UNTIL caddie/gm gets it right STAY away/run from ANY' northstar v-8 1993-2011 caddie/buick no matter how warranty-covered it may be..bottom line all northstar gm v-8 sideways maounted engines and only one of a kind torpeed-trans are gonna fail long before any interior part or 100+miles..even that 2011 caddie it too makes no diff..until they put the escaLADE ENGINE IN THE COMMON CADDIE WHICH IS not a NORTHSTAR ALL CADDIES ANY MODEL WILL FAIL!!!! I AM A CADDIE TECH AND WORK AS ONE I KNOW!!!!I MAKE MY EXTRA INCOME AND OV/X ON YOUR WALLET!!!

 

BIGGEST probs with torpeed\tranee is those 4 solinoids they get stuck and throw serv/engine lights after 40+ speeds no matter what the case and the newest torpeed/tranee is no better they sport even more of them whgich also stick/go bad..the tranee is fine the soliniods are not..cheap as they are from the orient are a $$$$ headache for the owner to fix since the common cradle drop of whole power train is ness.for a solinoid that may cost a mere $50 now see what i mean??

 

the only caddie/BUICK i would own is a NON-NORTHSTAR TYPE ENGINE such as the escalade it sports the same engine as a vette!!! no sideways mounted ****' in-line v-8 as it should be ask any pit crew mem of any nascar cerk they too will tell you the same.

 

you can buy a reman northstar even from ebay but it too will only last 90+ thous mls or less.. even with the time-insert kits and beefer case 1/2 seal job again no northstar is built to last beyond honda's break-inn miles 150,000 on any honda..w/o major engine probs..until gm gets on-board with the likes of the gook-cars warranteed over 100.+thous on internal failure caddie will eventually fall as did saturn..

 

sad-to-say caddie is on their way outta buis..the next gm-victim mainly due to inferior power-trains built only to last the 1900's 100,000 or less and still keep that mentality while most gook/kruot cars are built to break-inn at that mileage and never need the valve-covers or trans-pan removed!!!!!!!!!!! in-fact i have never heard of a honda needing a head-gasket at 90,000 unless it was ran outta water due to a accident affecting the radiator!!!! even a pan-head hyundia

 

bottom line is if u lov caddies stay the hell away from ANY 2011-1993 caddie sporting a NORTHSTAR ENGINE OR SIDEWAYS MOUNTED V-8 they are junk and still are...2011 too!

 

and that is caddie-tech-news you can take to yer caddie sales rep coming from a back-serv dept caddie -tech don't be fooled..

 

Gee, SHELONAT....tells us how you REALLY feel?

 

You sure talk a lot of bad ju-ju about Cads, but you work for Cad. Seems like I would be looking for another job if I thought the company I worked for produced the biggest piece of crap on the planet, and all I wanted to do was go on a forum that supports that product, and trash it.
Wazzup wid dat?

 

Holy flaming of Cadillac batman! this guy really hates everything about the northstar. There have been several cadillac technicians that say the complete opposite. First off if you have problems with a 2011 cady than there is obviously warranty that covers it reguardless. also most older cady's that have northstar engines that have problem were most likely driven until a severe problem showed up and never had the propper routine service done and there fore makes it out to look as if they are junk.


Most people who have cadys keep it until warrany is over and sell then the rest of the other owners tend to not pay the money required to do the service and cause the car to be driven into the ground. So before you make claims about a car make sure the car was properly serviced like it was ment to be. Most americans drive until something breaks not listening to the PM's that should have been done as the miles racked up. I had a honda that was serviced regularly from the time it left the dealership, and blew up with 260k. i was the 2nd owner and my inlaws were the 1st but i was a poor highschool kid who got it as a hand me down and the oil pump faild. so im sure if the car was serviced it would have been caught and fixed. Same with cadillacs.


As a matter of fact i had worked at a tire lube center and saw a 94 sts with over 300k on same engine and trany body was rough but ran like a top had the Northstar and gaskets not failed yet. Asked the guy how long he had it and how he did it and said he got it brand new in 94 and always had it serviced at the regular mileage intervals for the car. all he had done was a starter and alternator at sometime around 225k. the engine compression was still at factory specs and he said it was the most reliable GM car hes owned. Granted thats just one person but i know theres more out there. Im sure the escalade has its major problems and know they have major issues. Its really comes down though on how the car is treated and maintained. im not trying to say the Northstar is the best but its design was on wards 10 best. Also as far as engine componet failures on this enige are slim and few. You cant find an engine that can handle abuse and torture like the northstar either. ive seen stock LS1 F bodys blow up at the strip and my friends stock 99 DTS deville with 150k driven like it was stolen and still drive with out no problem. all hes put in his dts was a new battery and he bought it with 98k. Ive had issues with mine but you could see that the previous owners didnt do the maintnance they should have. trany fluid was brown when i got it and coolant was never changed either. but once i had all of it taken care of im positive it should last along time. As you should know that most of the people who have owned northstars and had problems post them online while those who dont have issue most of them dont post their good experience. So its hard to say what the real story is but im sure its not as bad as it seems otherwise gm wouldnt have kept this engine around for as long as they have. i probly could go on but im sure you heard enough. But working as a Cadillac tech you of all people could be usefull to us and point out the bad and show us what we should do to help prevent these issues not just vent on here how much of a problem some of us have on our hands. this site is in need of some more usefull info to help prevent or fix any major issues. i hope you are ok with that and hope to work with you in the future in gaining more valuable info to help us all.