Opinions on the 2003 SLS

[navion]

I am looking for opinions on the 2003 model year SLS.

For instance, is the coil on plug better than the old coil pack?

Does the engine tend to leak oil as the original N*'s did?

Do they perform as will as the older SLS's did?

I understand that they can burn regular gas. Will the mileage be comparable to what I am getting with my 94 SLS? (21/27MPG)

Any and all comments, good or bad will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Britt

[Ed Hall]

I helped my sister and her husband buy a 2002 model SLS. The 02 and 03 are mechanically identical. I believe that the coil on plug is an improvement. One advantage is it eliminates spark plug wires. Performance might be a tad slower due to the increased weight. Yes it can burn regular gas and so can your 94 SLS. I burn regular in my 93 Northstar and have not experienced any problems. The mileage should be comparable and possibly slightly better due to some improvements made in the upper part of the engine to reduce friction. As with any Northstar engine, pay careful attention to the head gaskets. Buy a test kit from Napa to test the coolant for exhaust.

[navion]

I helped my sister and her husband buy a 2002 model SLS. The 02 and 03 are mechanically identical. I believe that the coil on plug is an improvement. One advantage is it eliminates spark plug wires. Performance might be a tad slower due to the increased weight. Yes it can burn regular gas and so can your 94 SLS. I burn regular in my 93 Northstar and have not experienced any problems. The mileage should be comparable and possibly slightly better due to some improvements made in the upper part of the engine to reduce friction. As with any Northstar engine, pay careful attention to the head gaskets. Buy a test kit from Napa to test the coolant for exhaust.

I understand that all N*s are prone to head gasket problems, but didn't they make some improvements to the bolt length & thread pitch between 94 & 03?

As for running regular in the 94, I have done it. It does seem to need the WOT more often though. As it is now we alternate grades of gas on successive fill-ups. If I know that I am going to run her hard, I will splurge for premium.

As long as we are on the subject of fuel & it's astronomical price, I wish that President Bush would have added a statement about domestic oil production would keep dollars here instead of lining the pockets of people who hate us.

Thanks,

Britt

[Ed Hall]

Yes they did add some bolt length in year 2000 and changed the pitch in the newest iteration of the Northstar. However, now that the year 2000 northstar engines are 8 years old, I'm starting to hear problems with them also. Time will tell if the changes lowers the chance of the problem developing. Probably the thing to do is buy a car from someone who has religiously maintained the coolant. However, this does not guarantee that you'll not have the problem but this seems to delay the head gaskets from rearing it's ugly head.

Maybe the reason President Bush doesn't want to talk about keeping dollars in the US is because Hallyburton moved it's headquarters to Dubai.

[navion]

I helped my sister and her husband buy a 2002 model SLS. The 02 and 03 are mechanically identical. I believe that the coil on plug is an improvement. One advantage is it eliminates spark plug wires. Performance might be a tad slower due to the increased weight. Yes it can burn regular gas and so can your 94 SLS. I burn regular in my 93 Northstar and have not experienced any problems. The mileage should be comparable and possibly slightly better due to some improvements made in the upper part of the engine to reduce friction. As with any Northstar engine, pay careful attention to the head gaskets. Buy a test kit from Napa to test the coolant for exhaust.

Ed,

Do you have the part number for that NAPA coolant test kit? I asked for one at the local NAPA & all I got was some blank stares.

Thanks,

Britt

[Ed Hall]

Britt,

Here's the test kit link that I dug up for you.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLM...2f+Engine+Block

As long as you don't get it contaminated, it should work many times.

Good luck,

Ed

[navion]

Britt,

Here's the test kit link that I dug up for you.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLM...2f+Engine+Block

As long as you don't get it contaminated, it should work many times.

Good luck,

Ed

Thanks, Ed

Britt

[steve6]

were the 03's prone to the bad crank position sensors as well? If I bought 01-04 id think id have them replaced regardless knowing they had factory defects.

[JohnnyG]

Oh Oh, another "oil" topic

As long as we are on the subject of fuel & it's astronomical price, I wish that President Bush would have added a statement about domestic oil production would keep dollars here instead of lining the pockets of people who hate us.

Did it ever occur to anyone that oil is traded GLOBALLY, 24/7? Isn't it a possibility that most of the oil speculation that is driving up oil prices artificially is in fact being done by the owners of all those dollars in Dubai? And all of it completely legal. So what does our Congress investigate? ILLEGAL activity in the commodities market.........shheeesh. Talk about a WIN-WIN situation. Except for US that is.

