New SHO Owner Help ! (Mechanically Inclined)

[Tecchie]

I need some assistance with my SHO, going over, checking bearings, etc...


I live in Washington State close to Everett... I could pick someone up to help me or drive it short distances...

Need help with bringing my 1995 ATX w/203k on her back to life... It drives good (steering is a little loose/bit of play not bad) sometimes won't shift out of overdrive to third when putting my foot into it at about 70MPH (unless I press the button, but sticks in third or second until I press the OD on/off button again)

P/S Pump leaks....tranny pan and oil pan leaks (VERY VERY little)
Heater Core needs replaceing (have part, but no money or time to do it myself/take to shop)

Power antenna needs replacing (don't really care as that would be the last thing to get fixed EVER)

Drivers window rocks foreword a bit about half way rolling up and slows down.....

Cruise control doesn't work, but I think it's a wiring harness that got disconnected from the brake booster/master cylinder that talks to the CC amp........

I think she was abused, but traded wifes contour for her...

I would like to get it back into great shape (aesthetics are a VERY last thing and internals will be done by me e.g. painting intake, etc. and externals taken care of by my wife; she wants to paint it..............)

pretty much everything else works... OH! AC is charged, but conpressor I don't think actually kicks on (no clicky clicky like from my 96 Taurus G (*NOT* GL) so, not sure what to think aobut that....)

As for the heater Core, I am thinking about bypassing it all together with a short peice of tubing and clamps just so I Can drive it and until I can get it replaced... it's summer for F's Sake... don't need MORE heat...

that's about all I can think of.... might have at least two plug threads that are close to stripping.... not sure.. never had aluminum heads before, my G I think are cast iron..........


Any help would be greately appreciated...

My Phone number is four two five, three two eight, nine seven two three...

Name is Brian.... If I do not answer it's for a number of reasons, but LEAVE A MESSAGE and I will return your call (Assuming you left your number)

I live in Marysville, but can drive to Bothell, everett, granite falls, etc... to get someone if she's not running.

have to replace the alternator but need help with that as well.. my G is a piece of cake to work on in comparison.. 3.0L V6 Vulcan Pushrod... Love that thing...178k and I hammer on it daily....Lucas in tranny, synthetic blend in block, K&N in stock box, rest is stock... 24MPG


Thanks ya'll!!!

 

[LOUDSHO92]

We can help you out here: SHO Source

Mike and Kurt are in Washington and can help you.

 

[fitefanSHO]

True abuse is difficult to overcome.

Good luck with her though, and welcome to the forum.

 

[luigisho]

True abuse is difficult to overcome.

Good luck with her though, and welcome to the forum.

Very true. That sounds like a money pit. If you fix it up, drive it for a looong time.

I had a GenI like that. I spend several thousand and then it rusted out on me. Loved that car, but love makes you spend way more than you should.

 

[Tecchie]

I do plan on keeping it a long time..

Weird thing is I replaced the alternator and now it will idle fine but any sort of throttle increase results in mass misfire and extremely rough running anything above say 1200rpms...............

I unplug the wiring harness to the new alternator and MUCH LESS misfire... BUT........

Before I pulled the old one I did drive it to my dads house to see if I could get help with the heater core, we decided I am taking it to a shop....

It ran fine on a brand new Optima Red Top battery (from my house to his is about a 30+ mile round trip) there and back, no misfire and LOADS of power....

After I got her home, it just sat for about a week until I got the new one... here is the Schucks part number on the receipt

P0 8456782 "IMP REMAN ALT 13447" $188

They didn't have a cheaper one in so I got this one, and once installed it misfired BAD at any extra throttle above idle...

Even in gear... load or no load.......not sure what to do...

I am pretty sure my coil pack is fine...

No oil in plug wells, had that fixed already if I hadn't already said so...

Any ideas? There was only the new alternator and the two wires that went on it.. "wiring harness and positive strap with a nut"

Also replaced the serpintine belt and it was quite a bit tighter than the one I pulled off, you think that might have something to do with it? Should I reinstall the old belt?

