Just purchased a 95 Eldo with the Northstar engine with 87,000 miles on it. I'm going to do an Auto-Rx treatment on it. It has had dino oil in it all the time. Once the cleaning is done, would I be better off to stay with dino, or switch to AmsOil?
Northstar
- Thread starter wkdivr
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What makes you think your engine is dirty? If the oil used met GM specs, and was changed as per GM recommendations, your engine is likely just as clean or cleaner than engines using synthetic. There are some advantages to syntetics, but they do not necessarily mean a cleaner engine.
And as far as syntetics go, there probably are better choices than Amway.. I mean Amsoil.
And as far as syntetics go, there probably are better choices than Amway.. I mean Amsoil.
Ron I guess all those sludge monsters on petro oil are just a giant hoax? So for all the manufacturers that spec. the use of a synthetic are they just wasting the consumers money
Ron?
Despite what others say, i think you are doing the right thing by auto-rx'ing this motor. I wouldn't use dino in a northstar, i'd go synthetic. Amsoil would be fine, but I think any synthetic will do the job as long as you keep the oci at a reasonable mileage.
Go sythetic,, Mobil-1, Amsoil, etc.
Ron AKA, North Star motors are known for excessive oil consuption due to really bad ring and psiton design. The only way to keep the consumption under control is to periodicly clean the top end and run thicker then recomended oils made from synthetic base stock.This topic has been discussed for years on this site. It has not though been actively discussed in 1-2 years.
Rember that the sump size on NorthStar motors is going to require 2 bottles of Auto-Rx to do the cleaning. SOaking the pistons with strong solvents has also been shown to be very helpful on this engine design.
Rember that the sump size on NorthStar motors is going to require 2 bottles of Auto-Rx to do the cleaning. SOaking the pistons with strong solvents has also been shown to be very helpful on this engine design.
According to the makers of Auto-Rx deposits start to form in even the cleanest of engines by 36,000 miles. So their is never any reason not to use Auto-Rx.
Question,
I have a 2000 Deville with the northstar engine. Approx 72,000 miles. I've been using a 5w-30 synthetic and its using a quart about every 2500 miles. Should I go to a 5w40 like Rotella synthetic or maybe German castrol?
Thanks for your response
I have a 2000 Deville with the northstar engine. Approx 72,000 miles. I've been using a 5w-30 synthetic and its using a quart about every 2500 miles. Should I go to a 5w40 like Rotella synthetic or maybe German castrol?
Thanks for your response
I used Mobil 1 5W-30 and never "cleaned" the engine nor did any kind of piston soak. It was about 1qt low when it was time for an oil change. I sold the car at about 152,000 miles to a friend. My friend used Amsoil XL-7500 series 5W-30 for 2 oil changes and then switched to conventional because of the cost of the synthetic. Almost instantly the engine began using oil like crazy. When he sold it, it was using 1qt. every ~800 miles. My neighbor, whose Northstar was half as old and had less than half as many miles also used conventional and burned 1qt every 1000 miles. He also needed two tune-ups in one year. I did both and tried to determine why it kept running so poorly, well, on the second tune-up I noticed an excessive amount of oil on 3 plugs, enough to foul the plugs. On that engine, I would definitely only use synthetic. A thicker one may reduce some of the consumption but since I never really had a problem on mine I just stuck with 5W-30.
P.S. Amsoil would probably work very well. The HDD is on the thick side of a 5W-30 but a little expensive for an 8qt sump.
P.S. Amsoil would probably work very well. The HDD is on the thick side of a 5W-30 but a little expensive for an 8qt sump.
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Yes, and be sure to use only Group I oils.
No, you need to use three-and-a-half quarts of a Group I, and three-and-a-half quarts of a Group III pseudo-synthetic, that way you get a Group II that will lubricate your turbine and Northstar.
Yep, Group I may have some downsides, but compared to using Auto-RX lard in your engine.... I'll take them any day. I find it just amazing what some people will believe.
