92 Ford Taurus SHO

[Danielle]

Ok. I bought this 92 Ford Taurus SHO about 3 weeks ago and I have a couple questions. First question, Do I need a clutch? When I'm shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, I have to yank the shifter back so it can pop into gear. I have a bit of trouble getting it into 1st, 2nd, and Reverse. 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th is pretty easy. But if Im at an idle and I switch the gears; they are easy to move. My second question is my RPMs. When I would start the car, the RPMs would go up and down around 1000 then get steady. So I replaced the TPS. It got a little better to where when I start it, its at 1000. But if I rev the car a few times and stop, the RPMs will go up and down again. So ill sit there for about half a minute and it will become steady. What Ive done to the car since I got it: Replaced Alternator, Battery, TPS, Oil Change, Cleaned and replaced coolant. It also has a Performance Air Filter on it thats pretty dirty. If I rub my fingers in the fold, some kind of dirt/grease will be on my fingers. Is that Normal?

 

[luigisho]

Ok. I think you should have a SHO specialist type look at the car and shift the transmission. It may be an internal problem. There is (or was) a rather large group of TX owners and you can try to post in the Lone star sho club section. It's not that active, but a new post should attract attention. There are a few good SHO folks out in your neck of the woods that can help you. The filter is probably an oiled gauze type. You can find a cleaning kit for it or replace it with something else.

You can run a search for forum members using the community drop down tab above and look through the members list. I know most of the texas folk are more dfw/Arlington area. Send a message to member gas it (Sergio) and also try texantony and shomurph. Someone should have good local leads to follow

 

[sperold]

It is a very good guess that you may need a new clutch. If your clutch engagement is near the floor, it becomes difficult to get into various gears.
The good news is you can get a new clutch kit on RockAuto for less than $100.00, the not so good news is that it is usually about $500.00 to install, if you do not do it yourself. And only go to a shop that has done it before, numerous times.

You will solve the idle issue by continuing to drive it, and pulling the codes that will lead you to the solution. You can re-set the idle by following a procedure that you can search out on this forum. All of your issues can be found by searching the forum and doing a lot of reading.

 

[rubydist]

the symptoms you describe for idle hunting usually reflect a sticking iac, which is fairly common. when it gets too annoying, change out the iac.

the symptoms you describe for the hard shifting could be a clutch issue, or could be a syncro issue inside the trans. As suggested above, see if you can entice one of the SHO experts in your area to take a quick look at it and drive it around the block. Guys who are familiar with the vehicle should be able to give you good guidance with a short drive.

welcome to the forum and enjoy your 'new' hotrod!

 

[Danielle]

Ya. I doubt I'm going to be able to get someone to come look at my car. I live in Porter and I cant drive my car or meet up anywhere since the registration and such is out. One guy told me to bleed my hydraulic clutch but Im not to familiar with that. I would rather do most of the stuff myself except the clutch because Im pretty sure I don't have the necessary tools for it. Does anyone know what tools I will need to do the job at home? I like to bond with my car even though that sounds weird lol. Is there anything else that are known problems with these cars? Im trying to buy a Owners manual for it but I have to get a bank account first since I use cash for everything.

 

[sperold]

You have a cable clutch, not a hydraulic clutch.
The clutch change instructions are covered very well and you can search on this forum, as well as everything else you need to know.
It will take time to familiarize yourself with the car and how to search for things on the forum, but it can be said that it is all here on this forum.

 

[LOUDSHO92]

It sounds like the clutch is on it's way out. We do carry many clutch options as well as the needed parts to replace: SHO Source

 

[rubydist]

liking to bond with your car is great - most SHO owners get plenty of opportunity for that! however, you will want to get the tools needed, since labor is expensive to fix them, and not many people around know what they are doing when working on one.

 

[luigisho]

You'll get plenty of bonding time. I think a car this old may be a bit of a financial maintenance nightmare for you. You should at least put some feelers out and see if there is someone local who can give it a quick once over and point you in the right direction. I think for as quick as a few posts and emails are it is well worth the time to try.

 

[sperold]

While performing a clutch change is well within your abilities (I am sure), it is all of the other things you have to deal with that are equally difficult.

First, the y-pipe has to come off and that involves removing the exhaust studs in the cast iron exhaust manifolds. There are techniques that help that process that you do not yet know.
Next, the sub frame has to come down, particularly the rear of the assembly to get the clutch out and in. That involves dealing with the bolts that go through the sub frame bushings and go up into the bodywork of the car that you can access by peeling back your front carpeting. It may go great, but it may require heating the captive nut in the body work; if your car has always been in Texas, it will probably go well. Here in Canada, you have to do it every time.

You need to make a little contraption to suspend the engine during this process, the plans can be found in this forum and there are wooden and steel models you can fabricate.

None of these are deal breakers, but each one is reasonably difficult, with a downside element if it goes badly.

That is why, if you decide to farm it out, it has to go to a shop that has done it before, with a fixed price, agreed-upon in advance.

 

[luigisho]

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=57920&highlight=sergio

 

[Danielle]

While performing a clutch change is well within your abilities (I am sure), it is all of the other things you have to deal with that are equally difficult.

First, the y-pipe has to come off and that involves removing the exhaust studs in the cast iron exhaust manifolds. There are techniques that help that process that you do not yet know.
Next, the sub frame has to come down, particularly the rear of the assembly to get the clutch out and in. That involves dealing with the bolts that go through the sub frame bushings and go up into the bodywork of the car that you can access by peeling back your front carpeting. It may go great, but it may require heating the captive nut in the body work; if your car has always been in Texas, it will probably go well. Here in Canada, you have to do it every time.

