I also really liked the ratchet Ray was using on the plugs. I have never seen that kind of swivel head before. edit: I mean the one he used to remove the front bank of plugs.
Northstars are very much misunderstood. While they would develop leaks from the factory, a competent tech can reseal them and they won't leak anymore, Whoever resealed the one featured in Ray's video took shortcuts or didn't completely reseal it. I have resealed hundreds of them and they don't leak afterwards. Several of the ones I resealed belonged to regular customers so I would see the vehicles for years after the reseal, They would still be dry 100,000 miles post reseal. Ray, those valve covers are aluminum. 🙂 Also, the blip you saw in the oxygen sensors around the 27 minute mark of the video was likely the Secondary Air Injection system changing state. The valve you had to remove from the back valve cover to replace the spark plugs is the Secondary Air Injection check valve. As always, keep up the good work!
@@RainmanRaysRepairs I was an engine and trans tech at a Cadillac dealer from 2001-2012. 70% of what I worked on was Northstar powered. Lol The remainder of the percentage was split between Catera timing belts and 3.6L timing chains as far as engine work was concerned.
If you don’t mind me asking, what materials were used during the resealing process. Was it just a new gasket, RTV silicone, or a combination of the two? I’m just curious because the Northstars received such a bad reception from what seems to be the materials used from the factory (seals and head bolts), rather than design related ones. It’s a shame because I like the look and feel of the Cadillac sedans equipped with the Northstars much more than the new stuff that they have been putting out and had they been built better, they could have rivaled Ford’s 4.6L sedans.
@@PseudoSpaceMarine As for the head gaskets, they just get replaced with factory replacements, which come with new bolts. For customer pay jobs, I ALWAYS installed Time Serts in ALL of the cylinder head bolt holes. Coupled with cooling system maintenance, this was generally a permanent repair. It didn't require ridiculous amounts of attention, just something as simple as checking the coolant level when the oil was changed and if it was low, address the reason why. Regarding the oil leaks, the oil would leak from three places, all of them very close to one another. Northstar engine blocks are split at the crankshaft center line, so the crank case has a seam halfway up. On the top of the lower half, on each side, is a channel that is machined into the face. This channel accepts the lower crank case seals. Over time these would shrink and leak. Bolted to the bottom of the lower crank case is the oil manifold. It is an aluminum plate about 1/4" - 3/8" thick that has the same type of rubber molded to it. The top side of the manifold has all the oil channels molded into it, and the perimeter gasket. The bottom has just the perimeter seal. And bolted to the bottom of that is the oil pan. The oil pan also has a channel machined into it to accept the rubber gasket that fits into it. To properly do the job, it is best to install the engine on an engine stand, turn it upside down (oil pan up), remove the oil pan, oil manifold, and lower crank case. THOROUGHLY clean everything so there are no traces of oil, sludge, sealant, anything. Like Ray says, "SHINY!" Then, starting with the lower crank case half, use grey GM Engine Sealant to fill, and slightly overfill (by about 3mm) the channel that the gasket came out of. DO NOT USE A GASKET AT ALL, only the Engine Sealant. Properly torque all the bolts. REPLACE the oil manifold. Before installing the new oil manifold, use a thin bead of Engine Sealant around the outside perimeter of the seal that is molded into the plate. Just the outside. Install the plate and torque all the bolts. Now, for the oil pan, much like the lower case half, clean it SHINY, then, again, leave the gasket out and fill, then slightly overfill, the gasket channel with GM Engine Sealant (same 3mm). Install the oil pan and torque the fasteners. While the engine is out, replace the front and rear crank seals. The latest rear main seal is very robust, as it is a two-piece design (not the two-piece your are thinking of from the old days of rope seals). The inner portion is steel and presses onto the crankshaft. It rotates inside the rubber portion of the seal. This means the seal surface never wears out on the crankshaft. Obviously, all other gaskets and seals that are affected by removal of these parts get replaced, too. Front timing cover gasket, oil filter adapter o-rings, etc. Now is also a good time to reseal the valve covers. The front valve cover has an extra seal on the driver's side. This is what seals the camshaft protrusion that the water pump drive pulley is pressed onto. These engines, internally, are very robust. They don't have individual main bearing caps. The lower crank case is one giant girdle that houses all of the main bearings. The oiling system is also fantastic. I have quite literally been inside hundreds of these (for leaks) and I have never seen one with worn out bearings, rod knocks or any other mechanical rotating assembly issue. There was only one time I had one of these engines for a mechanical failure that was not a head gasket or oil leak. It was a lady that had amassed 49,000 miles and never once checked or changed the oil. In general, the Northstar was a well-performing engine. The highest output version of the FWD engine made 295 hp and about 290 lb ft torque which was good for its time (remember, it was introduced in 1993), was smooth and quiet running, and a long block (with valve covers) only weighed about 350 lbs. The bare block I could easily pick up with one hand, as I think it only weighed about 50 lbs. Also, they love to rev. These engines are happiest between 3500-6500 rpm. They do pretty well down low, but they really sing at higher revs. Now, in saying all this, I am not trying to minimize the size of this repair. It is labor intensive. We pulled the entire powertrain out of the bottom of the car and then separated the engine from the trans on the floor. If you can imagine how it went together at the assembly plant, that is how we removed it. Engine, trans, steering rack, struts with the brakes and the half shafts attached, all sitting on the engine cradle assembly which was then lowered onto a dolly. That is how we removed them. Customer pay, we used to charge 35 hours to completely reseal a Northstar with head gaskets and Time Sert installation. On the DTS in Ray's video, we also had to remove the front fascia because the engine cradle front horns were long enough that they were sort of trapped by the bottom of the fascia. Lastly, the piston and ring design changed for the 2000 model year. The pistons received less of a skirt to reduce reciprocating mass. This caused cold piston "slap". It wasn't detrimental to engine longevity but it was definitely a nuisance. Also, the rings were redesigned with lower tension. This was done to increase fuel economy because as much as 25% of internal engine friction is caused by the rings. Unfortunately this lead to rings easily becoming stuck causing run away oil consumption. For the piston noise, GM released a new design piston which included a slightly longer skirt that had a coating on it to reduce unwanted noise. The piston rings were also redesigned to slightly increase ring tension. These redesigned parts were introduced into production engines in late 2003. So, from 2000-early 2003 (I think there was a VIN breakpoint), there is a risk that it will consume oil, although I replaced tons of those pistons and rings, so if you go looking for a car of that vintage and it was originally from the Detroit area, maybe I replaced them already. Lol
@@paulwindisch1423 That was a lot of information. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain the engine's common failure points and the steps taken to repair them correctly.
Most cars are difficult to work on to do spark plugs . Just did my 98 Buick century , plus the wires . Dealing with chronic pain plus arthritis , fibromyalgia it’s difficult for me to work on cars . But I still do . I also did 2 front wheel bearings on this Buick , and a right side power mirror . I used to own a Cadillac deville . Was a 2002 had 98 thousand on it when it was totaled in my own driveway . Very nice car , I liked it allot . I had a bad ignition coil and a few window regulators go bad on it . Other than that nothing else . I don’t remember if I changed the plugs . As always good day to everyone at rays auto repair and God bless .
In the 3 years i owned my 2000 Sedan Deville I bought new, I never had a single issue or so much as a single drip of oil. Best engine I ever had. I sold the car to buy something less yacht like in size. LOL
@@edwardrobb4682manufacturers these days just love to move the engine towards the cabin firewall for "better weight distribution". I have even seen longitudinally mounted four bangers that make it extremely hard to get to the last plug, fuel injector and whatnot. It's a nightmare. And the conspiracy theorist in me always thinks this is by design.
Had a 2008 Buick Lucerne with 4 portholes that had this powertrain. Wife drove it to 200k miles, both kids drove it through school. 1 coil pack, wheel bearing on the front, and an entire iron mine’s worth of pads and rotors, we drove that beast to 280k miles. Not a body panel on it that hadn’t gotten up close and personal with another vehicle… In the end, took a quart every 3 days. But still started and ran, no MIL illuminated. Retired due to the original alternator dying when it was 10 degrees outside and I wasn’t about to put a $500 part in a $50 car, in my driveway, in the snow, with the knowledge of the disassembly required to change it… So, I may be an outlier but - it was a great car for us. And this is why I don’t ever play the lottery - I’ve already used up that win…
28:50 that's not carbon tracking it's a corona stain and is completely normal on used plugs. It's caused by an accumulation of oil and dirt that gets baked onto the ceramic.
Dave is the only full-time employee. Jesus is part-time and Cody is there just to replace the Ford engine since he specializes in them according to Ray.
its awesome to see you going from working for some one doing videos .. to owning and operating and having others work with and for you. You sir.. are an example of the American dream success story. keep this going.
Or retire as soon as you can see the path. I’ll miss you, but if you can squirrel away enough money to spend your time on the Riviera for the next 40 years, go for it!
It is my opinion that the engine compartment designers should be made to work on each type and model in the field each month for a week at different garages so they can experience for themselves the joy of their designs . I know the trend has been to make stuff more compact to save weight , allowing better fuel mileage - but there is a limit . Maybe more access panels would be the answer. Good video Ray . Stay safe , have fun .
@@mikejacob3536: You say that like it would be a bad thing if it happened!!!! 🙂 I'm sure that the stealership's shops would still have plenty of warranty work to do.
I bought a new 2000 Sedan DeVille with a Northstar Engine. It was an amazing engine and that boat of a car was super fast and powerful. Never had a single issue with mine. I kept if for 3 years.
Had an old lady that had a 97 D’elegance. Had a leak from the rear main and the half block gasket. Shop finally got her to let it go and get a better car.
🙂it is really good to know that i am not the only one that hates fixing others fups. The best engineers always make it super functioning and easy to service. ❤
Just a suggestion, with misfires a good thing is to note the cylinders as you did then mark the coils on that cylinder, when you put them in swap the coils to another cylinder and make a note. If the misfire comes back on a different cylinder with the coil its a help in troubleshooting.
I replaced the water pump on a 2011 Cadillac DTS, in my driveway, in the rain. It took me a week. I totally get it that you now totally respect me. No water pump should take so much time and effort to replace.
is it tho.. i hate it. always break up all the clips and you can so easily twist the bumper cover and fubar the paint. and then you still have to remove all else to get to the actual water pump. dropping the front end is just for mandatory access. like a 4 hour job which always takes more unless you like bodywork @@evilgtidriver
I just have to comment how nice of smiles you all have, thats a sign of a great place to work and a great boss! Way to go guys! And Lauren has gorgeous smile as well! Love from AZ ❤😊
Good video Ray. Where is your silicone wedding band. Oh, let me guess, your metal one needed some of that automatic oiling system on the Northstar ! That shop is getting busy, congratulations on your staffing increase! I remember watching you and Peter interact. I always loved that about the independent shop work.
