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I was hoping you guys could help me track down a northstar for a 94 sts. It's a customer's car and he's wanting the motor replaced rather than getting rid of it. Seems the going price at a Salvage yard is right at $1500, but I don't even know if there are any other years that I can look at which would be a direct swap.
Any info especially if you know something around the Houston area would be greatly appreciated.
Justin
Posted by: MAC1
If you can find a low mileage Northstar in a salvage yard it may be worth the risk of installing it. While it's possible to find a cheap Northstar in a junkyard chances are it will be a high mileage engine, which may not be the best way to go since you won't know the maintenance history.
I suggest looking for a remanufactured engine. The cost for a remanufactured will be about $3,000 to $4,400. The cost of a low mileage (75,000 or less) salvage yard engine will be about $2,000 to $3,000. So in terms of cost, in my opinion it's better to spend the extra $1000 to $1,500 for a remanufactured engine with a 3 year warranty. If the owner really likes his STS and plans on keeping it indefinitely then I would go with a remanufactured engine.
Why in the hell are prices so high for these motors. I mean I've seen them in pieces and they aren't that different from the 32V lincoln motors. And you can pick up a low mileage lincoln motor for a grand or less if you shop for it.
I understand the prices for a reman being so high, because everything in the motor is gone through, but the used engines being priced so high is kinda retarded.
And no I don't think our customer is ready to dump 3 to 4k to keep this car. He likes the car but it's in no way worth that kind of cash in the shape it's in.
Posted by: MAC1
I suspect prices for used Northstar engines are higher because parts to rebuild them aren't so readily available and not many shops rebuild them compared to other engines, plus it’s a Northstar engine.
If you can find a Northstar with 125K miles or less for $1,500 then that's probably your best option considering the owner does not want to spend too much money.
Why does the engine need to be replaced? If there's a head gasket problem try to seal it with one of the many head gasket sealers on the market. If the customer doesn't want to spend a lot of money then he might as well see if the problem can be repaired.
Also, if you're going to install a salvage yard motor try to find one with a warranty. A salvage yard high mileage Northstar may have its own problems such as a blown head gasket. It may be best to Time-Sert the engine before installing just to eliminate to possibility of a near future head gasket problem. The problem with an inexpensive salvage yard Northstar is that unless you get lucky and find one with low mileage for cheap, chances are you will not know what your getting.
Posted by: 97quadcam
i didn't diagnose the engine my boss did so I haven't a clue what it is he found wrong. The customer just wants it fixed on the cheap, but the problem is that he had some hack replace the engine already and now it's nothing but problems. Looking at the car today I'm probablly going to have to charge him out the rear just to go through and figure out all the crap that the other guy screwed up on it. Thanks for the help guys I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Oh and is there another year northstar that I can use that will fit as well?
Posted by: MAC1
I suspect a '95 Northstar will work. In '96, the PCM went from OBD I to OBD II, which means if you want to install an OBD II engine you will likely run into electronics issues. There were some modest changes to the '95 Northstar including the horse power rating, which was bump up from 270 and 295 HP to 275 and 300 HP, respectively. I suggest you contact GM and ask them about installing later Northstars in a '94 model. Obviously, the last thing you need is an engine you can't use.
Frankly, before anything is done you and/or the customer should be informed as to exactly what your boss found wrong with the engine. If you're working on the car certainly you need to be able to inform the customer. If the customer knows, find out and feel free to post it. I'm curious as to exactly what all the problems are about.
Posted by: 97quadcam
boss man says he discussed it with him....but I don't know what that was all about. He's in New York for new years but we'll discuss this all as soon as he gets back. But I'm not touching anything on it until he returns and I know the full story. It's hard getting all the facts strait when the customer's best english is some type of "kountry gramma" and the boss is 1600 miles away. I hope to have some more info after the weekend. I'll keep you all posted.
Justin
Posted by: ALBUNDY
I'm curious to know what diagnosis was done to determine that the engine needed to be replaced as well. Please post back.
Thanks for the help guys I'll let you all know how it turns out.