Well it looks like it finally happened...I have a 97 SHO that did not have the cam sprockets welded. Last week I noticed an odd noise under the hood that I suspect is the early indications of the camshaft sprocket issue. The engine is running well so I believe no damage has occurred and it's been parked since then. I talked to my regular auto shop and they aren't familiar with the issue at all. This isn't a repair that I would do myself so I was looking to find a local shop in the metro Atlanta area that might have experience with this. Any suggestions for a local shop that can do this work?
Doug at Ford Performance Specialists in GA is the only close option I can remember off the cuff. Not far from ATL. Out rt 20 toward 6 flags. I would probably open it up and take a look to get eyeballs on what it looks like
Yep I agree with Luigisho, I literally have only heard about Doug and FPS in GA when it comes to fixing this issue.
You happen to live near the only good option left east of the Mississippi (of which I'm aware), that being Doug at FPS, Mableton, as mentioned above.
Doug has done a lot of these and does good work, but do not try to drive it there. You are going to have to get it towed or flatbedded. pax, smn
Thanks All for the feedback. That shop is about 35 miles away so not too bad as I planned on putting it on a flatbed wherever.
By chance, if you are looking for a nice 1999 SHO with 56K for $5k, let me know. The car is driven by my daughter who would like to upgrade.
Doug Lewis at FPS can handle your work. He has handled the weld on many Gen 3s, including mine. I had mine done several years ago when the car had around 75K miles. Mine has over 225K now.
Follow up to original post. I finally got the car over to FPS and Doug Lewis. As suspected, it was one of the cams getting ready to go. It was the bank 1 intake cam making all the noise. Doug said he could actually spin it a few degrees back and forth but it hadn't spun enough to cause any other damage. So, after welding all 4 cams, getting it put back together and fixing a few other issues (ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar end links) it's back home and running great. Thanks to all for suggestions/comments!