When I worked for GM, middle and upper management touted the Northstar engine as the best there ever was or will be. Al other manufacturers, foreign or domestic, will want this engine for their very own.....
Excellent diagnosis and video. We have a 06 STS. NORTHSTAR. with similar misfires. But no lights on the dash. The tech connected the scanner. Read the misfires. Changed the plugs. And it was better. For tow weeks. Now misfire is back. They did not mention anything about the O2 sensor. The other issue with our misfire previously is at times it was so severe. Shaking. It was almost not drivable. At that time the smell from the exhaust was like rotten eggs.
Wow! Pour water on this thing and you get instant crap! I look forward every day to seeing a Rainman Ray video. My wrenching days are long over, I can't imagine going through all this tsouris with these overcomplicated kludgeharps. I no longer burn petroleum, am happy with my EVs, and am happy to see that folks like Ray have the knowledge and patience to work on this stuff. I do miss my 383 HiPerf in my Barracuda Convertible, and my trusty old '56 Chevrolet 6 banger with the Powerslide, though.
Coworker of mine has this same car and same year. He took it in to dealer (D'OH) to have this mod reveresed and it was an engine out job. Apparently these leak from the upper oil pan so needed to pull the whole lump to get the upper pan off and do the reseal. Multiple thousand dollar job but he still drives it to this day. Had about double the mileage of this one when that was done several years ago. Crazy low mileage combined with almost zero rust---which retirement community does this thing sit at or cruise at low speeds??
Like a lot of GM ideas it was good on paper. V8-6-4? Good idea that they tried to implement with late 70s computer tech. 4.1 HT(Hook & Tow)? Put into production with insufficient R&D. Northstar? Put into production with insufficient R&D.
Work at a dealer, and the half block was leaking. So guess what customer did, decided to get it done. Took tranny out and whole disection……what a blast
I've used the copper wire strand trick to put bolts in that have the holes stripped. Just take a couple of strands from a wire and drop them in the hole with enough sticking out to fold them over a little, then put the bolt in. Its usually enough to get a bit of torque on the bolt.
I've been watching for maybe two years and throughly enjoy almost all of your videos because of...been there, done that, and thankfully retired now. I want to commend Ray. When i started watching he had a small shop and just himself. Now he has a very nice much larger shop and three employees. Ray...you are one of those evil capitalists. Congratulations and keep up the great videos.
Was gonna say it's a shame a car with less than 50k miles had such bad oil leaks already then remembered it is a 2006. Curious if they were actually changed like you said Ray and why they'd be leaking like that again already. Guess it's a Northstar thing from your reaction to seeing the engine cover, lol.
My 2000 Cadillac Deville had the V8 front wheel drive North Star engine and it has a blown head gasket. I got rid of it. And as much as I love Cadillac I'll never own another with the North Star engine. I now have a 2001 Lincoln Continental and love it.
@@pauldunn4426hypothetically speaking would you not be worried that maybe the guys wife's car is not a caddy with a North Star engine and that when she asked where to take it for service or a problem that he would tell her to definately not go to you because he will tell you to go somewhere else if the job night be too much for him/you to handle?
When the north star came out, my wife and I was about to give up on European models. The Cadillac was comfortable, handled well and appeared to be built well. I am glad I did not buy one. I know you can not turn away all self destructive cars, but this falls in the same group of Chrysler.
A quick test on a suspect O2 sensor when you have it out is to connect a multimeter across the output leads and then put the tip of the sensor in and out of butane or propane flame. When in the flame the sensor will output about 0.9 volts and when out of the flame, but still hot, the reading will drop to about 0.1 volts. If an O2 sensor tip is caked in soot and unresponsive then a kill or cure trick is to heat it up to cherry red and test it again.
You know this video is a keeper when Ray (1) sings the 1970 hit "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band and (2) does his best Toyota-loving you-know-who TH-camr imitation ("Toyota connectors are the best"). 😁
Ahhh, those were the days.... Car actually looked super nice.... I had a 97 Eldorado Touring Coupe and a 2001 Eldorado Touring Coupe... I don't remember the coil on plug... I think there was a funny distributor block on the back, with like 4 coils, and 2 pins per coil... And then wires.... I think it was waste spark??? Kind of a long time ago, I don't 100% remember.... Those rear plugs were really a delight.... If you ever did them, you'll never forget how much fun you had....
With only 48K miles it should look nice. This car is likely owned by NY/NJ retiree. Unfortunately almost none of the 4.6 powered Cadillacs make it to 100K. By comparison, that Lincoln Town Car you see parked next to the Cadillac probably has 400K miles on it.
Ah the old ‘Service Stabilitrak’ light. I have an 06 DTS as well and that one likes to light up occasionally. Have since bought different strut assemblies for it and some resistors to eliminate the overpriced and problem prone magneride struts that are likely the culprit. Never had so many issues with a car this new and mine only has about 41,000 miles.
Ahhh... Love to hear the sounds of a busy shop. Awesome inter-bay banter made my day. Add in a random Doodley-Doo or two and it'd be just like the ol' days. 😊🤣👍🏼 Also loved Cody's quick-catch, self-censor. LOL! 😂
YUCK! I'd be so frustrated with being a mechanic that is forced to deal with such crappy maintenance access designs (let alone piss poor seals). Hats off to you Ray for remaining sane! If I was a mechanic, I'd have refused a bunch of the stuff you have taken in and fixed.
Well the only way to determine if all the oil everywhere on and around that engine is clean it all up and see if it comes back. It could very well be old and the valve covers might be ok. But then again being a Northstar there's a good chance they're nasty active leaks. GM definitely tried to cram 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag when they stuffed those things in. Definitely not fun to work on.
