98 SHO Cams Welded!

[Blackdr16]

Sharing my excitement, got a 98 SHO last weekend 139k, in pretty good shape but didn't know if cams were welded. Nervously I drove it 400 miles home and took it apart the next night to find the cams were not touched. Let it sit for a week till today and with the help of a buddy and his co-worker we got it welded up! Here are some pics. Hopefully this will hold up! Car runs good and strong, trans seems to be great as well. Feels good knowing another SHO V8 engine was saved

 

[Nuke]

Awesome stuff. Great to see a V8 SHO live to see another day.

 

[Pintony]

Hello Bklackdr16,
Why do you need to weld these cams?
Sorry for being a NOOB....

 

[98SF19]

Pintony, if you own a Gen III SHO, it is *critical* that you get up to speed with the cam sprocket design flaw on these cars. Search this site or v8sho.com and you should find PLENTY of information on the topic. There was a running count of cars that were verified cam sprocket failures that was kept on the v8sho site but it was abandoned after the class action lawsuit was finalized, as there was no real reason to maintain the count at that point.

 

[Pintony]

Pintony, if you own a Gen III SHO, it is *critical* that you get up to speed with the cam sprocket design flaw on these cars. Search this site or v8sho.com and you should find PLENTY of information on the topic. There was a running count of cars that were verified cam sprocket failures that was kept on the v8sho site but it was abandoned after the class action lawsuit was finalized, as there was no real reason to maintain the count at that point.

So what happens? do the sprockets fall off or something???
Sorry I own an 014. I just like to know things as I buy and sell some older FORDS occasionally.

 

[luigisho]

They are a swedge fit design. You can't see it here but the cams are not integrated or bolted or pinned to the sprockets but pressure fitted with splines to hold it in place. The cams have a tendency to loosen and 'walk' a bit which then throws the timing off. It's an interference head/valve design so out of time makes valves and pistons meet. Welding them in place keeps the sprockets from moving.
http://www.shoforum.com/index.php?threads/purpose-of-cam-welding.108044/

You can see the splines in a pic here http://v8sho.com/SHO/images/camsprocket/Cam_lobe_attachment.jpg

 

[Blackdr16]

Pintony, as others have shared it's pretty much not an if as it is a when the cams slip on these. Once they slip it's very expensive and time consuming to repair. Well worth the few hours to tear down and weld the sprockets onto the cam shafts.

 

[SHOdded]

SHO enthusiasts worked ******* trying to get Ford to acknowledge this issue, no luck there But as always, they found and implemented an effective "field" repair.

 

[98SF19]

I believe the judgement was something along the lines of Ford offering a $500 discount on a new Ford when many users had paid dealers $7000 for the weld job. Third party welders popped up willing to do the work for much less. Nevertheless, it was a hard pill to swallow since the evidence for a significant defect/design flaw was overwhelming. To me, Ford gained favor back when they didn't take the government cheese back in '08. The '15 F150 in my driveway speaks that loud and clear.

 

[sperold]

This was one of Ford's worse mistakes, and did not do the SHO name (or Ford) any favors .

Kind of like the time they stole the intermittent wipers idea from a teacher working in his basement.

Ford offered $30,000,000 to shut him up and not admit fault, but he soldiered on, but only got $10,000,000 and of course, the admission of guilt.

How embarrassing is that.

 

[98SF19]

I always wondered if GM, Dodge/Chrysler (whoever owned them at the time) or Toyota had a part in the production of that movie. Either way, they were sure enough happy to see it come out. But accountability is a good thing, and as a FMC supporter, it's important to keep blunders of the past from fading from memory lest they be repeated.

 

[Pintony]

I always wondered if GM, Dodge/Chrysler (whoever owned them at the time) or Toyota had a part in the production of that movie. Either way, they were sure enough happy to see it come out. But accountability is a good thing, and as a FMC supporter, it's important to keep blunders of the past from fading from memory lest they be repeated.

Pinto & Crown Victoria used the same fuel filler design. Both caught fire if hit in the right spot.

 

[98SF19]

That's a prime example. How long ago was this happening and has it happened since?a
If only the electorate would remember their history as well as auto makers do. But then, the *products* they're selling are vastly different.

 

[stephen newberg]

many users had paid dealers $7000 for the weld job.

I paid $500 for my dealer to do my weld j0b. Do you actually have a documented instance of a dealer charging $7K for it? I suppose it could happen, but it would take a remarkably crook of a dealer to do it, and a very oblivious owner to go along.

pax, smn

 

[98SF19]

This was my recollection from the days of the v8sho e-mail subscription. It may or may not be found somewhere on that site, but it's usually the most egregious accounts that go viral. Also, you mention a remarkably crooked dealer, and an oblivious owner . . . one is an oxymoron, the other just a plain *****.
<rimshot.mp3>
I'll be here all week folks!

 

[stephen newberg]

Well, I do not have that sort of experience with dealers, actually. I have certainly run across a couple of bad ones over the years, but I have hit on a few seriously good ones too. Certainly way too much variance to consider being crooked the norm for them. As for the *****, well, there I guess we agree.

pax, smn