No room for error! CAR WIZARD drills out the head bolts on his '04 Cadillac XLR
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
- NORTHSTAR HEAD BOLT REPAIR #2: There are times when working on a car you can be just millimeters away from trashing the whole engine. This is the second installment in the Cadillac Northstar head bolt repair. Let the CAR WIZARD 🧙♂️ show you exactly how to safely drill and tap into the head so larger, much improved head studs can be installed. Thanks again to @NorthstarPerformance and @JJAutoWrecking for making this video series possible.
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Just what I wanted to see - more hands-on mechanic work. Reviewing cars is okay, but that's not why people call you the Wizard. More of this, please!
-_-
I totally agree with this comment. I wanna see wizard do some work!!!
Fully Agree!!
Yes Wizard! Please more of these videos.
agreed, the car reviews get a bit boring after a while
As an ex-machinist that appears to be a very well thought out kit and an excellent how-to video! You made that repair look so easy.
Do you guys think it would be possible to put the top end of a lh2 onto a transverse North Star?
This is the kind of sponsored video I like. Really good instructions on a novel product I knew nothing about before.
Maybe a top 5 fixes to make bad cars great on bullet proofing problems into solid rigs?
These cars aren’t worth dumping that kind of money into. They are nightmares , not just the engines.
@@MrLamf2939sh 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@MrLamf2939sh for an XLR, it's worth the trouble.
@@dbman992 did you know if your taillight is faded or broken on the xlr, they don’t make them anymore, at all. If you are lucky to find a good used one, they go for 1800 usd a piece. That’s just one example. Not to mention they never really produced parts for the car. So when it breaks, pray to god you can get the part! I love the cars myself, but would never bay another Cadillac made after 1992.
That fixture is the trick, right there. Keeping the drill straight & centered, and keeping the tap straight are the make-or-break portions of this job, and that fixture is what allows you to do that. That's a genius piece of hardware, right there. Really like that! Kudos to Northstar Performance for coming up with that!
I remember years ago, the kit GM had commissioned and made to go from the fine threads to the course threads, GM dealers were doing three and four of those a week around here. That kit also included a jig that would Center the hole so that you could drill and tap without having to worry about centering the drill bit. The jig used here looks very similar to that. I'm guessing the patented part is the fact that it has much larger diameter studs instead of head bolts.
This step-by-step teaching is MUCH better than ranting about stuff.
This is one of the few videos you produce that shows you or one of your mechanics actually doing something. I much prefer seeing people doing something than just talking about it.
Yeah do some more pls, this is awesome.....
ANOTHER CADILLAC FAILURE..MANY IN LAST 50 YEARS..
The better the threads are cut by the taps, the more accurate the torque readings will be as parts go together. The more accurate the torque, the lower probability of a head gasket issue. Cut the threads to the bottom, remove friction by making several passes etc.
Spoken like a experienced machinist!
i was kinda surprised there was no bottoming tap
This being a stud with generously oversized bottom threads you won't be seeing any problems from torque. The bottom threads won't be tightened with torque, only pulled against.
This is brilliant because the only shear is now steel on steel instead of aluminum. (The Shear Gall of some engineers 😂).
No bottom tap necessary, more threads are already engaging. As you can see when Mr Wizard puts the new studs in they are well below the deck. Bottom taps are only needed to bottom the threads. They clearly have an extra 1/4 of room built into their process, more threads are not needed at the bottom.
If GM did this from the factory, the Northstar would be considered one of the best engines ever made.
Same with the "converted" 350 cu. in. diesel engines. GM tried cutting entirely too many corners. Those engines also had blown head gasket issues among others. It could have been a very good engine.
GM is too cheap to figure that out
If they did it from the factory they would have created an engine that needed to be pulled out to remove the heads. Not really acceptable.
@@mickloney9826 *FORD* Cough. Scuse me.
@@mickloney9826 that's a majority of v8 powered cars that aren't trucks with huge engine bays. If that's the excuse you're making its a poor one.
The Car Wizard delivers again! I enjoy seeing a real mechanic showing how to do things properly!