If you hate the lift, replace it with a good one. Wildfire lifts are the best and they are moveable, if needed it can even be moved outside on flat concrete. Wildfire, four post ramp/rail type lift with movable cross member. Check it out!
I don't trust new parts, either, Rainman! It doesn't seem to matter if its a name brand or not. Recently I had a new Delphi o2 sensor be bad. All parts seem to originate from China!
A bit painfull watching these v8 front wheel drive engine repairs as an european, since we usually have inline 4 engines. Half of the components are right agaist firewall, other half right next to the radiator. Everything is in such hard-to-get-to places. I mean many modern inline 4s are complex too, but v8 has almost everything doubled. Still awesome work Ray!
Most of our transverse FWDs are also i4s, some are v6s. GM is the only one I know of that stuffs a v8 into a FWD. Even Dodge, who's known for slapping a v8 into everything it'll fit into, makes all their v8s RWD or AWD as far as I know. Might be wrong, though. There's probably also some I don't know about
I have successfully changed out the oil pan and gasket on those Northstar engines without pulling the engine in half the time it takes to pull/drop the engine. Should be able to find that info on identafix
Ray, have you ever looked into a stream cleaning machine? I have an old Karcher commercial electric pressure washer with diesel oil fired water heater / steam generator.that works great for degreasing engine bays. Because it is a hassle to retrieve from my offsite storage, I more often take dirty engine projects to a nearby DIY car wash (along with a pair of ramps) , to clean things up before starting disassembly. Have you considered thoroughly cleaning the engine and surround at a local DIY car wash before starting?
Notification squad 💙 Upon reviewing the video again I noticed when you showed the rear O² sensor the wires were extremely twisted and it appeared it had been replaced by an inexperienced mechanic.
I can’t believe that you put back the used coil when the spark plug showed signs of carbon tracking. That’s the power of the upselling. The customer doesn’t always know what is good for him.
8:15 naw the beginning of planned obso was way back in the 1980s with the 4100 Have two. which also was a cadillac funny how their name keeps coming up like theirs a pattern
Ray my son watches these videos with me and wanted me to let you know that he loves it when you fast forward and sound like a chipmunk
I also really liked the ratchet Ray was using on the plugs. I have never seen that kind of swivel head before.
edit: I mean the one he used to remove the front bank of plugs.
I do cars does that a lot too
@@MonkeyJedi99I have one of these in 1/2" with a telescopic handle for extra torque. These things are really versatile.
Northstars are very much misunderstood. While they would develop leaks from the factory, a competent tech can reseal them and they won't leak anymore, Whoever resealed the one featured in Ray's video took shortcuts or didn't completely reseal it. I have resealed hundreds of them and they don't leak afterwards. Several of the ones I resealed belonged to regular customers so I would see the vehicles for years after the reseal, They would still be dry 100,000 miles post reseal.
Ray, those valve covers are aluminum. 🙂
Also, the blip you saw in the oxygen sensors around the 27 minute mark of the video was likely the Secondary Air Injection system changing state. The valve you had to remove from the back valve cover to replace the spark plugs is the Secondary Air Injection check valve.
As always, keep up the good work!
You know ur northstars sir 🫡
@@RainmanRaysRepairs I was an engine and trans tech at a Cadillac dealer from 2001-2012. 70% of what I worked on was Northstar powered. Lol
The remainder of the percentage was split between Catera timing belts and 3.6L timing chains as far as engine work was concerned.
If you don’t mind me asking, what materials were used during the resealing process. Was it just a new gasket, RTV silicone, or a combination of the two? I’m just curious because the Northstars received such a bad reception from what seems to be the materials used from the factory (seals and head bolts), rather than design related ones. It’s a shame because I like the look and feel of the Cadillac sedans equipped with the Northstars much more than the new stuff that they have been putting out and had they been built better, they could have rivaled Ford’s 4.6L sedans.
@@PseudoSpaceMarine As for the head gaskets, they just get replaced with factory replacements, which come with new bolts. For customer pay jobs, I ALWAYS installed Time Serts in ALL of the cylinder head bolt holes. Coupled with cooling system maintenance, this was generally a permanent repair. It didn't require ridiculous amounts of attention, just something as simple as checking the coolant level when the oil was changed and if it was low, address the reason why.
Regarding the oil leaks, the oil would leak from three places, all of them very close to one another. Northstar engine blocks are split at the crankshaft center line, so the crank case has a seam halfway up. On the top of the lower half, on each side, is a channel that is machined into the face. This channel accepts the lower crank case seals. Over time these would shrink and leak. Bolted to the bottom of the lower crank case is the oil manifold. It is an aluminum plate about 1/4" - 3/8" thick that has the same type of rubber molded to it. The top side of the manifold has all the oil channels molded into it, and the perimeter gasket. The bottom has just the perimeter seal. And bolted to the bottom of that is the oil pan. The oil pan also has a channel machined into it to accept the rubber gasket that fits into it. To properly do the job, it is best to install the engine on an engine stand, turn it upside down (oil pan up), remove the oil pan, oil manifold, and lower crank case. THOROUGHLY clean everything so there are no traces of oil, sludge, sealant, anything. Like Ray says, "SHINY!" Then, starting with the lower crank case half, use grey GM Engine Sealant to fill, and slightly overfill (by about 3mm) the channel that the gasket came out of. DO NOT USE A GASKET AT ALL, only the Engine Sealant. Properly torque all the bolts. REPLACE the oil manifold. Before installing the new oil manifold, use a thin bead of Engine Sealant around the outside perimeter of the seal that is molded into the plate. Just the outside. Install the plate and torque all the bolts. Now, for the oil pan, much like the lower case half, clean it SHINY, then, again, leave the gasket out and fill, then slightly overfill, the gasket channel with GM Engine Sealant (same 3mm). Install the oil pan and torque the fasteners. While the engine is out, replace the front and rear crank seals. The latest rear main seal is very robust, as it is a two-piece design (not the two-piece your are thinking of from the old days of rope seals). The inner portion is steel and presses onto the crankshaft. It rotates inside the rubber portion of the seal. This means the seal surface never wears out on the crankshaft.
