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Cadillac Engine Replacement?


LINDAL

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There are many mechanical differences throughout the entire year range.

For example, the intake manifolds on the 93-94 engines are two-piece and metal. They switched to a one piece composite plastic in 1995. Because of this change, the horsepower actually changed from the earlier ratings of 270/295 for the two engines to 275/300 that we know today.

The spark plug wires and routing track is different between '94 and '95 also.

The earlier Northstars (1993 only I believe, but possibly also 1994) used a speed density fuel system, and then switched to a MAF sensor FI system after.

You CAN "make" a VIN 9 engine by using the intake cams, but again, the PCM calibration is different, as well as the transaxle. You will not have good results.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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There are many mechanical differences throughout the entire year range.

For example, the intake manifolds on the 93-94 engines are two-piece and metal. They switched to a one piece composite plastic in 1995. Because of this change, the horsepower actually changed from the earlier ratings of 270/295 for the two engines to 275/300 that we know today.

The spark plug wires and routing track is different between '94 and '95 also.

The earlier Northstars (1993 only I believe, but possibly also 1994) used a speed density fuel system, and then switched to a MAF sensor FI system after.

You CAN "make" a VIN 9 engine by using the intake cams, but again, the PCM calibration is different, as well as the transaxle. You will not have good results.

JasonA -- note that all of the pieces that you call out are not part of the core, which is basically the castings and the crankshaft. If you do a rebuild with the castings and use all the other pieces from your year and application, you should be good to go. The engine exchange installation process involves putting the old and new side-by-side and switching pieces to make the new engnine fit into the old application. That should work if you do timeserts and get the right intake camshaft.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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The EGR passages were different from the '93 & '94 engines vs. the '95+ engines. The '93-'94 engines had the EGR passages in the heads around he intake ports while the '95+ engines had EGR pipes.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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The EGR passages were different from the '93 & '94 engines vs. the '95+ engines. The '93-'94 engines had the EGR passages in the heads around he intake ports while the '95+ engines had EGR pipes.

I have a 1997 that I bought new, and I saw my engine apart last week and EGR passages were in the heads, just like the EGR article posted here. That one was a 1993. The passages are still there in the castings. In th e1997 shop manual, I find an electrically controlled EGR valve in the water pump housing with pipes to the crossover pipe and to the throttle body.

I was really proud that the EGR passages were clean. I didn't know that they were blocked off. The installer said that the EGR passages were clean; I'll check with him again to make sure that we are communicating about the same passages.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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JasonA -- note that all of the pieces that you call out are not part of the core, which is basically the castings and the crankshaft. If you do a rebuild with the castings and use all the other pieces from your year and application, you should be good to go.

If you're talking strictly about the block, then yes, there are no changes.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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The EGR passages were different from the '93 & '94 engines vs. the '95+ engines. The '93-'94 engines had the EGR passages in the heads around he intake ports while the '95+ engines had EGR pipes.

I have a 1997 that I bought new, and I saw my engine apart last week and EGR passages were in the heads, just like the EGR article posted here. That one was a 1993. The passages are still there in the castings. In th e1997 shop manual, I find an electrically controlled EGR valve in the water pump housing with pipes to the crossover pipe and to the throttle body.

I was really proud that the EGR passages were clean. I didn't know that they were blocked off. The installer said that the EGR passages were clean; I'll check with him again to make sure that we are communicating about the same passages.

Jim,

The EGR passages are still in the heads but they lead nowhere on the '95+ engines. They are sealed off by walls in the casting on the surface the intake manifold seats against. The EGR passages in the '95+ engines are the corrugated hoses about 3/4" in diameter.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Jim,

The EGR passages are still in the heads but they lead nowhere on the '95+ engines. They are sealed off by walls in the casting on the surface the intake manifold seats against. The EGR passages in the '95+ engines are the corrugated hoses about 3/4" in diameter.

KHE -- yeah, I got that from your last post. When I was looking at my block and remembering the photos from the posted article, I was wondering how mine could be so clean. When I saw your post and found the hoses in the shop manual last night, I did feel a little foolish. There was some black at one end, so the exhaust may not be sealed. I will ask my installer about the real EGR system in the next day or so when I go in for my 500 mile oil change and final checkout on my new engine.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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The EGR pipes on the '95+ engine are routed such that they are not exposed to the temperature that makes them coke up with carbon (and ned to be cleaned every 100,000 miles) like when they were in the heads on the '93-'94 versions. The most you'll need to do is remove the EGR valve and clean the pintle and seat whenever the code for EGR pintle position failure sets.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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KHE -- That means, if experience is any guide, that I will never need to clean mine so long as I stay with synthetic oil and put some miles on the highway occasionally.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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If you have not received the "SERVICE EMISSIONS SYSTEM" and the PC1406 EGR pintle position code, I would not touch it. Synethetic oil doesn't have anything to do with the EGR valve sticking due to a small particle of carbon.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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I have 153k miles on the ol' Seville and have never had to touch the EGR system, save for the occasional cleaning of the valve as KHE mentioned. Synthetic/conventional oil has no bearing on this.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I would check the local wrecking yards, you can pick up a NS for a few hundred and pay your guy a few hundered to install. A local yard here in Dallas has one with 44,000 miles, I have the tranny, which cost 500 bucks and after a couple thousand miles seems to work perfect. I believe he sells a NS for about 800.00, he only deals in caddy cars and is very reputable.

