New 91 SHO owner! Need help!

[Crizcocane]

I'm new to the SHO and became a huge fan of them at the races last year, when a turbo show ran the races all nite long. It was bad a$$ seeing the front tires go up in smoke and it left Mustangs Camaros and whatever else lined up next to it in the dust. I was looking for one for over a year!

I finally found and purchased a 91 SHO three days ago. She is in need of lots of love! I could use some advice in finding some answers to problems it's having. 200K

1. Battery light is on. Alt and battery checked out good at orileys and I dont notice dim lights or anything out of the ordinary. I checked many grounds to make sure they were tight. Also cleaned terminals and battery post. Any advice?

2. Oil in plug wells. I did a tune up on it plugs, wires, and coil pack. I believe 3 plugs had oil on them. One had alot of oil... What would be an estimated cost of having the valve covers and spark plug o rings replaced?

3. Shift linkage bushing are terrible, it does stay in gear but has wayyy to much play. Can anybody show me wear these can be purchased? I bought a excedy clutch kit and when I get the linkage I'm gonna have it all done together. What should I expect to come out of pocket for that?

4. The motor seems to run great previous owner said he did timing belt and water pump. I do believe him as the belt is not cracked and it is now a gates belt. I have read on here that rod bearing tend to go out...... I don't wanna **** my car. Is there any way to check that the rod bearings are in good condition?

5. Where is the camshaft sensor located? My SHO randomly started jerking and acting awful after I topped the oil off yesterday. Ive read that this can happen when oil hits the camshaft sensor. I want to replace the sensor and gasket. After the tune up today it had no jerks of any sort. Could oil coverd spark plugs been to blame? Still want to do the sensor either way.

Lastly, anybody have advice or suggestions of things to replace on a show with 200k+?? She needs lots of suspension and steering work done I'm gonna get on that asap.

Thanks in advance everyone!!

 

[SHOdded]

Welcome to the community, and congrats I guess LOL.

Having someone else work on your SHO can get expensive quickly, so if you are at all mechanically inclined, consider doing as much as you can yourself.

Good place to start learning about the basics:
http://wikisho.com/wiki/Main_Page

The SHOPHOENIX site is down permanently it seems, unfortunately. But a lot of information is available in dropbox files from member itwonder.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/77a1h1wsvvdmtox/AACBSbusdJqRt-PIONbmMpeTa?dl=0

 

[zoomlater]

Welcome!

You might start by pulling your codes to see if any are stored. You can used this procedure if you don't have a code reader.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070518111620/http://www.shophoenixproject.com/eec/eec.htm

For a loose shifter, you can look at the Shosource site for some shifter fixes. Look at your shifter to see which parts are needed

http://www.shosource.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=61_5_29

 

[Crizcocane]

Welcome!

You might start by pulling your codes to see if any are stored. You can used this procedure if you don't have a code reader.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070518111620/http://www.shophoenixproject.com/eec/eec.htm

For a loose shifter, you can look at the Shosource site for some shifter fixes. Look at your shifter to see which parts are needed

http://www.shosource.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=61_5_29

Thanks alot! I couldnt find linkage parts anywhere! I plan to have full engine diagnostics done at my mechanic here very soon. I'll lyk what I find out!

 

[luigisho]

If the car hasn't already had rod bearings changed, they are due. This car sounds like it needs 2 of everything. It's old with plenty of miles. Good luck. I don't know what your income/budget for repairs and maintenance is, or what your skills are with wrenches, but these types of cars can get you in over your head if money is tight. You should think about what you want to try and do for yourself, and what you can realistically afford to pay someone to do.

If you are an ASE certified mechanic or have bags of cash, please disregard

 

[TimboSHO]

Welcome to the insanity!

Was the turbo SHO you saw a blue one? If so, just search for the blue turd and you'll find a lot more information about it.

Check what voltage your battery is charging at. The battery light will turn on if it's too high or too low. I've had the signal wire break right near the alternator on a couple of my cars.