Obviously, all other gaskets and seals that are affected by removal of these parts get replaced, too. Front timing cover gasket, oil filter adapter o-rings, etc. Now is also a good time to reseal the valve covers. The front valve cover has an extra seal on the driver's side. This is what seals the camshaft protrusion that the water pump drive pulley is pressed onto.
These engines, internally, are very robust. They don't have individual main bearing caps. The lower crank case is one giant girdle that houses all of the main bearings. The oiling system is also fantastic. I have quite literally been inside hundreds of these (for leaks) and I have never seen one with worn out bearings, rod knocks or any other mechanical rotating assembly issue. There was only one time I had one of these engines for a mechanical failure that was not a head gasket or oil leak. It was a lady that had amassed 49,000 miles and never once checked or changed the oil.
In general, the Northstar was a well-performing engine. The highest output version of the FWD engine made 295 hp and about 290 lb ft torque which was good for its time (remember, it was introduced in 1993), was smooth and quiet running, and a long block (with valve covers) only weighed about 350 lbs. The bare block I could easily pick up with one hand, as I think it only weighed about 50 lbs. Also, they love to rev. These engines are happiest between 3500-6500 rpm. They do pretty well down low, but they really sing at higher revs.
Now, in saying all this, I am not trying to minimize the size of this repair. It is labor intensive. We pulled the entire powertrain out of the bottom of the car and then separated the engine from the trans on the floor. If you can imagine how it went together at the assembly plant, that is how we removed it. Engine, trans, steering rack, struts with the brakes and the half shafts attached, all sitting on the engine cradle assembly which was then lowered onto a dolly. That is how we removed them. Customer pay, we used to charge 35 hours to completely reseal a Northstar with head gaskets and Time Sert installation. On the DTS in Ray's video, we also had to remove the front fascia because the engine cradle front horns were long enough that they were sort of trapped by the bottom of the fascia.
Lastly, the piston and ring design changed for the 2000 model year. The pistons received less of a skirt to reduce reciprocating mass. This caused cold piston "slap". It wasn't detrimental to engine longevity but it was definitely a nuisance. Also, the rings were redesigned with lower tension. This was done to increase fuel economy because as much as 25% of internal engine friction is caused by the rings. Unfortunately this lead to rings easily becoming stuck causing run away oil consumption. For the piston noise, GM released a new design piston which included a slightly longer skirt that had a coating on it to reduce unwanted noise. The piston rings were also redesigned to slightly increase ring tension. These redesigned parts were introduced into production engines in late 2003. So, from 2000-early 2003 (I think there was a VIN breakpoint), there is a risk that it will consume oil, although I replaced tons of those pistons and rings, so if you go looking for a car of that vintage and it was originally from the Detroit area, maybe I replaced them already. Lol
@@paulwindisch1423 That was a lot of information. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain the engine's common failure points and the steps taken to repair them correctly.
Fun seeing you driving around town Saturday with Wife Unit. My wife was making fun of me going fan boy as we drove by. LOL
When I worked as an oil change and tire tech for a Wal-Mart in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Northstars always had a littany of "self-lubrication mods."
Maybe this is why some like to "self-ignite".
They also had the auto-eject head stud feature.
Most cars are difficult to work on to do spark plugs . Just did my 98 Buick century , plus the wires . Dealing with chronic pain plus arthritis , fibromyalgia it’s difficult for me to work on cars . But I still do . I also did 2 front wheel bearings on this Buick , and a right side power mirror . I used to own a Cadillac deville . Was a 2002 had 98 thousand on it when it was totaled in my own driveway . Very nice car , I liked it allot . I had a bad ignition coil and a few window regulators go bad on it . Other than that nothing else . I don’t remember if I changed the plugs . As always good day to everyone at rays auto repair and God bless .
In the 3 years i owned my 2000 Sedan Deville I bought new, I never had a single issue or so much as a single drip of oil. Best engine I ever had. I sold the car to buy something less yacht like in size. LOL
@@edwardrobb4682manufacturers these days just love to move the engine towards the cabin firewall for "better weight distribution". I have even seen longitudinally mounted four bangers that make it extremely hard to get to the last plug, fuel injector and whatnot. It's a nightmare. And the conspiracy theorist in me always thinks this is by design.
Had a 2008 Buick Lucerne with 4 portholes that had this powertrain. Wife drove it to 200k miles, both kids drove it through school. 1 coil pack, wheel bearing on the front, and an entire iron mine’s worth of pads and rotors, we drove that beast to 280k miles. Not a body panel on it that hadn’t gotten up close and personal with another vehicle…
In the end, took a quart every 3 days. But still started and ran, no MIL illuminated.
