getting myself into trouble again...not going into gear

[bigLSHO]

Ok, so it has been a long time since I have posted or even read up on any posts for that matter. It is not that I have lost interest in these monster cars, its just that I haven't had the opportunity to put the time or effort into my car. I own a white 91 plus but the body has gone to crap and this was a problem when I had purchased it 3 years ago.

Well it turns out I have the chance to build my dream SHO. I have found an electric current red 91 SHO that has been sitting for a few years. The body is immaculate as compared to mine. Yes there are a few little rust spots starting but I expected that. I can get these fixed before they become a problem. I plan on storing this car in a garage to work on it and to have others do the same when things get beyond my mechanical understanding. I am no mechanic but have plenty of resources, through here, through people and other places of information.

Sorry for the long winded intro....now to the Car:
The story behind this car is that it has been sitting for 2+ years. It went down for a clutch job. Prior to this it ran strong and smoothly. The garage I am purchasing it off of must have done something wrong in the process of the clutch swap. When it was all put back together the car ran but would not go into gear. It also ran a little harshly after it was put back together. The kid was getting the job done through a favor and didn't have any money. He sold the car to the garage afterwards and now I am about to come into possession of it.

My question is: What would the issue have been to cause this problem? Is it an issue with how the clutch was aligned...a throwout bearing problem...something else? Forgive the ignorance, I am just trying to figure out the issue based on the little knowledge that I have.

I know I am getting myself into a world of trouble purchasing a non running SHO that has been sitting for a while with no prior knowledge as to how it was treated BUT I am willing to have the patience, determination and spend the money over time to make it the car I want it to be.

I am getting it for dirt cheap. It has 103k on it and I basically want to build it from the ground up motor wise. This will be my 3rd SHO and I have been a part of this forum since I owned my first, 5 years ago. I have all of the 60K parts necessary to do the preventative maintenance. I plan to have the rod bearings done. There is a brand new clutch in the car. I actually have a clutch as well and a spare transmission. On top of all of the things that I have available I also do have my current beast that I am willing to make a donor car.

Any info, knowledge or advice is appreciated and thanks for your time

D. Lee

 

[SHOmethewayhome]

sounds like you don't have much incentive not to get the car.

get it home, do the 60k, pull the trans and start from there. if it's the trans then replace it with yours, you got a spare of anything that could be wrong with it.

 

[sperold]

Plan on pulling out the clutch that is in it now. Something went horribly wrong in that attempt, get everything out and don't reuse any of it. Since it was a favour job, it may not even be the correct one. If everything is correct, it will be the 9 3/4 inch clutch and you can get a kit from rockauto ($230.00 - $260.00) or any of the other sources. They even go on sale sometimes, so keep an eye out. The clutch cables hardly ever give you grief, but look at it anyways and look at the self adjusting mechanism (inside the car) as well.
Your release bearing is probably the culprit if the existing parts are correct, but like I said, take out the existing, and discard.
Post some pictures of your Plus car so that we can see how bad - bad really is.

 

[SHObill]

Sounds like ALL the info you have & what you have told us here is ALL second to third hand hearsay. First you need to sit in the car & diagnose & then report. Will she shift into gears while NOT running? While running will she really not go into any gear or maybe just not dis-engage as thats a comp diff problem. First hand info please.
-& whats 'dirt cheap'for a NR 20 year old Taurus?
-if susp & exhaust is original & no sign of upper &/or front 100K(oil in sparkplug wells & leaking Frt main & WP) - you are looking at a lot of $$$ ESP if you can't do ALL the work yourself.

 

[AREA 91]

Ok, so it has been a long time since I have posted or even read up on any posts for that matter. It is not that I have lost interest in these monster cars, its just that I haven't had the opportunity to put the time or effort into my car. I own a white 91 plus but the body has gone to crap and this was a problem when I had purchased it 3 years ago.

