Just now registered to join forum. Call me NUNYA. I thought I would introduce myself before picking your brains about a 96 Fleetwood project that I have been asked to jump into. I am located in Central Florida and I have spent the last 9 months partially restoring my 93 D21 pick-up. My girlfriend of 10 plus years severely overheated her 96 Northstar Fleetwood engine last year. We have been looking for someone to do a motor swap on it, but no takers. We have been told that these aluminum block motors are disposable and shot once the head is blowing compression through the cooling system. We have also been told that you cannot just pull the motor out, but that you must lift the body off the chassis. First is this true? If so, not a do it yourself project. I understand that even if I DO replace the blown motor with a low mileage junkyard unit, the original cooling system failures that 3 different garages could not fix before the catastrophic overheating event. Those failures STILL must be diagnosed and fixed. I wonder if I would be smarter to replace with old school, iron block 350, minimum computer engine. Please help me fill in the blanks, thanks in advance
It's not really lifting the body off of the chassis, it's dropping the cradle down that holds the engine, trans, and front suspension.
If it's done on a lift with a very heavy base under the cradle it's possible. It may also be possible to remove just the engine from above but it's very labor intensive and complicated.
Brian
Please 76eldo, tell me more. Is a 96 Northstar engine that so violently blows compression into the cooling tank (when not even warmed up) worth repairing while in the vehicle? Is a 96 Fleetwood with faded paint and aging trim and interior worth investing another aluminum engine? She says she is willing to budget 5k into the project, I think investing into an older, classic and better built Caddy 2 door would be better sense. She might be too emotionally invested in this 96, she bought it new for cash, in better days. The fact that she loves ME proves she is crazy.
Personally I would rather see you get a DTS at least 06 or newer. It's still a Northstar but they fixed a lot of the problems. A 96 as you describe is not worth the time, money, and trouble to go any further with it.
Sorry to be blunt but that's my opinion based on experience with a 99 Eldorado that broke my heart.
Brian
I adored my 96 Concours, nicest Caddy I ever had. No problems with the engine at 150K but the rear cradle rotted out
and that was it. And the factory moon roof was leaking, that's pretty minor but...
I understand completely being emotionally attached to a car too, I cried like a baby when that 96 was towed out of here
and sold to a junk yard. So many memories, such a faithful car.
Fall in love with another car, go to some Caddy shows, read the Self Starter, do some research. No matter the year they're
expensive to maintain. Some years are complete disasters, you'll know quickly if you mention it here....
Good luck.
Hi nunya,
Welcome to the CLC forums. You're in the best place for advice and help.
You stated that the '96 is a Fleetwood. Is this a rear wheel drive car? If in fact it is, then the engine is an LT1 350 cid Chevrolet Corvette and is a very good engine. Please post some pictures to help with evaluating whether to repair the rest of the car or whether it would be more cost effective to replace it. If the rest of the car is not to costly to repair AND if it's the LT1 Corvette it may be worthwhile to repair. I will say, with a budget of 5000.00 it should not be difficult to find a better car and not repair the one you have. Ultimately your girlfriend will need to weigh the attachment to the car versus the cost.
If this is a front wheel drive Northstar powertrain I would certainly find a better car. Others will soon follow with questions and support though more information is needed to offer a proper evaluation.
Terry
Quote from: SixDucks on February 02, 2020, 03:49:39 AM
Hi nunya,
Welcome to the CLC forums. You're in the best place for advice and help.
You stated that the '96 is a Fleetwood. Is this a rear wheel drive car? If in fact it is, then the engine is an LT1 350 cid Chevrolet Corvette and is a very good engine. Please post some pictures to help with evaluating whether to repair the rest of the car or whether it would be more cost effective to replace it. If the rest of the car is not to costly to repair AND if it's the LT1 Corvette it may be worthwhile to repair. I will say, with a budget of 5000.00 it should not be difficult to find a better car and not repair the one you have. Ultimately your girlfriend will need to weigh the attachment to the car versus the cost.
If this is a front wheel drive Northstar powertrain I would certainly find a better car. Others will soon follow with questions and support though more information is needed to offer a proper evaluation.
Terry
NUNYA,
There's a lot of confusion in these posts. Terry is right. There was no Fleetwood Northstar in 1996. Fleetwoods in 1996 were rear drive and had Corvette 350 (LT1) engines (with a fine reputation). The DeVilles had the Northstar, and I suspect your car is a Deville (see the photo Laurie posted).
If for some reason you want a Northstar V8, then as Brian said, get a 2006 or newer DTS.
Cadillac Broughams from 1990-1992 and Cadillac Fleetwoods from 1993-1996 are rear-drive models with Chevrolet engines (305 or 350). Those models have excellent reputations and have started to become desirable by collectors.
With any of the models mentioned, you could likely find a decent driver at $5000. I don't think your '96 is worth the cost of repair or an engine swap.
John Emerson
1952 Cadillac Sedan 6219X