60k service

[cobrakidd03]

Like i said earlier i took the intake of the sho. My question is is there any way to tell if the car has had the 60k done? she has 121,000 on it. I pulled the front spark plug boots off and did not see any oil down in the wells, which is a good thing.

 

[zblackbeast]

chances are its due for another 60k.. When was the timing belt replaced?

 

[cobrakidd03]

No clue when the timming belt was replaced. I bought the car back in December. How would I tell if it is a newer belt or not without taking it off. I really dont want to mess with the timming or anything.

 

[Vnuk1]

That sucks your car did not come with any maintenance records so you could figure this stuff out. I guess you would just be safer doing a full 60k now to have peace of mind and know that is was done.

 

[SuperHO]

since your intake's already off, a top 60k is simple. pull the valve covers and make sure the valve lash is within spec. this is a game i like to call fun with a feeler guage. as for messing with the timing, it's remarkably easy to get the timing right with a V6 SHO. the easiest way to learn how to fix these God forsaken beasts is to get your hands dirty on em. that's how most of us learned.

 

[JRA2000TL]

See famous sig. quote by SuperHO. It was advice given to me.

 

[cobrakidd03]

It's not that iam afraid of the timming belt or to get my hands dirty. I should just do the 60k as i won't start driving the sho in november. Not sure I wanna pull the valve covers off as I see that the damn gaskets are 90.00!! I am not really sure how to do the valve lash deal either. I am by all means not an expierenced wrencher but i do know a few things...lol. Thanks for all your input!!!

 

[rubydist]

The top 60k isn't as important as the front 60k work, imho. If it doesn't leak from the valve covers and there is no oil in the plug holes, I'd leave the top alone for now.

However, I'd pull the timing belt covers off and check to see that the timing belt is tight. I've never seen a belt break (I've seen one that I'm sure had 200k miles on it....), but they do get loose over time and that is the problem you need to check for. Also, the crank and cam seals will eventually leak, and the water pump as well. For the $35 that it costs for a new timing belt, I'd change that, and change the seals while I was at it. If the water pump doesn't look pretty new, I'd change that while I was in there. I'd take a good look at the idlers on the timing belt as well, to make sure the bearings are still good.

 

[boat]

Do yourself a favor and shop around for your 60k parts. Don't just go to the parts store and buy the first thing you come to. I have seen and purchased valve cover gaskets as cheap as $65 bucks on ebay (for the SHO) with free shipping. Try www.rockauto.com also. You may already be familiar with them, shop around, I guarantee you will find a cheaper price on those gaskets.

Not sure I wanna pull the valve covers off as I see that the damn gaskets are 90.00!!

 

[jon93]

Find a local that has done everything before, buy him a case or two of beer, buy the parts, and you can have it done in a day. The first time i performed a 60k, I parked my car and took an hour here and there until i finished it after a few weeks. Now I can do the whole thing in a couple hours. Looking back I wish I had someone experienced to help me, it makes things move alot faster and you can learn alot more from the experience.

 

[itwonder]

Dry plug wells are a good sign a top 60K was done. I would not do one if all of the wells are dry. To assess the front 60K, remove the top timing cover and inspect the timing belt. Remove the cam position sensor and check for any oil in the cavity from a leaking seal. Pressure test the cooling system looking for evidence of water pump leakage. Inspect for any sign of front main seal leakage. Inspect the accessory belts. Check the crank dampener bolt is torqued to spec. If all of those check out, a front 60K was probably done and there is no point in doing another. Ford was very, very conservative when they set that 60k interval. 100K is a more reasonable interval imho.