Rattling on 2002 Cadillac SLS

[OynxSTS]

If you read some of my historic posts (if they are still around) you will note that I started to notice an anomaly of Head Gasket complaints around MY 97/98/99 about 4 years ago. (when the Guru was still around)... he and I debated this a little... at the time he was convinced that the problem was coolant related and had nothing to do with bolts or blocks and that it would hit newer cars as they aged and as they soaked in poorly maintained Dex...

Of course, this hasn't happened...

Over at the other Cadillac forum, about 3 years ago, partly do to my insistence that what the Guru said would happen (that newer cars would start to fail) a poll was set up to determine if there were specific model years with issues... And to my great surprise there is a HUGH statistically relevant spike of problems during MY 97/98/99... I have been watching that poll for a few years now dozens and dozens of have logged their head gasket failures and about 75% of them occur in those three years... (20% occur in 93-96 and the last 5% in the newer cars) and unlike what the Guru said, the problem is not moving forward with time... The spike is firmly centered and frozen over those three years. That poll is probably the single most important thread on that forum.

Of friends and family who drive these cars I know of 3 head gasket failures 1 98 and 2 97's... I had one buddy who was considering buying a STS with a bad engine phone me up and ask for my opinion I asked him if it was a 97... He says... "Ya, How did you know that?"

I also know of 2 other friends with 96's and they have also had zero issues with their cars.

Mind you I also know of a guy with 98 who STILL hasn't changed his coolant and that car is still fine...

I think it is pretty safe to say that:

1) It is clear that there are good, bad and ugly years for the NorthStar. They are not all created equal.

2) The failure rate, even in the ugly years is nowhere near 100%... I would say even in the dark years it is probably quite low (single digit percent range)

I wish the Guru was still here... This would be easy to prove with a simple database query from GM service records. I suspect that, that query, has been done and I suspect the results will never see the light of day.

Another bit of interesting info... Last year I was at the machine shop picking up a newly machined Olds Rocket engine for my 442... and as we put the bare machined block in the back of my Caddy.. The machinist takes a look at my car starts talking about how the local dealer used to outsource the "timesert" work to his shop and how he would do 5 or six blocks a WEEK. I asked if he was still busy... and he said no, the insert business has kinda "dried up"... I told him that GM used better bolts in 2000 and "perfect" bolts in 2004... Then he said, "Ya, now that you mention it, most of those engines were from cars from the late 90's...

Hmmm.

[Texas Jim]

As a '98 model owner, I'm starting to feel like there is a target on my shirt. The Obama EPA wants my "clunker" off the road and will "give me" a tax credit if I purchase a specific vehicle of their choosing. No thanks.

Now I have fellow Cadillac owners telling the world a '98 model Northstar engine is to be avoided based on some unverified data.

Anyone else got me and my high mileage '98 in their crosshairs?

[sOAPBOX MODE=OFF]

Watch it Jim...."THEY" are out to getcha.

(and we all know who "THEY" are but we can't talk about "THEM")