Retired due to the original alternator dying when it was 10 degrees outside and I wasn’t about to put a $500 part in a $50 car, in my driveway, in the snow, with the knowledge of the disassembly required to change it…
So, I may be an outlier but - it was a great car for us. And this is why I don’t ever play the lottery - I’ve already used up that win…
I absolutely LOVE the Northstar V8 engine! I've had three different cadillacs that all had the N* V8 and never had a single issue with any of them.
Same here! Plus, I work and service the ones that I have.
28:50 that's not carbon tracking it's a corona stain and is completely normal on used plugs. It's caused by an accumulation of oil and dirt that gets baked onto the ceramic.
Three full time employees? Ray be coming up in the world. 👍
Dave is the only full-time employee. Jesus is part-time and Cody is there just to replace the Ford engine since he specializes in them according to Ray.
Semantics. 3 employees. And hundreds of thousands of would be customers. If my 5th gen Ram ever needs new lifters and cams I'll be lookin up Ray
@george8873 what! The great and powerful A rod isn't doing it😮
i wonder what happened to troy
me too.
@@curtisthomas4796
Rainman building his stable of mechanics..life’s good!🙂👍
its awesome to see you going from working for some one doing videos .. to owning and operating and having others work with and for you. You sir.. are an example of the American dream success story. keep this going.
Or retire as soon as you can see the path. I’ll miss you, but if you can squirrel away enough money to spend your time on the Riviera for the next 40 years, go for it!
It is my opinion that the engine compartment designers should be made to work on each type and model in the field each month for a week at different garages so they can experience for themselves the joy of their designs . I know the trend has been to make stuff more compact to save weight , allowing better fuel mileage - but there is a limit . Maybe more access panels would be the answer. Good video Ray . Stay safe , have fun .
If designers made cars easy to work on the stealerships would go out of business.
@@mikejacob3536: You say that like it would be a bad thing if it happened!!!!
🙂
I'm sure that the stealership's shops would still have plenty of warranty work to do.
I bought a new 2000 Sedan DeVille with a Northstar Engine. It was an amazing engine and that boat of a car was super fast and powerful. Never had a single issue with mine. I kept if for 3 years.
And then it fell apart?!
Had an old lady that had a 97 D’elegance. Had a leak from the rear main and the half block gasket. Shop finally got her to let it go and get a better car.
Just like your saying from the shop “just coz it’s new, doesn’t mean it’s good” thanks for all the vids I love watching them long or short keep it up.
You are firing on all cylinders today Rainman!
He’s always firing on all cylinders. lol.
🙂it is really good to know that i am not the only one that hates fixing others fups. The best engineers always make it super functioning and easy to service. ❤
Need more videos...I could watch these all day. When I'm not working. Awesome ray!
Just a suggestion, with misfires a good thing is to note the cylinders as you did then mark the coils on that cylinder, when you put them in swap the coils to another cylinder and make a note. If the misfire comes back on a different cylinder with the coil its a help in troubleshooting.
Durr he does that, one side of engine is misfiring altogether if you bothered watching the video
@@SimmyMetal no need to be spicy...
I replaced the water pump on a 2011 Cadillac DTS, in my driveway, in the rain. It took me a week. I totally get it that you now totally respect me. No water pump should take so much time and effort to replace.
audi says hi. remove front clip.
Removing front clip from Audi is way easier than Cadillac water pump. lol
For an added bonus GM put the starter UNDER the intake manifold.
@@MrSloika Yup, I sure look forward to that!
is it tho.. i hate it. always break up all the clips and you can so easily twist the bumper cover and fubar the paint. and then you still have to remove all else to get to the actual water pump. dropping the front end is just for mandatory access. like a 4 hour job which always takes more unless you like bodywork @@evilgtidriver
Good info because I own a 99 Deville with 67,000 miles on it, Northstar V8
I just have to comment how nice of smiles you all have, thats a sign of a great place to work and a great boss! Way to go guys! And Lauren has gorgeous smile as well! Love from AZ ❤😊
On this episode of ray dealing with. Pesky o2 sensors we love these issues
Ngk is the best plug in my opinion.
Crusher…this car brings back never ending nightmares of my fathers Northstar 😎 fix 4 things and 6 more appear soon over and over
Good video Ray. Where is your silicone wedding band. Oh, let me guess, your metal one needed some of that automatic oiling system on the Northstar ! That shop is getting busy, congratulations on your staffing increase! I remember watching you and Peter interact. I always loved that about the independent shop work.
Glad to see your shop having such great success. Good on you Ray.
Good morning Mr Ray hope y'all have a great day
Yes, you do yell! When you're throwing empty brake cleaner cans! 😂😂
Anutha! clang.......
I actually saw that you forgot to connect the vacuum lol, I hollered at ya, but you couldn't hear me 😅😂
I've tried yelling at him on another video, he didn't hear me either! 😂
@@golf25radioman yeah dang it,we were trying to help 😃🤓😂
:${}}{@@golf25radioman
Super nice video and troubleshooting Ray!!
Ray when one of these Pulls in we would all run and hide. These cars were a pain to work on.
Ray needs a Northstar detector that turns out the lights and posts a sign, “Shop has moved, left no forwarding address.”
@@philipershler420 That there's funny, I don't care who you are!
Oh hell, I’m just an Old Fart who enjoys watching Ray work his magic. 🪄
@@philipershler420old farts don't do so bad, it's the fresh new ones that are of the pungent variety
When I worked for GM, middle and upper management touted the Northstar engine as the best there ever was or will be.
Al other manufacturers, foreign or domestic, will want this engine for their very own.....