You need to make a little contraption to suspend the engine during this process, the plans can be found in this forum and there are wooden and steel models you can fabricate.

None of these are deal breakers, but each one is reasonably difficult, with a downside element if it goes badly.

That is why, if you decide to farm it out, it has to go to a shop that has done it before, with a fixed price, agreed-upon in advance.

Ok. So I most likely need a clutch. I was told I could adjust my my clutch cable first to see if it changes anything. Any idea on how or where to do it? Im ordering an owners manual since I dont have one. I also am having a problem with my gear lever. Its not tight. I can rotate it around, 360 degrees. Is the lever welded on or is it held on by a bolt. I removed the middle console and everything to where all I see is the metal lever and the black sponge at the bottom that seems glued on. I dont see a bolt anywhere so does that mean I have to get it welded?

 

[luigisho]

You need a repair manual not an owners manual. Specifically you need a Helm factory auto service manual.

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=65235

 

[sperold]

Your clutch cable is "self adjusting" and it is adjusted by lifting the pedal with your toe and the cable "ratchets" in the quadrant assembly. I have changed a few clutch cables and the one thing I noticed was the old one was always the exact same length as the new one.
There is a small grommet where the clutch actuator enters the casting and it sometimes goes missing and that can affect your clutch actuation.

You can nurse this old clutch along for awhile yet, if you are really careful about engaging the gears, so that is not your first assignment.

Crawl under the car and grab the rod shifter rods and wiggle them to see if there is play. You will be able to figure out a lot by doing this, and that will help the shifter situation.

There is no shame in having the shifter reviewed, and a new clutch installed at a shop, and you get a lot of bang for your buck by farming this out, as it is very time consuming and reasonably difficult. After that point, the car is much easier to service and repair as all the problem areas have been dealt-with. Insist on "never-seize" for all the fasteners and make sure it has been applied.

 

[Danielle]

Your clutch cable is "self adjusting" and it is adjusted by lifting the pedal with your toe and the cable "ratchets" in the quadrant assembly. I have changed a few clutch cables and the one thing I noticed was the old one was always the exact same length as the new one.
There is a small grommet where the clutch actuator enters the casting and it sometimes goes missing and that can affect your clutch actuation.

You can nurse this old clutch along for awhile yet, if you are really careful about engaging the gears, so that is not your first assignment.

Crawl under the car and grab the rod shifter rods and wiggle them to see if there is play. You will be able to figure out a lot by doing this, and that will help the shifter situation.

There is no shame in having the shifter reviewed, and a new clutch installed at a shop, and you get a lot of bang for your buck by farming this out, as it is very time consuming and reasonably difficult. After that point, the car is much easier to service and repair as all the problem areas have been dealt-with. Insist on "never-seize" for all the fasteners and make sure it has been applied.

Ok. Exactly what tools will I need when changing my clutch at home. I know Ill need a jack and 2 jackstands. Wrenches, ratchets... What else? For the engine hoist, couldnt I just put my jack under the transmissiom to hold it up? So that way I dont have to build one.

 

[rubydist]

no, you also need to hold up the engine while you do that, because when the subframe is removed the engine has no support.

 

[Danielle]

no, you also need to hold up the engine while you do that, because when the subframe is removed the engine has no support.

Ok. Is there exact instructions on how to build the make shift engine hoist with wood; like everyones saying?

 

[zoomlater]

Here is a link to one type they sell on Amazon as well as one made out of steel pipe. The second link is another version you can make out of wood. If you click on the "Search" tab at the top of the page, and type in a topic such as "engine support" or "clutch replacement", you can find a lot of information on what others have done in the past.

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=99728&highlight=engine+support


http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=9138&highlight=wood+engine+brace

 

[sperold]

It gets a little busy under the car with a jack holding up the engine and jacks under each side of the sub-frame at the rear, and the engine jack is doing a juggling act as it is unsupported at this point. You end up having to bolt the flywheel back onto the back of the crank, and the engine has to be stable to do that.

If you are working in a building with a structure strong enough to lift the engine, you can forget about the wooden engine support and use the building as a lifting point.
And a point of clarification, you are mostly holding the engine where it is, while the sub-frame is lowered below it, so you are not lifting as much as holding steady.

You can also haul the engine out the top, do the clutch install and re-install back in the car, and it has its own set of issues, but in the end, can be done.

A lot of posts were made on engine supports about 7 years ago, and yes, some were detailed, and had a parts list, and pictures. Although it sounds sophisticated, you are simply supporting the engine weight using that frail looking part where the 2 edges of the hood fit (where the inner fender and outer fender bolt together). There are some preferred anchor points on the engine where it lifts more or less straight up.
Do some searches, or put an ad in the wanted to buy section, as I am sure that a lot of them have been made over the years.

 

[itwonder]

You can buy a transverse engine support from ebay or other sources for a reasonable price, and then you have a nice tool that you can resell when you're done with it. They are very common since most any major work on most any FWD car is going to require one. Get the style that uses two pieces of square tubing arranged in a T shape.

Invest is the clutch replacement video CD available from shonutperformance.com. It is worth every penny, both for the step-by-step video walk through, and the written procedure that comes with it.

You'll need two of the large size HD jack stands to get the front end of the car up high enough to work safely with enough clearance to get the transmission out. Parking with the rear wheels up on a stack of three 2x10's helps too.

The forum content is rich; searches will find answers to most questions.

Welcome, and good luck with your new SHO!