And yes, I am for more domestic production and drilling. However, I would treat that like money in the old 401K account.....you REALLY don't want to spend it now.

[navion]

Oh Oh, another "oil" topic

As long as we are on the subject of fuel & it's astronomical price, I wish that President Bush would have added a statement about domestic oil production would keep dollars here instead of lining the pockets of people who hate us.

Did it ever occur to anyone that oil is traded GLOBALLY, 24/7? Isn't it a possibility that most of the oil speculation that is driving up oil prices artificially is in fact being done by the owners of all those dollars in Dubai? And all of it completely legal. So what does our Congress investigate? ILLEGAL activity in the commodities market.........shheeesh. Talk about a WIN-WIN situation. Except for US that is.

And yes, I am for more domestic production and drilling. However, I would treat that like money in the old 401K account.....you REALLY don't want to spend it now.

I have spent time in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, so, yes, I am very aware of how oil is traded. I am also aware that some oil from Alaska is sold to Japan.

That doesn't change the fact that American produced oil will either keep Dollars here at home, or if exported, will bring Dollars back home.

Our present restrictions on drilling and producing our own oil is a gift to OPEC.

We need to develop alternative energy sources. But UNTIL such sources become available, we need to produce as much of our own energy as we can.

It is bordering on insanity that we haven't built a new refinery or a new nuke power plant in over 30 years.

Right now the Speaker of the House refuses to let drilling legislation come up for a vote. For what reason?

We are cutting our own throats. In the meantime Chavez and other OPEC members are laughing all the way to the bank.

Britt

Read Pelosi's response. Words in red and brackets are my comments. Words in blue are what I am responding to.

Pelosi Calls Bush Oil Plan 'A Hoax'

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 3:43 PM

By: Rick Pedraza Article Font Size

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calls President Bush’s lifting Monday of the executive ban on offshore drilling in protected coastal areas nothing more than a political stunt that “will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence.”

Pelosi lashed out at the president’s announcement by saying, “Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil,” according to a statement released to PRNewsire.

"The Bush plan is a hoax,” Pelosi declares. “It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas," she says in response to the president’s recent series of proposals to combat record oil prices, including more oil exploration.

The ban on drilling in coastal areas has been an ongoing battle in recent months as the energy crunch and resultant high prices have affected the world market for oil in general, and America in particular.

In an effort to ease the burden on U.S. consumption of foreign oil, the Bush administration now favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other offshore areas to exploration

“For years, my administration has been calling on Congress to expand domestic oil production,” Bush said during a Rose Garden presidential address Monday. “Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal — and now Americans are paying at the pump.”

"If the President wants to bring down prices in the next two weeks – not the next two decades – he should free our oil by releasing a small portion of the more than 700 million barrels of oil we have put in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Pelosi fires back.

(Deplete the Strategic Reserve? OK, some now and some more later. What happens when that is gone & we really need it?)

"It's time to tell the oil industry: 'You already have millions of acres to drill. Use it or lose it.'"

(The only problem with these "Millions of acres" is that the oil is either very hard to get, not economical to get, or not there.)

“I’ve been in Washington long enough to know a political stunt when I see one,” agrees Ill. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “The good news is the American people won’t be fooled. If the President wants to lower gas prices, he should stop hosting press conferences and start taking action,” he tells The New York Times.

(Specifically, just what action does Rep. Emanuel want the President to take? Invade Venezuela?)

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer tells The Times that drilling on the outer continental shelf “will do nothing to lower gas prices, but will mean one more handout to those who are already enjoying billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies.”

Hoyer says, “If the oil companies wanted more domestic drilling, they could begin today. They could begin on the 68 million acres of land that are already set aside, leased, and available.”

(A repeat of the above. Oil hard to get, not economical enough to get or no oil there at all.)

(Every barrel of oil that we produce at home is one less barrel of oil that we have to give OPEC our national wealth for.)

(Spend that money here where it will stay at home and in our economy!!)

[JohnnyG]

WOW! I never expected that, but I do agree with the comments in red.

And as we bring this "oil topic" to a close, I think it would be fair to point out that the 6 top banking industry companies, prior to the collapse of stupid lending practices, actually made more PROFIT than the top 6 OIL Companies! But we never hear about having the banks pay for universal health care! Why is that?