventional and see if that slows it down some. The cost to stop the minor seepage is generally not worth it unless the leak is really bad.

[topsider]

Just how bad is this leak Topsider? Synthetic is thinner and generally said to be more leak prone. Try going back to conventional and see if that slows it down some. The cost to stop the minor seepage is generally not worth it unless the leak is really bad.

I'm not used to getting turned down for an oil change while I'm driving a Caddy. Everytime I go for a routine lube they say "you have a leak". One place had me wait on line and then told me they couldn't do the oil change. I was totally embarassed as I watched the Lexus and Lincoln owners go on their merry way. Lucas is a great product but is it hurting my engine over time?

topsider

98 D'Elegance

93 Deville

85 Fleetwood Limo

[BodybyFisher]

These are great engines but not without problems. They tend to be leakers. Use synthetic it gets worse sometimes. Keep it topped off (because it leaks) and the leak will get worse. Use too much oil at the oil change and it will leak. Understand that it leaks, learn to live with it, put a pan in your garage, and ignore all the aholes that remind you of it... its not a problem.

Look for any causes, oil pan drain seal, cooler lines, CAM cover seals, etc. Use a high mileage oil and see if you get better results, the problem is you take your car for oil changes so you have no control over what oil they use.

The oil leak is not dangerous, its a nuisence, find a mechanic that will change your oil and not freak out or bug you about it.. And yes, the 4.9 was a great engine, but its not the Northstar. If you look, the Northstar has been improved constantly over the years. Later year engines have much less problems with leaks, head gaskets, etc.

Consider using a higher viscosity oil, that is in affect what you are doing with the Lucas, upping the viscosity.

[Spurlee]

Off topic here, but where are you getting those great cadillac 16 pictures?

[topsider]

quote name='Spurlee' date='Jun 5 2007, 06:27 PM' post='103862']

Off topic here, but where are you getting those great cadillac 16 pictures?

Google "Cadillac Sixteen"

topsider

98 D'Elegance

93 Deville

85 Fleetwood

[jackc]

I just wouldn't pay $2,200 to fix an oil leak until I'd stood under the car with the mechanic and had him show me exactly where it is leaking. There are lots of places a northstar can leak oil. The definitive way to find the source of the leaks it to clean the bottom half of the engine and put UV dye in the oil. Then fire it up, and watch with a black light. You'll know exactly where and how much its leaking. Then decide. You may have 4 leaks, 3 easily repaired. You may want to fix the easy 3 and live with number 4.

Big city dealer shops lie all the time. They do it because the service writers are on commission, because a bored mechanic is looking for some time to flag, because a service manager is behind on profit for the month, or because the real owner is a large holding group and the staff are running amok. I had a Cadillac dealer cut my CV boots with a blade once when I took it in to diagnose a vibration - about 6 weeks after the axles were replaced (by me!). Liars and thieves just are. Trust but verify.

You need better info. Quick lube grease monkeys aren't a good source for info on your cadillac. Half of them don't want to touch a Northstar just because they don't understand them. Find a decent independent shop for your routine maintenance.

And see for yourself before you put down 2 grand.

[acklac7]

I'm not used to getting turned down for an oil change while I'm driving a Caddy. Everytime I go for a routine lube they say "you have a leak". One place had me wait on line and then told me they couldn't do the oil change.

topsider

They refused to work on your car b/c they wanted a smoke break, plain and simple. I worked at a quick change place last summer (white collar meets blue collar, wasn't pretty, but it I got to work around/learn about cars!)..I can't tell you how many times my comrads would refuse to service a vehicle for the smallest issue just b/c they had been busy for a while and wanted to get a break in ASAP.

Now there where times when we did turn away customers for serious oil leaks, but were talking 1/10th of a quart on the ground by the time the tech got down to pull the plug!!...Or the entire (and I do mean entire) Engine and Tranny soaked/dripping oil/sludge...(you don't want to know what happens when you go 30,000 miles between oil changes..Nothing like pulling off a "factory installed" filter from an 05" Jeep Grand Cherokee with 30,000 miles on it...The oil just gurgles out...

