There is common thought that Northstar engines fail and are very tricky to repair and reinstall. The center of gravity for the failure is a blown head gasket.

I cam across this vendor in California that implies he can repair a Northstar, at a much lower cost than rebuilding the engine. I am wondering what he is doing, and does his process reduce the exposure that is implied in replacing a Northstar.

""Do you have a vehicle with a Cadillac Northstar engine it. And you have a blown head gasket or a cooling system problem that cant be figured out. Well I can help. I can repair the head gasket without a rebuild please read below and contact me for more info.

The Northstar condition:

The Northstar'* rarely exhibit typical blown head gasket symptoms. Initial overheating issues can usually be traced to component failure and repaired. This corrects the problem for a while and the first indication of some residual problem begins with a low coolant warning. The car runs great so you add coolant and don't think too much about it. You check for leaks under the car and everything looks good. Your mechanic checks the cooling system and also finds nothing wrong. The coolant seems to have just disappeared. As the distance between low coolant warnings gets shorter and shorter you begin to have episodes of overheating. There is little time from between the low coolant warning before the temp gauge starts to rapidly climb. Usually this sudden rise in temp is followed by a rapid fall in temp (back to normal). This is again followed by a rise in temp, but this time it doesn't come down.
When a car overheats it is only logical to conclude that some component in the cooling system has failed. Although there is no indication of what is causing the problem, mechanics frequently suggest replacing the water pump. When the engine still looses coolant and overheats the frustration mounts. Next you replace the thermostat, but no luck. Finally, you install a new radiator but the coolant loss still persist.
With nothing left to replace your told that you must have a blown head gasket and replace the engine.

I can fix this without a rebuild or new engine. I can save you thousands of dollars and save your car. Please contact me for more info.

High Tech Racing & Automotive
Ventura, CA 93003
(805)-585-0342""

just makes me wonder what they are doing without to get the price down. on a all aluminum engine, that has overheated several times i dont think i would forgo at least having the block checked and the heads decked

You should contact him for more info.

My gut tells me that he uses some mechanic in a can solution.

i have actually used a product that is professional grade.. "steel seal" to repair a head gasket on a cadilac northstar motor. has worked for 20,000 miles so far. very expensive but it is professional grade. i was leary at first but a 50 year master tech told me to use it. lol

More than likely this shop is install a head stud kit. 99% of the time when a Northstar has a overheat issue it is because the head bolt has pull the threads from the block. I have repaired a couple of Northstar engines using the Kent-More nutsert kit but this aftermarket stud kit looks way stronger. I found a youtube vid of a guy using the jig and drilling and tapping the block.

The SureGrip 500 Series Cylinder Head Stud Kit by Northstar Performance

The kit that I bought uses threaded inserts. With the inserts, jig, drills and taps it was about $400. I replaced these in the car (97 Cad ETC), it was ugly. It'* much easier to drop the engine / trans and work on it on the ground. BTW while it'* out, fox any pan gasket leaks at that time.