Cadillac Northstar 32Valve V8?

[Ryan B.]

I was at the junkyard today, found an all aluminum caddy northstar v8 32 valve dual overhead cam out of a '96 cadillac. Complete with the transaxle, the only thing that was bad looked to be a cracked valve cover.

So whats the going rate for these engines? Are they in high demand? I know sand rail guys love these engines because these v8's are lightweight all aluminum, and Advance Adapters makes an adapter to couple this motor to a GM tranny...
So should i go back tommorow and grab this thing for a few hundred bucks? Would make a bitchin sand rail, or i think i could make some good money off it, just selling it? Not sure if it runs but so long as it turns over freely it should still probably be worth some good money? Anyone looking for one of these engines? I'll go pull it and strap it on a pallet?

 

[zcarczar]

Get it, put it in your dad's jeep. They can make some crazy HP off a stock bottom end too.

 

[sled_dog]

but with the DOHC and smaller displacement(4.6L) they are more top end then bottom.

You don't really need an adapter for the trans. All you need is a 60* V6 transmission(700R4) and modify the one bolt hole location on the transmission.

 

[sweetk30]

some years had bad head bolt threads in the blocks and were under recall. and if the starter goes bad its not a trail fix cause its under the intake.

 

[zcarczar]

some years had bad head bolt threads in the blocks and were under recall. and if the starter goes bad its not a trail fix cause its under the intake.

There was never a recall for the head bolts, it only affects about a 1/4 of the northstars, if that. and the starter is very easy to do, the intake comes off very easy, even in its stock form.

 

[cybrfire]

Anybody have an estimaed weight on these? Is the bellhousing still the old BOP pattern? Looking for a light weight engine for a special project. I'd grab it if I were you.

 

[unclematty]

If, and thats a big IF, I remember correctly, they are about 550#s complete

 

[sled_dog]

Someone like GM High Performance magzine did a write up a few years ago. It is ALMOST the same bolt pattern as the 60* V6 Chevy motors. One bolt hole needs to be removed and TIG welded to a new spot on the bellhousing. I'm searching for the article.

 

[sled_dog]

Here is a specs page

413 LBS. complete they say

Can be converted to RWD by using a 700R4 transmission from a
60 degree V-6 powered S-10 or Camaro and welding in a special
pocket for the starter.

 

[diesel4me]

heard bad things about northstars...

I've heard from more than a few disgruntled owners of northstar V8's,--they seem to use lots of oil,and rear main seal and other leaks seem to be common dilemas..but a lot of the bad raps come from how difficult the problems are to fix in the vehicle rather than the motor itself from what I've heard..its not a BAD motor,its the way its stuffed into the caddy's that make the repairs so time consuming and costly...I know a guy with one in an old ford coupe,its a cool looking motor,and it has very respectable power too..not sure how he hooked the tranny to it,or even which one he used,probably the 700R4 like Sled Dog mentioned....

 

[sled_dog]

I would bet you could get a bellhousing from a 60* V6 and run like a T56 behind it.

 

[k20]

I got a friend with one in a 96 caddy seville sts. That son of a gun will flyyyyyy. He had a massive oil leak and hadta pull the motor to fix it, I dont recall which seal it was. Also, the caddies have a problem with water consumption. You have to put in stop leak to keep the aluminum from soakin up water. Thats in the factory manual for the car, weird.

 

[cybrfire]

Very interesting. Especially the short star v6 but this has kinda turned into a hijack.

 

[zcarczar]

Its a damn good engine, but holy **** do they leak. Hell we have new ones that leak too. Ive seen some of them that blow head gaskets and blow compression into the crank case so it looks like its got a bad rear main and oil pan gasket. They may leak and blow head gaskets but its rare to see one in for a bottom end problem. The only problem size wise with them is that they are very wide due to the Overhead cams, but the block is pretty small. And Motor mounts are going to be a challenge along with exhaust since just recently they began putting the northstar in rwd apps and thus everything is pointing the wrong way. Good engine though, I thought of putting one in my blazer for a few days but realized that I couldnt get a 4l80 to bolt up and would probably lack the low end grunt i need.