That's quite an elaborate kit and process. The X fixture is an interesting idea.
I m a mechanic and I fixed one of these engines in 2001 blow head gaskets I removed the heads with the engine in the car Cadillac STS 1998 the dealer said you can't fix it you need a New Engine ,so the bolts came out loose and fortunately I have a friend who works in a machine shop he told me bring it to me the entire engine he drill the block and the heads for a bigger bolts and problem fixed the car runs for nearly 12 years no more issues ,Great video you are a Master Mechanic 👍
I would like to compliment your band. They know exactly when they can play and when they need to fade out. Rock on! 🤙
I can't imagine the amount of work done by NorthStar Performance to develop this. Amazing job by a small business.
I enjoy ALL the Car Wizards content... But these hands on mechanical/technical videos are my favorite!
Watching wizard talk himself through his thinking process while performing a job or task, leads to him sharing a lot of his hard learned lessons and insightful tips which you wouldn't learn by just only listening to him speak on the subject!
Love seeing the Car Wizard get his hands dirty!
I have no business in doing this myself but I enjoyed 1000% of this content. Keep up the great work!!! :) :)
When that Northstar first came out in the 90’s they were such great performers. As the engine evolved they really never kept up in the hp tq department. They should’ve just used an LS engine in the Cadillacs!
That’s truly the best color I have ever seen on those cars
I've met Jake about 12 years ago when he was rebuilding my friend's Northstar and let me say! He's one of the nicest hard working guys i've met! He's really passionate about theses engines and has saved thousands of theses with his patent head studs! To everybody that has a Northstar and loves them, its totally worth it! Happy to see this collaboration between Jake and David! Loving this series of videos! Keep it up! James from Canada.
That 1/2” drive Plomb ratchet is from the 40s. I have one. It was my dad’s. He was a machinist mate in the Navy and worked on piston engines for Western Airlines. They don’t make them like that anymore.
You mentioned that you’ve seen people driving taps in. My father owned a machine shop & foundry in the 40’s until going into the Korean war. He told me the main thing is never use cheap taps and don’t force them in. If you do force a tap and it breaks, you’re done. You can’t drill a broken tap out. Take your time is the key to a good job.
That is one badass Mercedes in the background. Those monoblocks are gorgeous.
Exactly!
That fixture flip flop tool in particular makes the job so much more manageable! It would be extremely risky to do without that tool!
Very glad to see you received your head stud kit quickly! Several cadillac owners on the forums have reported they have not received their head studs or tuned PCMs after several months of waiting. Thank god Jake was able to pull some strings to make sure this video could happen!
Guess who has priority? a Utuber with 800,000 subscribers
@@pablopicaro7649 Well this is also being sponsored by Northstar Performance to show their head stud kit so it's a no brainer Wizard would be higher priority than other customers.
@@pablopicaro7649 Yep. That wouldn't be good publicity if he had to wait like so many others have.
What about the publicity it’s getting by people reading comments and seeing it takes months to get?
@@Jordan__Sloan It's unfortunate, but without publicity, there's no demand - and without demand, there's no product. Hopefully they are making plans to increase their supply.
Dear Wiz,
You never fail to amaze me. When it comes to finding a superlative and honest mechanic, if a modern Diogenes had found *you* he could have quit looking!
You and the YT channel “DeBoss” (Canadian) are the only two day-to-day mechanics that I watch.
If I had the money to hire you for a year to create courses to teach your craft *and* imprint your *ethical standards* on the next generation of shop owners, I wouldn’t worry about my sons and daughters and their descendants being cheated when they are trying to find non-dealer service-too many dealerships aren’t reliable anymore!
Keep it up! 😊😊😊😊😊
Sign me as an old mechanic, been doing everything from a 1949 Ford flathead in a truck tractor through a 12-71 Detroit Diese running a 350KW generator.
I hope Jake at Northstar Performance links to this video as a cliffs notes version on how to perform the head studding process properly.
