4.9 V.S. Northstar

[Eldo Man]

o.k its time to take opinions in the 92 and 93 eldorado models which engine do you prefer and why. take into consideration cost to repair and how long does the engine last, problems etc. and we will see which one is overrated and which one is not :invasion:

 

[Fatcat]

I've got a 4.9 in a 92 DeVille with 160k on it. My wife has a 99Eldo with 28k that we bought new. Haven't had any problems with the Eldo yet but it kinda scares me with some stories I hear about coolant leaks and head gaskets. The 4.9 is running great and I feel is just a tad quicker than the Eldo. My wife has raced her Eldo about 5 different times. It always ran 16.4's to 16.8's, until the last time. It was a warm day and she was making back to back passes, on the 3 rd pass it went 15.6 and she wondered what happened. I told her something must have blown through the lights and tripped the clocks early. She made 2 more passes and it went 15.5 both times. Its a standard not an ETC. I was totally at a loss to figure the huge increase in performance with absolutly no changes in anything. After about two weeks of pondering possibilities, I came to the conclusion that the rings had finally seated after 23k and 3 hard back to back passes on a hot day, no other logical conclusion passes muster. Cad must have some real long distance ring package in the Northstars, or silocon bronze walls with unobtanium rings that don't seat real fast !?!?! Guess if I had to chose I'd go for the 4.9

 

[KillerCTSV]

Though two very awsome reliable engines,Id have to go with the Northstar.I have had experience with both,and I just like how the Northstar runs.It feels better.Is obviously more powerful.Iv'e heard stories.Never experienced them.I say take care of it and you should be good.Though with my last 4.9 I hit 298,000 miles before I sold the car(was my winter beater for 9 years.)I bought it of a good friend of mine whom I have known since high school and he never had a problem with the engine.Neither did I.Almost 300k and still running strong.Ive had one other Northstar before the one I have now.That was in a 1997 STS which I sold with 225k miles.Never had a problem.And now I have had my 05 STS for 4 months now.As expected,no problems.So there both excellent engines and neither are over rated in my opinion.

 

[esperman]

I had a 92 TC with the 4.9, and put over 200,000 with little problem. low end power was great, never burned oil but ran out of breath around 4000 rpm. overall a much better engine than the old 4.1. the oil pressure was greater, and that helped the lifespan.

I now drive a 97 Eld with the 4.6. overall, much smoother, and fast as hell over 25 mph. Have had some complaints...weird 2 peice block tends to leak alittle oil. Expensive to maintain..it takes 7.5 qts of oil. however, it loves to rev, and it is one of the smoothests V8 's ive ever owned (i had a few hot 350 chevys in my day).

both are fairly good powerplants..i favor the 4.6 for power and economy. I can get 29 mpg on the highway cruising at 75 all day. not bad for a bigger casr with 275 hp!

 

[Eldo Man]

Thanks esperman i think im going for the 4.9 if i can

 

[davedog]

I have a 92 Eldorado Touring coup with the 4.9. The local mechanic who does any work for my that's over my head said that he prefers the 4.9. I agree the northstar has more power, but the 4.9 is alot easier to work on.