Roly at Broken Wheel 972-422-9600. Why would anyone put several thousand into a 10 year old car?? There was an earlier post, someone picked one up for 99 bucks. Good luck.

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The mechanic has the engine in and we are leaving to pick up the car right now. They really got it in fast! He just got the car last Saturday and told us it would be 2 weeks. This guy is letting us pick it up with out paying him. He isn't open today but said to pick it up because he knew we were in a hurry for the car. I think he wants us to drive it and check it out before we pay. We have had these guys work on our cars for years. It is a 60 mile drive but worth it.

I think I am more excited than my son is.

The mechanic said the motor smoked a little at first but cleared up. I hope it is a good motor. We will see.

I am sure whichever one of us drives it home will be watching temp level, etc.

Now we need to make the decision on what to do with the motor that they took out. I think they will be pulling the heads and timeserting the thing.

I will let you know how it goes.

Linda

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Drive home went real well. Seems to be running right in the middle on the temp gauage. It is really hot here today. The air was working great. My son doesn't use the air much. His drive to work is only 6 miles and he opens the sun roof up and the windows and is off with the stereo on.

I took it thru the car wash and then his dad and I hand waxed it for him. He works evening shift so he didn't get up until 3pm. He had the biggest smile on his face when he got up. He is so glad to have his car back. He was really surprised to see it all shined up.

I hope he will let me drive it some this week for him. It needs some miles on it to see how it is doing (amd I want to drive it). We have a 30 day warranty on the engine. His car rides smoother than mine.

Any suggestions on how to check this engine out except driving it? We had the mechanic put the rear engine seal in and other than that I am not sure what they did. We told them to change anything they thought needed it. I will get the bill next week and get the info on all the parts put on. The bill is $853 to take out his engine and put the other one in.

Anyway, so far so good.

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Terrific, glad all is ok, Mike

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

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Glad to hear your son's car is running well; what great parents to hand wax it. Hope it keeps running like a top. $853 is about half what I have heard engine remove & replace quoted at.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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The car is still running good. I think it has a fuel pump issue. It takes 3 tries to start sometimes. Still looking into that problem. Other than that runs great. Runs real smooth. We have put over 450 miles on it since Saturday.

I need a stand to put the old motor on for these guys to do the timesert and gaskets on it. Any ideas where to get one? We checked at a few local places with no luck yet. I thought I would see if you guys know of a good place to get one. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Linda

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Check the yellow pages for equipment rental and look for an engine stand. When you find one, get the make and model and look it up on the Internet or call the manufagurer before you rent it to make sure that it is designed to work with the Nortstar.

You asked how to check out the engine other than by driving it -- you can check the on-board diagnostics (OBD). This site has a page on reading and interpreting your codes here. Another resource that I have found valuable, particularly in looking up codes once I have them, is here.

The slow start problem, if it happens only after the engine has been sitting for a few hours, could be a fuel pump relay or fuse. When the car has been sitting and everything is very quiet, turn on the ignition and listen for a very quiet hum from the rear of the car for a few seconds; this is the fuel pump priming the system for a cold start. If the fuel pump isn't doing this, then it won't run until cranking speed turns out the oil pressure light.

If the slow start happens with a hot engine or if it hasn't been sitting for a long time, there are other issues involved. Get the codes and post them here if you need help in figuring out what they mean in terms of your engine.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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The car is still running good. I think it has a fuel pump issue. It takes 3 tries to start sometimes. Still looking into that problem. Other than that runs great. Runs real smooth. We have put over 450 miles on it since Saturday.

I need a stand to put the old motor on for these guys to do the timesert and gaskets on it. Any ideas where to get one? We checked at a few local places with no luck yet. I thought I would see if you guys know of a good place to get one. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Linda

Check your Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR), pull the vacuum hose off and see if you have fuel present

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

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I will pull the codes on the car tonight.

I drove it all day Saturday and to get it started it took up to 3 times to start. Sometimes it would start on the first try. Talked to mechanic and he thinks the fuel pump. He said it could be the injectors. He didn't think it would be the FPR. He suggested using a cleaning solvent in the gas for fuel injectors.

I am planning on driving it this evening to Cape (about a 70 miles drive there and back) I will see what it does for me on this trip and let you know.

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I would not run any solvent through the tank. That can actually DAMAGE the fuel pump, not help anything. If the injectors are dirty enough to impede starting, I'd clean them, or at least have it professionally done using one of those BG systems or whatever it is.

Pull the vacuum line off the FPR. If there is moisture in there, the FPR is bad. The vacuum line should be completely dry.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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Check the FPR. You guys were right it is bad. You guys are great! Saved us a lot of time.

I pulled codes. the only one that came us was TCS 1234 Current.

Everything else was history.

I always get confused when I get to the PCM? I finally figured it out and then it had no codes.

Thanks again.

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Nice, FPR bad! Love it...

When it says PCM it is looking for you to enter a command, you can toggle though at that point. Pay no attention to it its waiting for input. You can just turn the key off at that point.

Let us know how its running when you change the FPR.

TCS 1234, hmm, that does not look familiar to me that code comes from the 97?

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

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P1234 is Inector for Cylinder 5 Intermittent. It could be derived from the FPR. If it goes away after the FPR is fixed I would forget it.

My PCM tells me which tires I slip when the traction control comes on. After awhile these history codes go away.

At any time, you can exit the diagnostic mode by pressing one of the info buttons. I use "Reset Info."

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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