Excellent diagnosis and video. We have a 06 STS. NORTHSTAR. with similar misfires. But no lights on the dash. The tech connected the scanner. Read the misfires. Changed the plugs. And it was better. For tow weeks. Now misfire is back.
They did not mention anything about the O2 sensor.
The other issue with our misfire previously is at times it was so severe. Shaking. It was almost not drivable. At that time the smell from the exhaust was like rotten eggs.
Two (of many more than I deserve) highlights of my life: Got a Cadillac, sent a Northstar to that big carpark under a hill.
5.4 Triton sparkplug launcher. Northstar - hold my head bolts.
Zip tie the wire to the extension. Then, the wires turn with the sensor.
Wow! Pour water on this thing and you get instant crap!
I look forward every day to seeing a Rainman Ray video. My wrenching days are long over, I can't imagine going through all this tsouris with these overcomplicated kludgeharps. I no longer burn petroleum, am happy with my EVs, and am happy to see that folks like Ray have the knowledge and patience to work on this stuff. I do miss my 383 HiPerf in my Barracuda Convertible, and my trusty old '56 Chevrolet 6 banger with the Powerslide, though.
You will be happy with that EV until those batteries crap out on you in 3-5 years... then... not so much. 🤷♂️
Coworker of mine has this same car and same year. He took it in to dealer (D'OH) to have this mod reveresed and it was an engine out job. Apparently these leak from the upper oil pan so needed to pull the whole lump to get the upper pan off and do the reseal. Multiple thousand dollar job but he still drives it to this day. Had about double the mileage of this one when that was done several years ago.
Crazy low mileage combined with almost zero rust---which retirement community does this thing sit at or cruise at low speeds??
Yet another GM masterpiece
Like a lot of GM ideas it was good on paper. V8-6-4? Good idea that they tried to implement with late 70s computer tech. 4.1 HT(Hook & Tow)? Put into production with insufficient R&D. Northstar? Put into production with insufficient R&D.
Work at a dealer, and the half block was leaking. So guess what customer did, decided to get it done. Took tranny out and whole disection……what a blast
When you saw it was a NorthStar you should have shut the hood and said no not today lol great job as always Ray
I've used the copper wire strand trick to put bolts in that have the holes stripped. Just take a couple of strands from a wire and drop them in the hole with enough sticking out to fold them over a little, then put the bolt in. Its usually enough to get a bit of torque on the bolt.
When my Dad taught me to change sparkplugs back in the 60's I was terrified of breaking off the porcelain.
Hi ray, I should think with all the top ups those engines get they don't need an oil change, just a filter swap..
Ray, that speed rachet wrench is there a Amazon version of that wrench.
I've been watching for maybe two years and throughly enjoy almost all of your videos because of...been there, done that, and thankfully retired now. I want to commend Ray. When i started watching he had a small shop and just himself. Now he has a very nice much larger shop and three employees. Ray...you are one of those evil capitalists. Congratulations and keep up the great videos.
Ray has the Mercedes of the ratchets
That repair was frustrating me watching, good on ya for doing that!
Was gonna say it's a shame a car with less than 50k miles had such bad oil leaks already then remembered it is a 2006. Curious if they were actually changed like you said Ray and why they'd be leaking like that again already. Guess it's a Northstar thing from your reaction to seeing the engine cover, lol.
Nice work, a shame to have those problems with such low miles.
Yes I used be mad when I was younger when the shop bring one in. Those northstars is the reason I won’t do any work on them
My 2000 Cadillac Deville had the V8 front wheel drive North Star engine and it has a blown head gasket. I got rid of it. And as much as I love Cadillac I'll never own another with the North Star engine. I now have a 2001 Lincoln Continental and love it.
The Infamous Deathstar engine.. :D
I wouldn't know, I don't let them in my shop
@@pauldunn4426hypothetically speaking would you not be worried that maybe the guys wife's car is not a caddy with a North Star engine and that when she asked where to take it for service or a problem that he would tell her to definately not go to you because he will tell you to go somewhere else if the job night be too much for him/you to handle?
Love the video ray can’t wait to see the next one
Talking about cumbersome and difficult, I just experienced the joy of removing the EGR valve on a Chrysler 3.8 liter in a 2008 JK. What a PITA!
Cool beans Ray, you got it worked out!!
Still love that "Gravity!"
Ray is kicking some serious butt there
Finally a DTS. Mine has been a great car so far.
When the north star came out, my wife and I was about to give up on European models. The Cadillac was comfortable, handled well and appeared to be built well. I am glad I did not buy one. I know you can not turn away all self destructive cars, but this falls in the same group of Chrysler.
Northstar is a mess. Blowing out spark plugs , running hot from hidden valley leak, is not fun to work on.
A quick test on a suspect O2 sensor when you have it out is to connect a multimeter across the output leads and then put the tip of the sensor in and out of butane or propane flame. When in the flame the sensor will output about 0.9 volts and when out of the flame, but still hot, the reading will drop to about 0.1 volts. If an O2 sensor tip is caked in soot and unresponsive then a kill or cure trick is to heat it up to cherry red and test it again.
86th! Happy Monday morning Ray and the wife unit. Together with the other employees! Roger in Pierre South Dakota
Ray yea this video was a two cup coffee video. I like the long videos. Thanks
surprised the coil packs weren't also replaced(at least the hard to get to ones)
Ray never replaces old coils in hard to reach places. Its how he operates.
Excellent work Ray.
phenomenal work, those caddys tight space to work on . had one, engine failed on me after bought from someone ( lied to me about engine need tune up)
You know this video is a keeper when Ray (1) sings the 1970 hit "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band and (2) does his best Toyota-loving you-know-who TH-camr imitation ("Toyota connectors are the best"). 😁
Love the bumper sticker on the car next to the Cadillac.
