25th May 2005, 13:23

I have 97 STS, Northstar with 59k miles. I am very disappointed because I love the car. It is excellent condition. It uses a quart every 1000 miles. The issue is, at 3000 miles the Service Engine light will come on and a skip will develop (rough idle). The skip is from fouled spark plug due to oil.

Has anyone tried any type of oil additive to reduce consumption?

1st Sep 2005, 21:53

I have a 96 Deville, with 150k miles, the check engine started coming on and the car burns about 2 qts between oil changes. I asked the dealer, dealer stated a oil gasket kits for $1600.00 will do the trick.

6th Oct 2005, 18:15

I purchased a 97 STS about a year ago with 150,000 miles. Aside from the oil usage, the only other problem is that once the engine reaches maximum temperature, the warning light says stop engine, low oil pressure. This message only comes on at idle rpm and goes off when speed increases. Anyone know what might be the problem?

28th Nov 2005, 02:05

Hey, I love all three of my Cadillacs: 87 Fleetwood 97 De ville 97 STS. The 97s all are getting a new Northstar engine,and both had been OVERHEATING. The STS has over 130,000k, and I have replaced the waterpump ETC. Then I gave up, and told the dealer to fix it. I got the STS with 125,000k and it does burn Oil

So you are not alone.

31st Jan 2007, 08:19

I am having the same problem with my 1997 caddy, is it OK to overfill the oil to go more than 500 miles without adding oil?

5th Mar 2007, 15:53

I brought a 97 cadillac sts 95000 miles on it. the car burns 2 quarts of between oil change.

5th Mar 2007, 16:13

It sounds like the classic symptom of worn-out main bearings in the engine. At low engine RPM's, there is enough gap between the crankshaft journal and the main bearing that the oil gallery can't maintain oil pressure. When the engine speed increases, the faster rotation of the oil pump can keep up the pressure despite leakage around the worn bearings.

Now, it is also possible that it is simply a case that your oil sending unit could be clogged. Before doing anything radical like junking the car or paying big money for a new engine, just replace the oil sending unit and see what happens. If that doesn't help, just try going to a heavier viscosity oil. You might even consider adding some of that super-gooey "motor honey" to increase viscosity of the oil. You don't really have anything to lose on a 150,000 mile car that is 10 years old and has worn out bearings, anyway.

Depending on your mechanical skills, changing bearings on an engine isn't the end of the world, but it requires engine removal. Bearings themselves are cheap, just a few dollars per set, but it's the labor to remove and tear apart the engine that costs money.

9th Mar 2007, 15:13

I have owned 3 cadillacs from 94 to 97.I'm on my third in a year and just when I thought everything was cool I start leaking gas somewhere close to the seam of the neck what could cause this?it seems with such a prestigous vehicle you should not have to read about all these oil coolant and fuel problems

30th Mar 2007, 17:30

I've had my 96' STS for 2 years now and love it.. Uses 1 1/2 quarts of oil between changes.. Runs great, everything works and I drive it like I stole it.. The best running N*'s will be the ones that get driven hard! You can't baby these motors.. Get on that thing and clean it out once a week! It's a high performance, race oriented motor.. low tension oil rings and 4 valve heads will promote oil usage and driving it like your grandma will only contribute to fouled plugs and poor performance.. Let all that oil and carbon build up and that leads to detonation which leads to broken rings/pistons among other ugly scenarios!

9th Apr 2007, 16:40

Just bought a 97 sls. love the car.but...lose oil a little.i"ve read these comments and now i"m worried my motor is soon to blow up.i"m a 26 year old guy and I drive like it so far the n* has been solid, but now i"m nervous. do those "heal a seal"concoctions really work?

17th Apr 2007, 18:36

The Northstar needs to be driven hard occasionally. Believe it or not, on my 97 Seville, once I started flooring it at least twice a week on the on-ramp, my oil consumption went down. Just hold it to the floor, it will shift on its own, don't worry about hurting the motor, they were designed to be driven hard.

To the guy who is worried about his temp getting to 220. That is completely normal. The cooling fans do not even kick on until the temp gets to 224, so don't worry about it.

22nd Apr 2007, 08:55

I had a problem with the motor not starting once. A car dealer ship in SC said they replaced the fuel pump, when it happened again I took it to Firestone. They figured it out in 15 minutes. The starter fuse will blow, and to figure this out, switch the AC fuse with the starter fuse. This should solve it and buy another fuse. My 97 STS does burn the oil as stated by others, but it's one fine car. I now can smell antifreeze in the cab every now and then, it could be the hose? Has any one had this problem?

3rd Jun 2007, 15:40

Bought my '97 STS in Nov. '96. Has now surpassed 455,000 KMs. with only normal maint. and repairs. Uses oil, more in the summer heat, but I'm OK with that. What really ticks me off is the rust showing up on the fuel door! I've noticed this same problem on many other STS's and wonder if GM has a remedy, like supplying a new fuel door. Other than that, I love my STS.

Former Jaguar owner.

7th Jun 2007, 14:03

Well I just had to bite the bullet and pay $4,000 to have my N* fixed in my 1998 STS. Same stinking head bolt and gasket problem as has been well documented ad infinitum. I can't believe there isn't a lawsuit going on over this! The reaction between different metals is hardly a new issue - for GM to not plan for it and prevent it is shameful.

The galling thing is that my car was new when purchased, has only 57,000 miles and I took great care of it including changing the oil every 3-4 K miles.

My wife had another head problem on her Oldsmobile at 75,000 miles 15 years ago, so I see a GM pattern here.

I will not be buying a GM (nor American) ever again.

5th Aug 2007, 15:44

I have 97 N* 125,000 miles, oil light went on at stop lights, low idle. I use Mobile 1 since 70,000. use qt of Rislone, 500 miles before oil changes. On last oil change, 400 miles ago, I added 1 qt of BAR'S LEAK rear main seal repair. Now in 95 deg + weather no low oil light, at low idle. Fix? I don't know. But I will see.