Your tune up probably took care of the rough running problem, but if you could do the tune up, you can replace the valve covers yourself as well. The cam sensor is toward the firewall on the end of the rear cam. It's not hard to replace, but if the cam seal is leaking on it, that is a little more difficult job.

As others have said, SHOsource will have all of your shifter parts, whether it is a rod or cable shifter (91 is the year they switched, so you could have either).

Just doing a search on here for your issues will give you plenty of reading for a long time. I'm still learning new things after 16 years of ownership!

 

[Crizcocane]

Welcome to the insanity!

Was the turbo SHO you saw a blue one? If so, just search for the blue turd and you'll find a lot more information about it.

Check what voltage your battery is charging at. The battery light will turn on if it's too high or too low. I've had the signal wire break right near the alternator on a couple of my cars.

Your tune up probably took care of the rough running problem, but if you could do the tune up, you can replace the valve covers yourself as well. The cam sensor is toward the firewall on the end of the rear cam. It's not hard to replace, but if the cam seal is leaking on it, that is a little more difficult job.

As others have said, SHOsource will have all of your shifter parts, whether it is a rod or cable shifter (91 is the year they switched, so you could have either).

Just doing a search on here for your issues will give you plenty of reading for a long time. I'm still learning new things after 16 years of ownership!

Welcome to the insanity!

Was the turbo SHO you saw a blue one? If so, just search for the blue turd and you'll find a lot more information about it.

Check what voltage your battery is charging at. The battery light will turn on if it's too high or too low. I've had the signal wire break right near the alternator on a couple of my cars.

Your tune up probably took care of the rough running problem, but if you could do the tune up, you can replace the valve covers yourself as well. The cam sensor is toward the firewall on the end of the rear cam. It's not hard to replace, but if the cam seal is leaking on it, that is a little more difficult job.

As others have said, SHOsource will have all of your shifter parts, whether it is a rod or cable shifter (91 is the year they switched, so you could have either).

Just doing a search on here for your issues will give you plenty of reading for a long time. I'm still learning new things after 16 years of ownership!

Thanks a whole bunch you were very helpful! The taurus I seen was white but I'm definitely gonna look up the blue turd! Some day I hope to boost mine, sounds crazy for a car with 200k but she is mostly just a project now and I got plenty of time with her.

I'm gonna try and solve my battery problem tomorrow I'll chase wires from battery and alt see what I can find.

The valve cover ive got to tackle asap, I'll take your advice and give it a go myself. Only changed one before, it was an inline 4 cylinder not nearly as daunting as the screaming V6 Yamaha lol. But I've got this

Cam sensor and shift linkage I'm thinking ill knock out myself also. Is the linkage accessible if I remove everything around the shifter? And how can I tell whether my car is rod or cable? I'm not super familiar with manuals as this is my first one. Pops taught me how to drive manual in his car but he wouldnt let me turn a wrench on it if I had the last wrench in the world

I'm gonna do much more research on here and try to answer my own questions but any info is greatly appreciated!

Ive found the linkage on sho source and about 100 other parts I need lol. I'll order soon.

Thanks for all the info guys!

 

[zoomlater]

You can look under the car to see if you have a rod or cable shifter. Here is a link with some pictures of a rod shifter

https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/how-to-convert-your-sho-to-a-rod-shifter-pics.81792/

Here is a link with a picture of a cable set up

https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/tough-shifting-mtx-into-1st-3rd-5th.129918/#post-1428200

 

[luigisho]

There should be a valve cover gasket how to in the how to section. Not hard but take your time and if you take the entire intake off as one piece, when you go to put it back on loosen the hose clamps at the runners enough so it can flex to sit flat at the mating surface and re-tighten. If you are planning to replace the cam sensor and or/cam seals it will be much easier to do while the intake and valve covers are coming off

 

[TimboSHO]

You can also check valve lash with the valve covers off (search for upper 60k), but this requires special tools (shosource also has these for rent) to adjust.