I rarely have time to invest in 1hr tubes so I have to pass them by. The original 20min tubes were the best for me.
I like that charger in the beginning.
Ahhh, those were the days....
Car actually looked super nice....
I had a 97 Eldorado Touring Coupe and a 2001 Eldorado Touring Coupe... I don't remember the coil on plug... I think there was a funny distributor block on the back, with like 4 coils, and 2 pins per coil... And then wires.... I think it was waste spark??? Kind of a long time ago, I don't 100% remember....
Those rear plugs were really a delight.... If you ever did them, you'll never forget how much fun you had....
With only 48K miles it should look nice. This car is likely owned by NY/NJ retiree. Unfortunately almost none of the 4.6 powered Cadillacs make it to 100K. By comparison, that Lincoln Town Car you see parked next to the Cadillac probably has 400K miles on it.
Ah the old ‘Service Stabilitrak’ light. I have an 06 DTS as well and that one likes to light up occasionally. Have since bought different strut assemblies for it and some resistors to eliminate the overpriced and problem prone magneride struts that are likely the culprit. Never had so many issues with a car this new and mine only has about 41,000 miles.
Hilarious. One second before you said it, I was thinking "Don't give up your day job Ray."
Ahhh... Love to hear the sounds of a busy shop. Awesome inter-bay banter made my day. Add in a random Doodley-Doo or two and it'd be just like the ol' days. 😊🤣👍🏼 Also loved Cody's quick-catch, self-censor. LOL! 😂
YUCK! I'd be so frustrated with being a mechanic that is forced to deal with such crappy maintenance access designs (let alone piss poor seals). Hats off to you Ray for remaining sane! If I was a mechanic, I'd have refused a bunch of the stuff you have taken in and fixed.
Well the only way to determine if all the oil everywhere on and around that engine is clean it all up and see if it comes back. It could very well be old and the valve covers might be ok. But then again being a Northstar there's a good chance they're nasty active leaks. GM definitely tried to cram 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag when they stuffed those things in. Definitely not fun to work on.
Thanks Ray
If you hate the lift, replace it with a good one. Wildfire lifts are the best and they are moveable, if needed it can even be moved outside on flat concrete. Wildfire, four post ramp/rail type lift with movable cross member. Check it out!
I don't trust new parts, either, Rainman! It doesn't seem to matter if its a name brand or not. Recently I had a new Delphi o2 sensor be bad. All parts seem to originate from China!
Hello again to the North Star engine the only engine with the self-ejecting head bolts.
I replace all 4 of my o2 sensors with Bosch sensors. After only 2yrs I was replacing 2 of them again.
Denso's eat into the profit margin too much. Run crap Bosch instead.
Some could speculate that flashing check engine light means active misfire cook your noodle on that one, RAY lol
Compared to a pentastar in a minivan, those rear plugs were cake.
hi back to rain mans repairs and company
Ray, thanks for adjusting the camera angle on that shot. It really helped.
Ray. Little hack I found with O2 sensors if you tape the wire to the extension they will not coil themselves either removing them or installing them
Tricky to do that when you uninstall them the first time!
We would miss you if you stopped the Mechanic job and took up singing so, don't quit your day job! Lol.
Good video! 😃
Well done 👍
A bit painfull watching these v8 front wheel drive engine repairs as an european, since we usually have inline 4 engines. Half of the components are right agaist firewall, other half right next to the radiator. Everything is in such hard-to-get-to places. I mean many modern inline 4s are complex too, but v8 has almost everything doubled.
Still awesome work Ray!
i have a 93 el my boy has a 98 el....still going strong just dont overheat one
Most of our transverse FWDs are also i4s, some are v6s. GM is the only one I know of that stuffs a v8 into a FWD. Even Dodge, who's known for slapping a v8 into everything it'll fit into, makes all their v8s RWD or AWD as far as I know. Might be wrong, though. There's probably also some I don't know about
Maybe you can replace the head bolts with ARP bolts
I have successfully changed out the oil pan and gasket on those Northstar engines without pulling the engine in half the time it takes to pull/drop the engine. Should be able to find that info on identafix
That caddy is nice ! 😊
Ray, have you ever looked into a stream cleaning machine? I have an old Karcher commercial electric pressure washer with diesel oil fired water heater / steam generator.that works great for degreasing engine bays. Because it is a hassle to retrieve from my offsite storage, I more often take dirty engine projects to a nearby DIY car wash (along with a pair of ramps) , to clean things up before starting disassembly. Have you considered thoroughly cleaning the engine and surround at a local DIY car wash before starting?
Notification squad 💙
Upon reviewing the video again I noticed when you showed the rear O² sensor the wires were extremely twisted and it appeared it had been replaced by an inexperienced mechanic.
I can’t believe that you put back the used coil when the spark plug showed signs of carbon tracking. That’s the power of the upselling. The customer doesn’t always know what is good for him.
Do you have any video on that Ford motor exchange?
Maybe Cody has some footage on his own channel? CP'S garage.
Nice work little brother
Ray is wearing his ring
Try taping the wire to the extension so it always turns with the wrench. Not bad eh? brake boost hose is off
Ive been driving my 05 deville with the self lubricating feature for the last 100k miles. She marks her spot every time i park it.
8:15 naw the beginning of planned obso was way back in the 1980s with the 4100 Have two. which also was a cadillac funny how their name keeps coming up like theirs a pattern