Northstar engine _ still an oil user?

Dan, I had a 1992 Seville - not Northstar and it burned very little oil between changes. I have a 2000 Seville with Northstar and it burns about what your DHS does. A fellow I carpooled with liked my Seville so much, he got one. He was burning a quart every 500 miles and they replaced his engine. I will wait until my 2000 Seville has a serious problem and then switch it out. Because of the economy and my feeling to Buy American, I will go for another domestic.

I also have a 2000 Corvette - oil is clean and full every 3000 miles. Our second car is a 2009 Malibu Hybrid that I bought from a lady who won it in a raffle. Sticker was 28,970 and I paid her 19,500 with 200 miles on it. The car I sold was a 4x4 Ford Ranger - then we get 2' of snow. Oh well ....

Bob Drake Alexandria, VA

I had a '93 Sixty Special that was pre Northstar that didn't require any oil "adds" during the 3000 mile period. It was a far better Cadillac than my '01 which has been plagued with several failures. Heated seats gave out twice, power windows "clunk" on opening and closing, broken motor mount, engine cooling leak, transfer case leak, paint worn off radio buttons, steering wheel buttons, ignition key sporadic failure, noisy brakes, and more that escapes my memory.

My wife teases me about her '90 Toyota that burned out a turn lamp over the past 19 years.

I've turned my thoughts toward Buick, maybe for '11 or '12.

Snow in Virginia?! Here, in Vancouver, WA it's been clear and very snow free winters for the past several years; except for Dec '08 where we got a couple of inches.

Thanks for chatting; take care,

I have the same problem with my Northstar (and the 1995 Concours before that, also with the Northstar). I rather like the engine itself, so I put up with the oil use. Recall that the capacity of the crankcase is larger than standard engines, so the use rate is smaller that it may appear.

I have, however, discovered, like Don, that the 2001 DHS (such that I have) may be a citrus variety that year. I have already spent too much on it; and were it not for the economy, I would have traded it by now

Best,

Bob

Robert A. Fink, M. D. Neurological Surgery

2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA 510-849-2555 ********************************** NOTE: The material above is not "medical advice". Medical advice can only be given after an in-person contact between doctor and patient. **********************************

"a citrus variety that year."

Kindly put.

I have a 2006 SRX w N*V8 36000 miles on it, it never uses any oil between 5k changes. I always use Mobil 1 5w30 and change oil&filter every 6 months or 5k miles When i first got it, i drove it across country (WA to ME and back), didnt use a drop the whole trip. Cat22

Cat22

Many thanks for the good news. The (my) Northstar is a very smooth running engine, 'glad the oil use problem has been solved.

Take care,