'99 L37 Northstar V8, 4T80 trans?

[torquelover]

Looked at a '99 Cadillac DeVille Concours the other day, low miles for the year. Drove/shifted fine, but I did see (it was dark) the bottom of the engine bay had a light coating of oil. If it weren't for this, I might have bought the car on the spot. This car was other wise in nice shape, surely elderly driven, and looked to have been parked inside all winter or driven to FL or AZ for winters. I hear horror stories about these engines, not so much the trans. What do you guys know about this car, specifically the L37 Northstar and 4T80 trans?

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[FirstWorldProblems]

My dad had a 2000 DHS he bought new. What a piece of shit. They rebuilt the engine under warranty and it still burned A LOT of oil. There's a reason they cost $45k new and were worth 8k five years later

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

the northstar... can go fuck itself

the 4t80e... i would make babies with

some asshole should work on a 3800 swap for those damn caddy's

 

[torquelover]

My dad had a 2000 DHS he bought new. What a piece of shit. They rebuilt the engine under warranty and it still burned A LOT of oil. There's a reason they cost $45k new and were worth 8k five years later

Yeah, that's what I've been hearing.

the northstar... can go fuck itself

the 4t80e... i would make babies with

some asshole should work on a 3800 swap for those damn caddy's

Top mounts look the same. Wiring would be a nightmare I'm thinking.

Looks like most of these die by 120k.

 

[IceCreamAssassin]

They use/leak oil like crazy... Start the car up, let it warm up.. Then back it up a couple feet and observe the puddle of oil on the ground.

 

[Stink Star]

Engine case halves leak like a sieve. Good thing they take like 8qts of oil because by the time you need an oil change it's down to 4qts in the pan.

On the flip side, if they didn't have the oil consumption/leak problem they are actually pretty slick motors. Later versions had over 300hp and can run with no coolant by switching to a bank to bank 4 cyl mode to limit heat buildup. Plus they are pretty smooth

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

wire is my bitch

but if i go caddy...

....it'll be a catera

 

[32vMonte]

Hmm mine hasn't leaked a drop of anything in 3 years. No gaskets in the lower end all rtv.

It sucks that they leaked like they did and the head gasket issues. Loves high rpm beatings and pulls pretty well for a 300bhp motor.

I also head studded mine, it does however consume a little oil still but that isn't a issue to me. My ls1 needs a quart every two weeks, doesn't burn it it just blows it all into the breather can haha.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

i love that monte...jus needs moar turdyeighthundred

if gm woulda made a turbo 3800/80e car line they woulda made a killing regardless of the competing model lines

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

the quad4, 3.4 TDC, 3.5 shortstar and v8 Northstar are why the LT1 is still cam in block...



:trollface: