2003 cadillac nortstar engines

[sussankussan]

why do they call this engine the deathstar engine?

 

[sussankussan]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from sussankussan : "2003 cadillac northstar engine"

are these japanese engines with aluminum heads

 

[sussankussan]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from sussankussan : "2003 cadillac northstar engine"

mine started with the overheating stalled would not start, towed and radiator fixed but drinks oil DRINKS OILWHAT ALL IS KNOWN ABOUT THIS ENGINE /it seems alot of people had the same promblem where can I find out more on this engine

 

[mymutter]

the Northstar engine was originally developed by GM's oldsmobile (RIP) and was much more advanced than other GM motors. I believe 91-2010.

They are very good engines, can run without coolant for a little while if needed (read manual on what to do), etc. BUT, while very advanced, they require much more maintenance than other gm motors normally do, thus, get neglected. Every engine has it's known faults, and the northstars vary year per year, some have leaking cooling piping, some have coil packs that go early, etc. there is a lot more going on in the motor, and premium is required even though gm changed it to recommended. (if you drive hard on regular, it will knock and the "knock sensor" that is supposed to retard timing does not do it properly.

so good engine, good design, bad implementation. If the engine has been properly maintained, premium gas, oil changes at the recommended intervals, etc, and it's inspected for coolant, oil leaks, etc, it will last a very long time. if it has not been, stuff will go wrong very fast...

EDIT: saw the merged post: When you overheat a northstar engine, you need to replace the head gaskets and have the heads machined and verify the block is still straight. The head and block are different strength metals and will warp differently. Sometimes this is more than the car is worth.

 

[MU_Engineer]

why do they call this engine the deathstar engine?

Never heard that one before. The Northstar was one of GM's first DOHC V8s, and the first made in any significant quantity (early 1990s Mercury Marine designed Corvette ZR1 engine was the first.) A DOHC V8 engine is somewhat more complicated than the typical pushrod V8 Detroit made since the 1950s, but there have been many millions made since the Northstar debuted and pretty much all of them have proved very reliable, particularly most American DOHC engines such as the Northstar and all of the Ford Modular-based engines which use chain-driven cams. An interference OHC engine (such as the Northstar) with the valvetrain driven by a belt like many Japanese engines are/were, is a ticking time bomb, the pistons smash into the valves if the cam belt slips/breaks. Ask an owner of an early V8 Tundra what happens if they don't replace their cam belts on time and you will get a nasty reply.