up2ng Posted May 1, 2004 Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 I have my eyes on a 98 SLS with a blown head gasket. My question is... About how much does a head gasket cost to replace (nice round numbers will do) and has the work been a success story for you, and what are the most common ways this happens with N*'s ? From what I can tell this is the only problem with this car, I just hope that the gasket didn't ruin other internal engine parts when it failed. I hope this will turn out to be a "good news" day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaddyDaddy Posted May 1, 2004 Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 I am not to familiar with the northstar engines but I do know that I had a head gasket blown on a V6 one time. The head gasket set was only $100 which included all you needed to put the motor back together. I don't know it the Northstar heads are aluminum or not, but that cadillac you are talking about was probably ran hot you a long time. Maybe all the coolant blew out and they decided to push it as far as they could. Which will cause aluminum head to warp. So you will need to take the heads off and send them to a machine shop and have them milled off flat. Where I am from I think it was around $40 a head or maybe a pair I don't remember, but it was pretty reasonale. then just put it back together. You also should buy a Chilton's manual for that specific car so you know the specific order and the torque poundage for the heads and the intake manifold bolts. Not that I wanna say I've done head jobs (LOL), but really its not too bad if you don't mind getting your hands a little greasy. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey-Rome Posted May 1, 2004 Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 On my 4.9 they wanted almost a grand. They would swap the engine out for a little more. I just went to the junker and got an enngine for $600, threw in a week of work (in between my the 9-5) and called it good. I imagine it would cost around the same for the NS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted May 1, 2004 Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 Get quotes on having the head gasket replaced and the heads time serted in your area. Here I got quotes from $2500-$3500; the dealer finally worked it out for $1500. This is a time-intensive repair, as the powertrain is normally taken out of the car in order to perform it. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted May 1, 2004 Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 I am not to familiar with the northstar engines but I do know that I had a head gasket blown on a V6 one time. The head gasket set was only $100 which included all you needed to put the motor back together. I don't know it the Northstar heads are aluminum or not, but that cadillac you are talking about was probably ran hot you a long time. Maybe all the coolant blew out and they decided to push it as far as they could. Which will cause aluminum head to warp. So you will need to take the heads off and send them to a machine shop and have them milled off flat. Where I am from I think it was around $40 a head or maybe a pair I don't remember, but it was pretty reasonale. then just put it back together. You also should buy a Chilton's manual for that specific car so you know the specific order and the torque poundage for the heads and the intake manifold bolts. Not that I wanna say I've done head jobs (LOL), but really its not too bad if you don't mind getting your hands a little greasy. Hope this helps. Forget the Chiltons manual as they are not specific enough and they're too slick to be used as toilet paper. ...get the factory service manual from www.helminc.com or locate one on ebay. They are well worth the money and will pay for themselves the first time you need to use it. Also, you shouldn't have to machine the heads - distortion is rare in the Northstar engines. You should definitelt time sert the block when doing the repair. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growe3 Posted May 2, 2004 Report Share Posted May 2, 2004 Attached is a list from my most recent project on a 93 STS. The list includes a motor mount that you may not need. The pre-molded heater hoses seem to really glue themselves on, you may want to just cut off the old ones and replace them as I have. The Helms Service Manuals are also a must have!! Please see the .jpg file, sorry for the poor image quality they only allow 64k file size attachment. Let me know and I can send you an Excel or high quality .jpg file. Good luck. -George Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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