Hello Everyone!
I am a past owner of a 97' STS that I loved dearly until the engine exploded (blown head gasket) and the torque converter started slipping. I had to get rid of it years ago...to costly to repair. I learned (after the fact) that those older Northstar motors were prone to a ton of problems. I am now drawn back to the STS again (after driving crappy imports for too many years). I have located an 03' STS with only 60K miles on it. I got in the car and the sights, feel and smells came back to me like an old girlfriend (I know, I need to get a life). Anyway, it drives great and no fluids under the car. My fear is still rooted in the Northstar motor. I don't know if I should expect the same problems after 100K miles that I had in my old 97' STS (I do a lot of hwy driving and would keep the car for a long time). Has the engine changed that much since 97'? Can owners of similar year STS offer their advice here for me?

Yes, I know fluid changes are critical to the health of a Northstar motor, so please don't give me that speech.

Thanks a million for any insight!

mr944s2

 

It is only 4 years old .. should be just fine, get a compression test done, check the coolant reservoir for mud, then do all the inspect for the standard stuff.

AFTER the first 5 years, change the coolant every TWO years, regardless of mileage
and immediately after any episode of overheating.

trani .. drop a bottle of LUCAS, I add that to all my cars at the 60,000 mile mark and with every trans service there after. IF a trani slips, add TWO bottles .. LUCAS seems to scrub the glaze off the internals, the glaze that makes things slip. Sometimes I add a bottle about 100 miles before the trani service to clean out in the drainage and then another with the fresh fluids.

Then, should the engine lose a hose, and overheat, SHUT IT DOWN .. DO NOT DRIVE IT IN CAMEL MODE unless a life depends on it! YES, camel mode does work and ages the components by a huge margin in just a few miles, gaskets included. People got the wrong idea of what camel mode is for. At $100, a tow truck is cheaper than a new engine at $4,000.

As great as GM may be, they make huge claims of durability on two areas and IMHO, GM is wrong too often at the expense of the owners.
- brake fluid life
- coolant life
- overheating for any reason

owners should ignore GM and perform maintenance on coolant and brake fluids more frequently, not to exceed two years.


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