Thanks Wizard, I really enjoyed seeing this process done step by step. It is Sad that GM really never addressed this issue properly. If you read about the Northstar V8 GM spent a lot of money and time DEVELOPING this powertrain, it was a very advanced powertrain at the time, they even ran the engine with no coolant in the desert and still worked, provided air conditioning in the cabin,. Sad that they missed and never correctly addressed this fatal design flaw. These are things that really hurt GM in the 90's into the 2000's that made many luxury buyers go to other brands. I always wanted to buy a used Cadillac Seville STS, even though they are front wheel drive, love the look of those sedans, almost bought a nice one for seven grand, but always stayed away because to fix the engine it is almost the price of the car. very sad. Great video Wizard thanks for showing and sharing the process with us.
Wizard you explain this all so nicely and do the job easily. I know that this job would not be easy but that's a professional at work. They make things look easy.
Finally, some hands on, thank you. Please show more of this content
You did see the work. Did you watch the video?
@@CarWizard I did, that's why I changed my statement
I really enjoy seeing the work you guys do close up. It shows off your skills and gives us novices a real lesson on how things work and should be done. 👍
great vid, a timelapse of the remaining holes and the flipping of the special tool would be cool, without commentary
This is a very nice change of pace from the usual going-through of cars. Competent variation ftw, is what I say :)
Thanks for your service David. I hope you had an enjoyable veteran's day.
I respect your mechanical sensitivity. Most techs don’t have that. I wish it were otherwise. Kudos.
What I like is that this video shows why this is not a cheap fix. It is very time consuming. Maybe I will get brave enough to attempt this type of work myself.
The Car Wizards has the coolest walk on UA-cam! I'd love to see a continuous loop video of him just waddling around on his stubby little legs with Pantera's WALK as the background music!
I like the way he bows when he nods his head
This looks fiddly, time consuming, and requires following a VERY specific procedure. I LOVE IT. Tapping threads is so satisfying.
I don't mind the car reviews. They are well thought out and a unique take. But, I love the stories and hands-on work. It's what makes the Wizard, the Wizard. Everyone does car reviews. Not complaining but a mere observation.
No matter the video, I am an avid fan of the Wizard and Hoovie. Two down to earth people who happen to have a love for cars and live in Kansas. Just as I do.
Great to see some of this quality mechanical work! Would love to see more of it!
Another great video, Car Wizard. The Cadillac XLR will be a sweet weekend vehicle, a refined gentleman's Corvette. A convertible with a retractable hard top is especially appealing, but the price and availability for headlights and taillights would make me nervous to drive it. I'll be looking forward to more videos on the XLR. Cheers.
When you are done, can you write up what the bill would have been so we can see how much it would have cost a retail customer? Even a rough ball park would be good enough.
Nice job 👍🏻 I also have a plumb ratchet wrench, 3/8 drive it was my grandfather’s he also was a mechanic from the ‘40’s to the late ‘70’s
I like seeing this stuff step by step. Essentially the more unique stuff like this.
Love that Plomb 1/2" ratchet shown at 15:18. I have an identical ratchet that belonged to my grandfather, who was a machinist. I have no doubt that it will outlast me. Interesting fact: Plomb became Proto in 1948 because they were sued for trademark infringement in 1946 by the Plumb tool company.
Interesting, because all these years later we know Proto as a pretty good tool brand. Quite the opposite of today’s companies purposely selling junk with a copycat name
LOL i happen to have the exact same ratchet but in an proto. Had to be early 50s built though.
That's just Plumb crazy😲
Finally see the wizard do some magic, this is what we as car nerds like to see, greets from NL
This is my thing the hands-on mechanical work being done I know you got the skills good to see you working👍🏻
Something so satisfying about watching the Wizard drilling and tapping those holes.
have a 97 Deville with 70k miles (112.000 km) , so far its ok, I'm sure to keep very good care of coolant system, especially the vent tube that plugs up sometimes. Keep the Engine Temp displayed on instrument panel at all times.
Good to see hands on work and expertise!
Awesome job. They need to come up with a kit like this for the 6.0 powerstroke! They are notorious for the factory TTY head bolts stretching and lifting the head off the block resulting in a blown head gasket. I know alot of guys put ARP headstuds to resolve this issue, but ive heard of plenty that still blew a head gasket even with perfect machine work and studs. I cant recall ever hearing about one blowing a gasket with stainless orings machined into the head while using studs tho.