Yep, your engine is contaminated after just 36,000 miles, and the only way you can cure it is stop using that synthetic oil, and put my magic lard in for just a short time (with a conventional oil by the way), and short change that, and short change it again with a conventional oil, and all will be well. Then you can go back to your synthetic, but we have to go into the "ween out phase" where you put a little bit of lard in with each oil change, at least until you do another 36,000, and then....... bla bla bla
This is a good site with some very informed contributors, but hey guys there is a limit....
Yep, your engine is contaminated after just 36,000 miles, and the only way you can cure it is stop using that synthetic oil, and put my magic lard in for just a short time (with a conventional oil by the way), and short change that, and short change it again with a conventional oil, and all will be well. Then you can go back to your synthetic, but we have to go into the "ween out phase" where you put a little bit of lard in with each oil change, at least until you do another 36,000, and then....... bla bla bla
This is a good site with some very informed contributors, but hey guys there is a limit....
Congratulations on your new 1995 Caddy purchase! The Northstar engine is a very high performance engine producing over 1 HP per cubic inch of displacement. In order for an engine to do that, and last 300,000 mile as it is designed to do, it requires 3 things. Oil to get to the pistons and rings, (so they don't wear out) regular changes of coolant to protect the all aluminum block, and frequent runs to redline to keep the carbon out of the cylinders. If you do these things, you will be very happy with your Northstar for a very long time. Unfortunately, getting oil up to the rings and pistons tends to burn some oil. Most people (John Browning included) consider this a design flaw, but it really is not. Even MORE unfortunately, in 1995, motor oil additives (Called "viscosity index improvers") were not being designed as they are today. When they burned in the combustion chamber, they formed deposits on the rings that tended to stick them on the pistons. People ingnored the information in the owner's manual and tended to overfill them with the heaviest oil they could find (very old school thinking) since the added VII's of a 15W-40 would make the problem worse. At any rate, using the Auto RX treatment will not hurt a thing, and may help unstick the rings if they are in fact stuck. At 1 quart per 2500 miles, you are not that far from the design spec of 1 quart per 3000 miles. BUT you can reduce that consumption by keeping the rings free, NOT overfilling the crankcase, and doing the WOT manuever (Wide Open Throttle) as described at Caddyinfo.com. Further, synthetic oil will not hurt the Northstar, just use the grade as described in the owner's manual and have a ball! Don't be surprised however if it does not improve, or may even worsen your oil consumption issue. The Northstar was designed and validated on conventional motor oil of the grade equal to or exceeded by the specs in your manual, synthetic oil is not REALLY needed. Those engine that DO require synthetic oil, are designed with certain properties of synthetic as requirement. Most notably, the high temperature performance of such oil, and usually nothing more. From my personal experience, I have found SM Havoline 10W-30 to work very well with the Northstar design. In your case, with a flat tappet overhead cam 32 valve engine, a little bit (like 1 OZ.) of Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment per oil change will help a little.
Gee Ron, why don't you find the post where I crow about the benefits of Auto-RX? I'm sure you'll find exactly --zero!
Yep Ron, continue your chameleon-like Jihad against the status quo at BITOG! Please find the post where I contend that your engine is contaminated after "36K." Go ahead! BTW, is that the ARX advert on their site says? Somehow I think you may have misrepresented it a tad. I doubt it is stated as such, but okay; I'll take your word for it!
Yeah, like the guys that continually post cherry-picked articles --posed out of context; ones like the "varnish suffering turbines" that do not endure the problematic contamination of their lubricants by-way-of gasoline fuel dilution, and water vapor contamination, that are the by-product bane of the internal combustion engine. So, turbines may adequately be lubricated by Group I base oils, but I doubt car-engines are. Yeah, you're all about unbiased knowledge Ron.
Just a few key facts and inconsistencies you seem keen to ignore and leave out of your mind-numbing hypotheses...BTW Ron, I thought it was Group III lubricants that were superior to Group IV originally, not the Group Is. So, are Group I base oils superior to your beloved Petro-Canada Groups IIIs, or are you going to continue to ignore this question like all good trolls, that ignore inconvenient inconsistencies in their relentless sh__-stirring, do?
Cheers!
Keep posting, but I've given up on reading them as they make no sense.
Thanks for the correction on the oil usages! So he is doing great. Sounds like he found an excellent car.
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