Can I swap out a Northstar?

I've got a '97 Deville and have now had bad experiences with two Northstar engines in this car. What other engines can I put under the hood with minimal problems in doing so?

I believe the 4 liter V8 from the Olds Aurora is very similar.
Anything else would require significant and expensive modification. For that money you could buy a brand new Northstar engine from GM and have change left over.

Many people with custom projects (Fieros. hotrods etc) like the Northstar so much they want to swap these engines into their cars.
The Northstar is a great engine in every way, except that it is expensive to rebuild, mostly due to the 32 valve heads.
Perhaps you are suffering more from bad service and engine work rather than a faulty design.

I don't even think the 4.0 from the Aurora will work with the Cadillacs electronics. Pretty much the only engine that will work with the electronics in the car is the 4.6 Northstar. But with enough time and money, you could get ANY engine to fit!

I've got a '97 Deville and have now had bad experiences with two Northstar engines in this car. What other engines can I put under the hood with minimal problems in doing so?


The short answer is none. The NS is a fine engine. You had the ill fortune to get two in a row which were abused or neglected.