I love when you take the time to show your tricks and specialized techniques for repair!
I will admit that I haven't been watching your videos like I used to when you started because. This happened because I was less interested in all the car reviews and more interested in your diagnosis and repair process.
This is what I what to watch on UA-cam 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼brilliant thank you Mr Wizard 🧙🏼♂️
Great video, Wizard! Even though I won’t be doing this myself, I now know what should be done (eventually) on my Northstar engine.
the tape also helps as a friction modifier to help keep your fixture from moving around, any time you are trying to keep metal from sliding on metal a piece of copy paper between the metal helps, think of it like a clutch disk, when hand taping with a non spiral flute tap you really want to back the tap off about 1/2 turn for every full turn and a half to break the chip and keep the bits manageable / less likely to bind up on you and even gall your fresh cut threads.
That is the way I was taught 50 years ago when hand tapping. Glad to know I was doing it right.
This is an amazing kit. Their design and install process is pretty foolproof if you follow instructions!
Really enjoying this series! Lots of great information! Thank you Car Wizard!
Nice video, it’s also very fine, that you put your hands again self on the engine 👍👍👍
Really cool video Wizard, we need more of this "hands on the job" videos Dave, its really cool, one of my favourite videos :)
Gas tanks have baffles that break loose and will suspend the gage floats but the tank will run dry. I changed these tanks at the Cadillac dealership under warranty. I owned one and it had the tank baffles broken loose too!
Very well done. I feel the Northstar engine is a good idea but just needed the "Wizard Touch".
Nice to see Wizard in action would like to see more hands on vids like this!
I liked this style of video ...that tapping kit was very nice, super high quality!
J and J auto wrecking is barely 10 minutes from where I live and never heard of them until this series. Nice!
Best wizard video I seen. Very cool.
Love this video! Nothing crazy or dramatic, just good, clean & useful content. I love that you're wanting to bulletproof your XLR and keep it going, it's a beautiful car. Keep up the good work, and looking forward to the next video
Love the video car wizard. I save some of my used oil when I change oil in my vehicles & use it for my cutting oil when drilling & tapping, makes drilling & tapping much easier. Works like magic.
Great video Wizard, that fixture is awesome, one thought is to use a shop vac next to drilling and tapping operation to keep chips more controled.
Very good video! Very informative! Thanks Car wizard!
I am in absolute awe at this kit for remedying a design flaw in that engine; can some enterprising company make one for the BMW M54 engine, please?! Fascinating to watch and agree 100% about power tools and taps - just, no.
Master Mechanic at work
I had a customer last night that also watches the Wizard. We were both hoping to see the Northstar job on the XLR! He was an actual mechanic where as I just enjoy working on vehicles and have serviced my own for over 30 years. I used to offer small to moderate repairs for my circle of friends and their older family and friends. But anyway, we both owned old Cadillacs, like later ones, but we couldn't remember the company that made the kit for the head stud upgraded! Thanks for the content! Love the hands on stuff!
Gotta search that interweb. Get your grandson to help you find out information like that.
I'm not an "engine out" repair guy at all. I'll admit that. But this full instructional video and the step-by-step process makes the repair look easy. Almost too easy. I'm glad I'm watching a true professional at work here
It is easy. The X-tool makes it a very rudimentary and low-risk process. Anybody with average mechanical skills could do it. You don't need to be a wizard to do this repair.
I'll never be re-studding a block but that was a treat to watch.
Kind of wish I lived a little closer to Mr and Mrs Wizard.
Love seeing an expert at work. Great video Wizard.
always loved the northstar i hope this one gives u a long life
14:34 "That would be bad." Yes, just like crossing the streams. Major understatement.
Thanks David for all the tips & tricks, it's great to learn from an expert! I'm no mechanic but love cars and tinkering on my own vehicles.
reminded me of the process for replacing the press in studs on a sbc block with the threaded type when the build got serious.
