Hello i'm new on here i have always had Town Cars till about 6 weeks ago now i have a 2001 SLS with 113k miles on it i just hope it holds up like my Town Cars did .I did not know that cadillacs had bad HG on them or i would not have one today if i had known that .I was told that the 2000+ northstar was better but i don't know if that is true or not so wish me luck with my SLS .

 

Welcome. Don't let the head gasket issue worry you, there thousands of northstars that haven't and may never blow head gasket on the road today. Every automaker has some kind of common faults. Just don't overheat engine, if the temp gauge gets close to the red, park car till it cools down. The find out why it happened. Get your maintenance up to date, don't neglect warning lights or things that happen and enjoy your car. 90% of head gasket failures are related to neglect of some sort, the others due to defects in manufacturing, and occasionally with the engineering and / or the gasket technology at the time; regardless of engine manufacturer.

 

mis-information .. misinformation .. mis-information ...

ALL ALUMINUM engines have been going through this, including FORD, HONDA, Toyota, MB, etc., etc. the most notorious were the first aluminum engines of the early 1970s .. specially the iron blocks with aluminum heads.

Only GM ? i dont think so ...
Toyota engines, $5,000 to repair ...
Ford engine, $3,000 to replace ...
Honda engines, $3,000 to replace ...

please understand that there is little, if anything, wrong with the GM Northstars other than NEGLECT .. ABUSE ...

1. coolant not changed often enough .. read our FAQ on the subject ...
2. operating the car under overheating conditions .. read our FAQ on the matter ...
3. operating the car with aging hoses and belts .. read our FAQ on the subject ...
4. failed repairs AFTER a head gasket failed .. read our FAQ on the subject ...

I know of NOT even ONE car, with an ALUMINUM engine that has lost a headgasket for no reason .. always, finding the evidence of overheating followed by gel-coolant on every engine with headgasket issues .. in other words, NEGLECT and ABUSE.

BTW, you are talking to a FORD guy, several Lincolns including MK VIIs, two GT Stang, and several other Ford / Lincoln cars ..

The difference is that when something goes wrong, I PARK THE CAR .. I sure as hell dont drive it overheating.

PREVENTION - I drain a portion of the coolant every year and add fresh coolant .. the $15 for a gallon of coolant sure goes a LONG LONG ways on keeping the coolant system metals clean, free of oxidation, and trouble free .. including the HEATER CORE, Radiator, block, pipes, headgasket metallic borders, etc...

Are you aware that a single overheating incident destroys the protection of the coolant?
The one thing one should do is after correcting the issue that created the overheat (usually an old hose, punctured radiator, etc.), is flush out the failed coolant, then replenish.

Once the protection of the coolant is gone, the whole system is now susceptible to failure ..

engine overheats, get new coolant in there ! simple & inexpensive prevention.


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I guess I should make one more point ...

OF the millions of Northstar engines out there or the 4100 or the 4500 or the 4900 aluminum engines, few, very few run into this gasket problem even when neglected and abused.

Thing is, people come to this site when they have problems and find out the cost of repairs is several $1K bills. The rest . the other 95%++ 99%, never, ever, go to a website cuz they have no issues needing help.

What that means, is that here, you see a high percentage of do***ented issues, because few come and report how wonderful all of these American engines are .. few indeed - but many come to get much needed help.

if your engine is doing fine now, jump on the maintenance now .. take aggressive preventive action in case the previous owner neglected it ..

- change the coolant
- flush the brakes next time car needs pads - use OEM pads, not metallic, not ceramics ...
- do a transmission service .. fluid & filter .. add a bottle of LUCAS if you got over 75,000 miles.
- check the PS, add a bottle of LUCAS if the car has over 75,000 miles.
- fuel filter, air filter, hoses, belt, spare tire pressure, rad cap, vacuum lines, etc...
- GET A FSM .. Factory Service Manual .. from $30 to $100, depending on book condition and your ability to find deals.
- do a WOT (keep piston rings free) exactly as prescribed in OUR FAQ .. the other so called WOTs found on other sites, dont do it!

stuff like that .. take a peek in our FAQ sections .. there are TWO .. dont miss the one under the Allante FLAG .. this site is run by Allante owners and X-owners .. several of the TECHS here have abundant Allante knowledge and therefore, much of the FAQ ends up in the Allante section.







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Thank you very very much for the info ..I feel alot better about this car after reading this ..Thank you very much .

 

WOW thank you for the info you seem to know alot about this caddy it makes me feel alot better about my 2001 SLS now maybe i can drive it and not worry so much about it blowing up . I will do everything you told me to do and hope it holds up as good as my Town Cars did .Thanks buddy for the great info !

 

you are most welcome ..

I sometimes toot my horn a little much on the head gasket issue cuz I figure that if I can help save a few engines with the simple change of coolant, so be it.

I understand what you mean about Lincoln .. I have a soft spot for the LSC MK VII with Recaros, the 5.0, the headers .. easily top three cars I have ever owned and I owned two of those.

aluminum engines dont take the neglect that the past generation of iron blocks could .. then again, the aluminum engines seem to go longer, MUCH longer, with proper care.

Enjoy the car .. give it the WOT for both fun (in a safe manner) and lots of care!








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whas poppin first of all let me say untill i bought my first 84 coupe deville i was always a fan of imported cars but after owning one for a few weeks im in love with her she's beautiful but she needs some enhancments i've heard alot about that crappy *** 4100 motor the lt8 so i took it out myself this will be my first domestic motor swap i've been looking around this forum and you guys really know your stuff so i need your help to get my love back on the road she misses me i need to know what motor would complete the easiest cheapest swap

 

Olds small block would be easiest, least amount of mods. It would be good to know the location of a 79-84 diesel or 86-90 5.0l model for parts.

 

also, keep in mind the Allante 4100 engine, 1987 / 1988, devoid of the basic problems seen on the early standard 4100 engines.




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