The new one had to be put on with the tensioner fully extended and me using a screw driver as a bit of levarage to get it on the alternator pully..

But it's routed in the correct orentation...checked my belt guide on the car and even remember how the old one came off......................

Would be nice if someone gave me a call as this is kinda slow, but extremely helpful thus far.. Thanks guys!!!!!!!:thankyou:

 

[luigisho]

Reman. alt.'s are very iffy. When I had my GenI, I went through 5 or 6 from AutoZone and Pep Boys before I got one that was in good working order. Pull it off and take it to a test bench. I never buy a reman unit from a parts store until I test it before I leave the store. I got tired after installing the 3rd bad one in a row. That's my best internet guess right now.

Also, if you had your plug wires off for any reason make sure they are routed correctly. Some of the manuals had the order wrong years ago and that caused alot of problems.

 

[Tecchie]

Let me clarify..............................


It was running fine and SMOOTH and FULL POWER all the wat through the 7300rpm fuel-cut-off range until............

I installed the new alternator... period..

Oh, so yeah that means my plug wires are fine... nothign is pinched or anything, like I said I drove it home and it sat for a week before I had the money for the alternator and all I did was remove the old one, took it down to the store and got the new one because I couldn't afford the core on top of the alternator...

 

[ViPER1313]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you have your work cut out for you.

For the alternator, check to make sure that all your connections to the battery and alt are tight. Corroded battery terminals can cause all sorts of issues.

Heater core replacement is a major pain - you will have to remove the front seats, steering column and the entire dashboard. Or just bypass it with a piece of hose. Personally, I recommend the piece of hose for now.

Cruise control is probably one of the switches on the brake peddle - do a search on how to adjust them. Either that or it is the actual cable to the throttle body.

Start saving money to do a full 60k mile service (valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, wires, water pump, crank position sensor, timing belt, front main seal, camshaft seals) and rod bearing replacement unless you have receipts showing that all the above was done.

Once again, good luck, and don't get discouraged. If you treat the car right it will treat you right.

EDIT: To troubleshoot the AC, you first need to verify it is not the pressure switch. If the compressor is getting power, try adjusting the air gap for the compressor clutch. Search around the forum - you can find instructions on how to do both.

 

[Devin]

You don't have to remove the seats, and you don't have to take the dash off completely to replace the heater core. With that said, it still sucks.

 

[Tecchie]

.....*sigh* all the things that have been done to the car since I've bought it...

Oil Change
Spark Plugs & wires
Timing Belt (Actually snapped on me but had enough momentum to get it into the parking lot of a Schucks)

Cam Seals
Water Pump
Valve Cover Gasket
Plug Well Seals
Battery
Alternator

Like I said, I had NO (read: ZERO) Idle problems once I replaced the battery (likely sensors weren't getting enough power before)

Until I put in the new alternator... when I unplug the alternator all together, it idles and revs smooth and no misfires...

plug in the alternator, start it, idles fine, but misfires CRAZY bad when I rev it..

Contacts are clean.....


On another note, I am extremely low on cash... I was barely able to get the the alternator...................

If anyone could help even with some used but good parts like sensors...that would be great... I could buy from you or trade for computer/carpentry work....as I used to be a union carpenter, but my first two passions are computers and mechanical things..


I still do not understand why after replacing the alternator it misfires really bad (and does give the battery a charge) but when unpluged it runs mostly good...............................

 

[ViPER1313]

Have a multimeter? Put it across the terminals of the battery and rev the motor.

 

[Tecchie]

Did that also, voltage reads 13.8 (battery was a little low anyways from driving with bad alterator before replacing....)

 

[Storm-Chaser]

And let me reitertate what Luigisho stated:

"Reman. alt.'s are very iffy . . . ."
​

Poor and/or low voltage output can cause poor acceleration and/or misfire. Take the alternator out and have it properly tested.

Let me clarify..............................

[deleted]

 

[fitefanSHO]

.....*sigh* all the things that have been done to the car since I've bought it...

