It was spitting white smoke from the exhaust pipe and there was a head gasket leaking and I was like WHAT THE #$!@!!
Sorry your car blew the head gasket. I think expletives allowed in that situation … lol …If of any consolation, head gasket problems are not common with Cadillac engines by the reports here. You can search through the prior posts here using the forum search feature, link upper right this page.
Welcome to the forum…
Sounds like you have a very typical blown NorthStar head gasket problem and YES NorthStar engines are VERY notorious for head gasket failures…
IF you decide to repair it, make sure the shop/mechanic has the proper tools to do the job…
Sorry you had this happen…
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02 cts v6 was 2.8 and 3.2 v6. Heard there was 2.6 but I’ve never seen one. which was basically same as Saturn 3.0 of that era. Used in some saabs too. They are known for timing belt failures. Not so much headgaskets. They have mls headgaskets. Pretty stable design.
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You are correct sir, I had flash backs of the Northstar head gasket problems and missed the CTS part… Wasn’t the 2.8/3.2L CTS engines made by Opel with mostly inverted torx bolts??
Having owned one, I think the general consciences was you don’t repair head gaskets on norstar engines.
Tester
Car wizard studded his caddy xlr. And rebuilt conv top hydraulics. Wanted $17k for it. Almost better than vette of same era now. So, there are a few ok northstar motors out there.
Your car is 21 years old and anything might go wrong with it. It looks like you will need at least one head gasket, new coolant, new oil, and a new oil filter. Your mechanic can figure all this out. It won’t be a cheap fix, but might be worth it if the rest of the car is in good shape. As an example (only an example), let’s say the repair might cost $2500. Where can you find a comparable car for $2500?
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We got 200,000 on ours but junked it when the fuel pump went. Wasn’t used much for the last seven years or so. It did have the autobahn package though that took the speed restrictions off. Have no idea if it would actually hit 135 mph like the kids said.
Yes, female torx. I shattered my torx driver. Put heads on block. Then install 4 cams. Then time motor. Typical newer car with ohc design. Is what it is.