66cadillac Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 does any type of seal work for headgaskets for a northstar? if so what brand?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 does any type of seal work for headgaskets for a northstar? if so what brand?... No liquid or powder head gasket seal will work, the head gasket leaks because the bolts pull. Dont waste your time or money with it Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66cadillac Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 so there is nothing i can do for a quick fix?. just for a week or so un till i buy a new cadillac... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jking220 Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 so there is nothing i can do for a quick fix?. just for a week or so un till i buy a new cadillac... NO Jonah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatLack72 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 so there is nothing i can do for a quick fix?. just for a week or so un till i buy a new cadillac... NO As my counterpart explained directly in two letter form, the motor is shot. The block is three pieces of aluminum. These motors are notorious for stripping head bolts. Which, therefore comma leads to ala cream dele northstar (blown head gasket). If you read the manual on both generations they go through many safety characteristics before giving up the ghost. Shutting down the A/C , going in to power limp mode, specific cylinders cooling the heads and block, rpm default mode etc. After all that there is no saving it. Put it on ebay for a nostalgic boat anchor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Back to the original poster, how did you confirm that the head gasket was bad? Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 so there is nothing i can do for a quick fix?. just for a week or so un till i buy a new cadillac... NO As my counterpart explained directly in two letter form, the motor is shot. The block is three pieces of aluminum. These motors are notorious for stripping head bolts. Which, therefore comma leads to ala cream dele northstar (blown head gasket). If you read the manual on both generations they go through many safety characteristics before giving up the ghost. Shutting down the A/C , going in to power limp mode, specific cylinders cooling the heads and block, rpm default mode etc. After all that there is no saving it. Put it on ebay for a nostalgic boat anchor. An Northstar engine with bad headgaskets is not "shot"... There is a repair procedure that will restore it to proper operation. There is not a quick miracle cure though. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 so there is nothing i can do for a quick fix?. just for a week or so un till i buy a new cadillac... NO As my counterpart explained directly in two letter form, the motor is shot. The block is three pieces of aluminum. These motors are notorious for stripping head bolts. Which, therefore comma leads to ala cream dele northstar (blown head gasket). If you read the manual on both generations they go through many safety characteristics before giving up the ghost. Shutting down the A/C , going in to power limp mode, specific cylinders cooling the heads and block, rpm default mode etc. After all that there is no saving it. Put it on ebay for a nostalgic boat anchor. What does this mean? "As my counterpart explained directly in two letter form, the motor is shot." Are you referring to STSS's response of NO? He was saying there is NO QUICK FIX. There IS however a FIX and it CAN be repaired. I missed your post earlier as I was confused by your COUNTERPART statement...and ignored your post. Please don't spew out DISINFORMATION/MISINFORMATION on this board. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jking220 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 so there is nothing i can do for a quick fix?. just for a week or so un till i buy a new cadillac... NO As my counterpart explained directly in two letter form, the motor is shot. The block is three pieces of aluminum. These motors are notorious for stripping head bolts. Which, therefore comma leads to ala cream dele northstar (blown head gasket). If you read the manual on both generations they go through many safety characteristics before giving up the ghost. Shutting down the A/C , going in to power limp mode, specific cylinders cooling the heads and block, rpm default mode etc. After all that there is no saving it. Put it on ebay for a nostalgic boat anchor. What does this mean? "As my counterpart explained directly in two letter form, the motor is shot." Are you referring to STSS's response of NO? He was saying there is NO QUICK FIX. There IS however a FIX and it CAN be repaired. I missed your post earlier as I was confused by your COUNTERPART statement...and ignored your post. Please don't spew out DISINFORMATION/MISINFORMATION on this board. I definately dont think a blown HG ruins a N*... If my HG goes, I will gladly sert/stud the block. I just drove 527 miles in the driving snow, and I averaged 68 MPH, and I had not one problem with the car... not bad for an 8 year old car... plus I feel decent after getting out of the car. I am trying to get in the situation that I have a place to do a HG at my house so I can get a nice, cheap caddy and do a head job. Jonah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I am trying to get in the situation that I have a place to do a HG at my house so I can get a nice, cheap caddy and do a head job. I have been thinking about doing this also Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtone Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 I am trying to get in the situation that I have a place to do a HG at my house so I can get a nice, cheap caddy and do a head job. I have been thinking about doing this also I just did my first headgasket and timesert with the engine in the car back in January. I would have no problem doing it again. I also would love to find a deal on another one with a blown h/g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 I just did my first headgasket and timesert with the engine in the car back in January. I would have no problem doing it again. I also would love to find a deal on another one with a blown h/g. Don't know anything else about this car other than it needs a headgasket or engine and is near Dallas. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivepointohman Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I am trying to get in the situation that I have a place to do a HG at my house so I can get a nice, cheap caddy and do a head job. I have been thinking about doing this also I just did my first headgasket and timesert with the engine in the car back in January. I would have no problem doing it again. I also would love to find a deal on another one with a blown h/g. I would love to hear more about doing the HG in the car as I would like to repair mine the same way over the remaining winter months as the car is just sitting... what were the major obsticles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtone Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 I am trying to get in the situation that I have a place to do a HG at my house so I can get a nice, cheap caddy and do a head job. I have been thinking about doing this also I just did my first headgasket and timesert with the engine in the car back in January. I would have no problem doing it again. I also would love to find a deal on another one with a blown h/g. I would love to hear more about doing the HG in the car as I would like to repair mine the same way over the remaining winter months as the car is just sitting... what were the major obsticles? I posted over at Cadillacforums.com some details, I just copied it and and I will post it here also. I have some pics, but I'm not sure if I can post here.... I have been a lurker here for a few years, and have learned much from this forum. Recently I needed to replace the head gaskets on my 98 Deville. Against most recommendations, I decided to replace them leaving the engine in the car. After doing some research and staring at the problem I decided that for me, at least, it would be easier to leave the engine in place. One reason was that I was in no hurry, as I have my truck to drive, also, because of other obligations I know I would only have a few hours here and there to work on it. At any rate, it took me 7 weeks start to finish, and I estimate about 60-70 hours of actual work. If I were to do another one (and I surely would if the price was right on another car) I'm sure I could cut the man hours by at least 30%. I found a few shortcuts along the way, and I would like to share them with anyone else attempting to do the same. First off, I did not remove the coolant crossover or the timing cover. I replaced the upper crossover gaskets since they came off with the head, but I saw no evidence of leakage on the lower ones. I felt I could retract the tensioners without removing the balancer and cover, and in fact I did. I broke a chain guide when removing the rear head, so I ended up unbolting the timing cover anyway , which slid open enough to get in there to replace the guide. Timing the engine is no big deal. Before disassembly I put the engine at tdc of number 1 cylinder, locked the crank, and locked the camshafts. I used bungees to hold the chains tight so they wouldnt slip on the gear inside. Somehow the rear chain did slip a few teeth, but it was no problem since the engine and cams were locked and could not turn it was easy to spot and upon reassembly I just slipped a few teeth on the internal gear until the cam gears lined up. I unbolted the front exhaust manifold from the head and left it in the car. I unbolted the rear flange and remove the manifold with the rear head. It was awkward reinstalling, but with 2 helpers (one to help hold the head and another to guide the chains thru the head) it was not a problem. To gain clearance in the back getting at the heater pipes and removing the valve cover, I used a small cable hoist to pull the engine forward. That extra half inch meant alot. I decided to go with the timesert kit over the Norm's. The Norm's kit makes alot of sense, but I thought I would rather have the advantage of the drill guides in the timesert kit. I found a used one on Ebay for $300. Luckily, all the drill shavings were shiny, no black dust. I taped over the top of the block and cut around the holes for drilling. I ended up renting a right angle drill from Home Depot to get at the back bolts. Some were pretty tight even with the right angle drill. The timesert kit is really slick. Took no time at all to do all 20 holes. At any rate, it's been back together for a week, I have a put about 200 miles on it with no overheating or coolant loss, so it looks like a sucess so far. Time will tell. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. As I said, this method worked for me. Dropping the cradle may be better for you. One issue, although important, I felt really gets overblown is timing the engine. Disassemble the engine at TDC of number 1, and lock the crank and cams, and you really cant go wrong. Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post! Reply With Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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