Well it turns out I have the chance to build my dream SHO. I have found an electric current red 91 SHO that has been sitting for a few years. The body is immaculate as compared to mine. Yes there are a few little rust spots starting but I expected that. I can get these fixed before they become a problem. I plan on storing this car in a garage to work on it and to have others do the same when things get beyond my mechanical understanding. I am no mechanic but have plenty of resources, through here, through people and other places of information.

Sorry for the long winded intro....now to the Car:
The story behind this car is that it has been sitting for 2+ years. It went down for a clutch job. Prior to this it ran strong and smoothly. The garage I am purchasing it off of must have done something wrong in the process of the clutch swap. When it was all put back together the car ran but would not go into gear. It also ran a little harshly after it was put back together. The kid was getting the job done through a favor and didn't have any money. He sold the car to the garage afterwards and now I am about to come into possession of it.

My question is: What would the issue have been to cause this problem? Is it an issue with how the clutch was aligned...a throwout bearing problem...something else? Forgive the ignorance, I am just trying to figure out the issue based on the little knowledge that I have.

I know I am getting myself into a world of trouble purchasing a non running SHO that has been sitting for a while with no prior knowledge as to how it was treated BUT I am willing to have the patience, determination and spend the money over time to make it the car I want it to be.

I am getting it for dirt cheap. It has 103k on it and I basically want to build it from the ground up motor wise. This will be my 3rd SHO and I have been a part of this forum since I owned my first, 5 years ago. I have all of the 60K parts necessary to do the preventative maintenance. I plan to have the rod bearings done. There is a brand new clutch in the car. I actually have a clutch as well and a spare transmission. On top of all of the things that I have available I also do have my current beast that I am willing to make a donor car.

Any info, knowledge or advice is appreciated and thanks for your time

D. Lee

Drop the car off at my shop for the mechanical work. She will run like a top when I get done with it.

 

[bigLSHO]

Must have forgotten to mention that I have a clutch kit already, brand new in the box.

Sounds like ALL the info you have & what you have told us here is ALL second to third hand hearsay. First you need to sit in the car & diagnose & then report. Will she shift into gears while NOT running? While running will she really not go into any gear or maybe just not dis-engage as thats a comp diff problem. First hand info please.
-& whats 'dirt cheap'for a NR 20 year old Taurus?
-if susp & exhaust is original & no sign of upper &/or front 100K(oil in sparkplug wells & leaking Frt main & WP) - you are looking at a lot of $$$ ESP if you can't do ALL the work yourself.

As far as a diagnose and report I will get that out when I have it stored. I was mostly interested in it for the shape of the body to begin with because like I said that is where mine is failing. Dirt cheap was paying like 400 and thats after tax and title transfer. It has been sitting at that garage for 2 years. I cant start it, at least not until the fluids have been drained and replaced. Exhaust is original but I didn't check the plug wells. Just met with the previous owner at the title signing and inquired as to the condition prior to the clutch job. No leaks, no knocks ran smoothly but I didn't ask about the 60K or 100K because that was already in my plans as I have all the parts.

Time is not an issue so therefore money is not either. I will put into it what it needs as is necessary and as money becomes available. I wasn't planning on getting it running with a few hundred dollars or by next week.

Ill post more info when I get it stored and have time to thoroughly go over the car.

Drop the car off at my shop for the mechanical work. She will run like a top when I get done with it.

I wish I had the money to invest in your expertise! If memory serves me correctly you are in the north east of PA which means we are about as far away from each other as this great state would allow us to be. I am just west of Pittsburgh. The drive isn't horrible and I actually drove my current SHO through there from NY to here when I bought it. But having someone flat bed it that far would probably be more expensive than fixing it!

 

[itwonder]

It could be as simple as they did not hold the clutch pedal up while the cable was disconnected and the adjuster is now out of whack.

 

[bigLSHO]

It could be as simple as they did not hold the clutch pedal up while the cable was disconnected and the adjuster is now out of whack.

That would be too funny! I mean it is a pretty reputable establishment. The mechanic who runs the place didnt do the clutch job. He said that his main worker did the job and that he is a great mechanic. I will have to check everything out once I can move it...the weather has not been agreeable. I will update with the symptoms and maybe some pics when I get it put inside.