NEAT! i wonder if caddy did something similar with their racing engines when they first came out.
When you first showed the new head studs, I thought Jezus holy damn wow. Those are HUGE.
thats what she said
That's what my Wife said.
Great video, car wizard. Great points about coarse tread bolts.
Weak points of bolts / nuts is the screw relief. It always breaks at the threads. The more threads, the more relief points to fail. Also great point about torque to yield head bolts, they must be cheap because so many engines now use them. You torque them to stretch a little so this is why you cannot reuse them. The conventional non torque to yield head bolts worked fine for years.
We had this NP Head Stud job done to a 2001 Deville DTS, back in 2010. The car is still running, but the timing chain is making a racket. A mechanic said it wasn't worth replacing the timing chain because the block was "cracked", despite the car not having any issues with leaking oil or coolant.
Hey Wizard & Mrs Wizard, you would make an excellent instructor or professor!!! You give detailed information that's easy to understand!!! The Wizard is a Northstar Whisperer!!! 👍👍🙂
Thank you so much for making this video.y first car was a 99 eldorado. I've had it for a decade now and I know one day soon I'll have to do this work, but there's very little guides on it. I will say it now, and again one day- thank you so much for showing us this.
My only argument with a stud vs a bolt is depending how the height of the deck a stud will oval cylinders. It happens on Tdi engines and it will crack between a head bolt hole and coolant passage. The only way to do it right is to bore the cylinder with a tq plate while using a stud. Great video!
I did the same on a Camry engine that pulled out head syids. I am not a pro and did buy the special expensive kit. It was nerves wrecking experience drilling the block, but it all worked out
Wizzard you're cart reminds me of my school days when the teacher would bring out the TV.
Although I would never do anything like this I found it really interesting.
Wizard, I love how thorough you are! Absolutely amazing!
Really enjoyed hearing about you ratchet from WW2 please show us more of old tools!
Inspired..... I love these xlr cars. But I knew about the head gasket problem.... so never even considered it.. love the srx too. Used to have one.
Great video. My neighbor owned an XLR just like the one you now own. I love the design of the body of this car. Beautiful car and I am sure you will enjoy it when complete. I appreciate you doing this series of videos on the repair process for the Northstar Engine.
That silver Merc in the background is badass
Various 90s Toyotas had blown head gasket issues from the bolts not being torqued down enough from the factory.
That's a wonderful kit! In my country some dealers import very clean Northstar Cadillacs but many customers don't know a thing about the headbolt problems.
I got a Deville for sale in USA
Buyer: "So what makes this XLR worth so much money"
Seller: "It has a Northstar V8 with the head stud fix."
Buyer: "OK. What else?"
Seller: "The head stud fix was performed by UA-camr The Car Wizard."
Buyer: "Sold. Whatever you want, I'll pay it."
Thank you for this video, Car Wizard.
"..was it hoovies? I'll pay you half your asking, cash now"
Great uncle Felix wanted an "XL R-uh" lol, I got us a DTS Unc, now tucc in those wings and hop in, it's a northstar . Haha
I remember when this engine was the pinnacle of engineering and now not so much. It did made decent power thou for the time. And the STS was so nice too
Love this new video series, I’ve known of NorthStar Performance for years. I’ve had his engine mount in my ‘02 Deville for over 5 years, and I just got the PCM tune from him and it handles like a dream. I’ve been planning on getting the Bulletproof kit as well as the cams once I get the time to pull my engine. Watching these videos I can tell the hardest part will be removing the engine from the car 😅, the kit is easy enough.
Wizard!!!! If I Knew what you knew, I would pull that engine out (Northstar) of the car and just KISS!!! Chevy makes some really great LS Dirivitives out there, Choose one and Yankie Doodle Dandy!! Drop A LS in. Turn the key, put a smile on your face and "Light em Up!!!!"
Very Very well Explained and Shown Video Wizard! you keep solidifying you're mastery of this Trade. that bottomless pit of Experience and Knowledge is astounding. please make more Hands-on Videos like these!
I am glad you compared the head bolts to show the differences anf now l understand why the North Star motor bkew head gaskets