Oil Change
Spark Plugs & wires
Timing Belt (Actually snapped on me but had enough momentum to get it into the parking lot of a Schucks)

Cam Seals
Water Pump
Valve Cover Gasket
Plug Well Seals
Battery
Alternator

Like I said, I had NO (read: ZERO) Idle problems once I replaced the battery (likely sensors weren't getting enough power before)

Until I put in the new alternator... when I unplug the alternator all together, it idles and revs smooth and no misfires...

plug in the alternator, start it, idles fine, but misfires CRAZY bad when I rev it..

Contacts are clean.....


On another note, I am extremely low on cash... I was barely able to get the the alternator...................

If anyone could help even with some used but good parts like sensors...that would be great... I could buy from you or trade for computer/carpentry work....as I used to be a union carpenter, but my first two passions are computers and mechanical things..


I still do not understand why after replacing the alternator it misfires really bad (and does give the battery a charge) but when unpluged it runs mostly good...............................

That's a good start, here's my list of SHO stuff done in the past 9 months since I bought her....

Valve cover gasket job/o-rings etc..
Plugs & Wires
Virtually every fluid flushed/changed.
Rebuilt the transmission.
New brakes/calipers/rotors all around
Upper & Lower radiator hoses
All new brake lines
New power steering pump
New Throttle Position Sensor
Repaired my broken moonroof
New serpentine belt
New battery
Lower ball joints
Thermostat
Rear main seal
Idler pulley
Lower control arm
New Windshield
Four new Yokahama AVID TRZ Tires
A new radiator
A new gas tank
A new fuel filter
Cleaned my MAF
The Ford recall speed control switch (which cleared up a nasty MS leak)
2 "new" used hood struts thanks to frosho
Suspension overhaul: 4 new Monroe Quick Struts
Front control arm & Ball joints
New left axel assembly
FRONT 60K, full by NESHO.
AC Charged
Valve lash adjustment
O2s replaced


And I STILL need new mufflers, possibly the rod bearing replacement job down the road, and a fuel pump. lol...

It never ends.

 

[luigisho]

If it ran better without the new alt., chances are very good that the alt is the problem. Don't trust that since it was fresh out of the box that the unit should work properly.

Again: Reman. alts are verrrryyy iffy. I remember a fellow forum member who used to work at a parts store and stated the number of faulty reman'd alts returned was incredible.

 

[Tecchie]

Yes, found the alt to be the problem... thought it being the wiring harness took it off, still misfire.... disconnected the whole thing and started, reved to limiter no problem... taking the pile back now... and going to ring their neck.. no wonder they offered a lifetime warranty replacement and free roadside assistance... *LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL*


Thanks guys! I'll post the results... :thankyou::woohoo:

 

[luigisho]

If you get another unit from them put it on the tester before you leave the store.

 

[Tecchie]

Okay, did that, and even the one I took back... to schucks... returned it and went back to autozone and got theirs and had it tested before I left...

No problems found.. so okay, I got a good one...get home and same thing...

If I take off the main power lead (positive) from the alternator and start it it runs and idles fine...

Put it back on and start it again and it idles really rough and rich.... so... I was thinking the Crank Position sensor since everything is getting FULL power it might be bad... of course I have a leaky power steering pump, but so far that's intermittent and drips directly onto the rear cat..


Oh, and the front computer box is a J if that helps or means anything..

I have the 1995 3.2L ATX SHO.....

hmm....

I replaced the TPS (throttle position sensor) about a month ago... but

both the CPS/CPS (crank and cam) sensors are still on there, I have not replaced.... think that might be the problem?

My brother in-law had a look and he said it sounded like a timing issue, but showed him that it ran fine off the alt and he called his dad and asked and his dad said it might be the ECU.. I Really don't want to have to replace that...

ugh...

 

[Tecchie]

No responses? you guys thinkit might be the CPS? I mean if it were bad and finally got full power, could it be screwing with the firing?


Anyone in the Everett/Seattle/Marysville/LAke Stevens areas that could assist me?

 

[Tecchie]

Wow, thunderous help, then nothing... greaaat...