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Purchase tips


Hompie

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New on the forum !

I'm 27 years old, living in The Netherlands, and i'm a financial controller. :work22:

(and no, I don't smoke pod :D )

But above all ...

I've made my decision : i'm buying a Caddy :wub: . The car of my choice is the STS Northstar '92.

I'd love to get some purchasing tips from you guys... there are not a lot of STS' for sale overhere and the ones that are, always have about 160K Miles...

What are important things to think about?

Greetings,

Hompie

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:welcomesmiley:

Did the STS have a Northstar in '92? I didn't think they got it till '93. I believe it would have a 4.9. Very reliable engine. On an older Northstar, have a cylinder pressure test done to determine if the head gaskets are OK. It is a very expensive repair if they fail.

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:welcomesmiley:

Did the STS have a Northstar in '92? I didn't think they got it till '93. I believe it would have a 4.9. Very reliable engine. On an older Northstar, have a cylinder pressure test done to determine if the head gaskets are OK. It is a very expensive repair if they fail.

The Northstar engine was introduced in mid-1992 but was first installed in the 1993 model Allanté, which was the only year the Allanté had a Northstar as it was the last year it was marketed. In 1992, GM split the Seville line into two versions: The Seville Touring Sedan ("STS") and the "less-performing" <_< Seville Luxury Sedan ("SLS"). But it wasn't until 1993 that the Northstar was installed in the STS. In 1994, the Northstar officially became GM's premier engine.

By the way Hompie, Welcome to CaddyInfo. ;)

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I'm sorry, you're right. I mixed up 2 cars I went to see... :rolleyes:

It's probably going to be an 4.9 V8 from '92

Can you tell me what the 'weakspots' are? Except for the cylinder pressure test there must be more...

or is it really an über-car...

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I'm sorry, you're right. I mixed up 2 cars I went to see... :rolleyes:

It's probably going to be an 4.9 V8 from '92

Can you tell me what the 'weakspots' are? Except for the cylinder pressure test there must be more...

or is it really an über-car...

The 4.9L is a robust engine. I think weak spots are mostly determined by how well an engine is maintained. The weak spots in the 4.6L Northstar can be the head gaskets if the antifreeze wasn’t maintained properly. Before you buy make sure the transaxle is in good condition. Check for codes by entering diagnostic mode as follows:

To enter diagnostic mode:

1. Turn ignition "ON."

2. Depress the "OFF" and "WARMER" buttons on the Climate Control Center (CCC) simultaneously and hold until the segment check appears on the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC).

Test-drive the car and then immediately check for codes. You should check codes while engine is running also. Here is a link to the Diagnostic Trouble Code List.

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The only 4.9 I have experience with is a 1994. It had some oil leakage that came from the lines to the oil filter. The oil filter was placed on TOP of the engine.......a great idea, you don't even have to get under the car to change it. But you still need to remove the plug in the oil pan, so unless you are sucking the oil out of the dipstick tube (don't laugh, they do it on boat engines all the time) you still need to get under the car. Anyway, the oil leak was easily fixed by tightening the connections at no cost to the owner.

The 4.9 also has a knocking sound that seems to come from the front main bearing. It is actually caused by the serpentine belt arrangement that reinforces the sound through sympathetic vibration. This can be "proved" by removing tension from the belt during idle. Some people are tempted to use heavy motor oil to eliminate this problem, which will work, but at the cost of poor oiling on cold days.........which you have a LOT of in the land of pod.

I also found that the code reader for ODBI cars is very informative, but very difficult to navigate and understand. Shoot, I just found out from a recent post that it can even tell you what octane rating of fuel you are using has! Now THAT's cool!!!

Finally, the engine did not come with long life coolant, so if the antifreeze hasn't been changed every two years, most likely the RAD and the heater coil are shot.

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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This car seems to be getting better and better all the time :D

I found a very nice one with leaking head-gaskets.... which is a good website for ordering spare-parts, and what are important points?

I'm changing the V-belt and stuff also.

Ordering spare parts from the States is the cheapest they told me... a non-original 6-cilinder headerset of an GM costs about 375 US dollars around here !

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  • 4 weeks later...

Allrighty then...

I bought me an awsome Seville.

It's a '93 Seville Bleu/Green with a Northstar in the front !

Man.. what a darn fast car !!!

Driving it home through The Netherlands I floored him and we went straight to the 240 km/hour.

Thats about 150 Mph?!

Now I need some spare parts... (not because of the fast driving ;) )

I need an driversside exhaustmuffler (rear-end) and a front right blinklight...

Anyone?

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