And they will always point out a leak no matter how small, if they don't you can imagine how things go: Old Joe hasn't checked underneath the car in 6 months. He gets his oil changed, then goes home to make sure everything is nice and tight...What do you know he finds a leak...Of course!! The oil change shop screwed up!!!

If your using/leaking more than a quart every 1000 miles I would consider getting the leak fixed, if its more than a quart every 500 miles I would definitely get her in the shop

[topsider]

I'm not used to getting turned down for an oil change while I'm driving a Caddy. Everytime I go for a routine lube they say "you have a leak". One place had me wait on line and then told me they couldn't do the oil change.

topsider

They refused to work on your car b/c they wanted a smoke break, plain and simple. I worked at a quick change place last summer (white collar meets blue collar, wasn't pretty, but it I got to work around/learn about cars!)..I can't tell you how many times my comrads would refuse to service a vehicle for the smallest issue just b/c they had been busy for a while and wanted to get a break in ASAP.

Now there where times when we did turn away customers for serious oil leaks, but were talking 1/10th of a quart on the ground by the time the tech got down to pull the plug!!...Or the entire (and I do mean entire) Engine and Tranny soaked/dripping oil/sludge...(you don't want to know what happens when you go 30,000 miles between oil changes..Nothing like pulling off a "factory installed" filter from an 05" Jeep Grand Cherokee with 30,000 miles on it...The oil just gurgles out...

And they will always point out a leak no matter how small, if they don't you can imagine how things go: Old Joe hasn't checked underneath the car in 6 months. He gets his oil changed, then goes home to make sure everything is nice and tight...What do you know he finds a leak...Of course!! The oil change shop screwed up!!!

If your using/leaking more than a quart every 1000 miles I would consider getting the leak fixed, if its more than a quart every 500 miles I would definitely get her in the shop

I'm so glad this chat room is here. I think I'll live with the leak and save my money. During the winter the car sits in a garage and is used once a week. It gets about 1000 miles a year mostly in the summer going to the beach. Lucas made the annoying little red oil can lite go out. That's good enough for me. She runs good, could use a paint job though. And I'd like to play my MP3's on my radio. I bought an FM transmitter on ebay and it (DLO) keeps turning off and on by itself. Plenty of static so I bought a cassette adapter and it keeps ejecting every few seconds. So I ordered the Monster Cable cassette adapter to see if it makes a difference. Still waiting to hear from the dealer about the leak. Miss that feeling when you get a wash, lube and full tank.

topsider

98 D'Elegance

93 Deville

85 Fleetwood Limo

[PAUL T]

By the way they started putting the Northstar in the 94 Deville Concours. I bought my Concours at 61,400 miles with an oil leak in 2000. Now it still has an oil leak and has 164,000 miles. It does stink occassionally and smoke sometimes , but the under carriage won't rust out. Mine leaks about 1 quart per 800 miles. In 100,000 miles I have spent about $320.00 on oil. That is a far cry from the $1200.00 they wanted to fix it for 7 years ago. Granted if the motor needs pulled for a major repair like headgaskets, I will have it fixed then.

[topsider]

By the way they started putting the Northstar in the 94 Deville Concours. I bought my Concours at 61,400 miles with an oil leak in 2000. Now it still has an oil leak and has 164,000 miles. It does stink occassionally and smoke sometimes , but the under carriage won't rust out. Mine leaks about 1 quart per 800 miles. In 100,000 miles I have spent about $320.00 on oil. That is a far cry from the $1200.00 they wanted to fix it for 7 years ago. Granted if the motor needs pulled for a major repair like headgaskets, I will have it fixed then.

I got the car back from the dealer today. They wanted $3K to fix the leak. I guess I'll shop around for an independent Caddy mechanic who's hungry for work. In the meantime Lucas will have to do. They gave me an oil change and fixed a broken marker light for $165.

topsider

98 D'Elegance

93 Deville

85 Fleetwood Limo